FASD ONE

Study for Health Care Professionals

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SleepNDD_StudySummary_HCP

Sleep and neurodevelopmental disorders: Treatment barriers and facilitators

Help needed!

Are you a health care professional (occupational therapists/family physician / general practitioner, paediatrician, paediatric subspecialist, neurologist, psychiatrist, nurse, clinical psychologist, social worker) who provides care to children ages 4-12 years old diagnosed with the following neurodevelopmental disorders: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), or Cerebral Palsy (CP)? We are looking for health care professionals in Canada to participate in online focus groups about treating behavioural sleep problems in children with neurodevelopmental disorders to learn more about how to increase families’ and health professionals’ access to effective treatments.

Participation involves completing a brief questionnaire and taking part in online focus groups with other health care professionals from across Canada.

 

Participants have a chance to win a $50 www.amazon.ca gift card!

 

Please see the attached summary for more information about the study. Please do not hesitate to contact study investigator Kim Tan-MacNeill at sleepndd@dal.ca or visit www.tinyurl.com/hcpndd for additional information or questions about the study.

SleepNDD_HCPPoster

Grocery stores not required to warn pregnant women of alcohol risk: OPSEU

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http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/cnw/release.html?rkey=20160511C8774&filter=5611

Montreal Gazette

CNW

Grocery stores not required to warn pregnant women of alcohol risk: OPSEU

TORONTO, May 11, 2016 /CNW/ – Grocery stores that sell beer in Ontario are not required to warn women that drinking alcohol during pregnancy puts their unborn children at risk, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union has learned.

“Under ‘Sandy’s Law’, the LCBO and any other outlets that sell or dispense alcohol are required to post signs warning women that drinking during pregnancy can cause birth defects and permanent brain damage to their babies,” OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas said today. “Grocery stores that sell beer in Ontario are not required to post these signs.

“When the Ontario Liberals moved to allow beer sales in more locations, they said grocery stores would have to follow all the same rules as anyone else selling liquor,” he said.

“As it turns out, that’s not true.  “This is a serious public health issue.”

Mark Courtepatte, co-chair of the Hamilton FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) Parent and Caregiver Support Group was told by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) that grocery stores are exempt from “Sandy’s Law,” a 2004 law that amended the Liquor License Act to require the warning signs.

However, when he asked the AGCO, along with the Attorney General’s office and Premier Wynne for any evidence in the Liquor License Act or Regulations confirming grocery stores were exempt, they did not provide a response.

“We’re not opposed to alcohol but we are strongly opposed to the government allowing the sale of alcohol and not warning Ontarians of the risk of the permanent brain damage caused by consuming any amount of any kind of alcohol during pregnancy.”

“It’s irresponsible for the government to not enforce Sandy’s Law,” Courtepatte said.

The Hamilton FASD Support Group provides assistance and support for parents, caregivers, and individuals with FASD. Nine out of every 1,000 babies in Canada are born with FASD and it is the leading known case of brain damage among Canadian children.

OPSEU represents 7,000 working Ontarians in LCBO stores, warehouses, and offices in more than 400 communities across the province.

SOURCE Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)

Image with caption: “No visible FASD poster where you get beer at the Loblaws location at Erin Mills Town Centre in Mississauga, Ont. (CNW Group/Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU))”. Image available at:http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160511_C8774_PHOTO_EN_688481.jpg

For further information: Warren (Smokey) Thomas, 613-329-1931; Mark Courtepatte, 416-300-4146

Poster to promote the practice of screening for alcohol and birth control use with all women of childbearing years

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FASD_Alcohol_and_Birth_Control_7 (1)

FASD_Alcohol_and_Birth_Control_FR (1)

The FASD ONE Prevention Work Group has just developed a poster that can be used across the province to promote the practice of screening for alcohol and  birth control use with all women of childbearing years.  The resource is targeted to health and social service providers to encourage them to make this a universal practice with all women of childbearing age.  The research is strong to support this practice – studies done by the Centre for Disease Control found that the risk of FASD can be decreased by 50% or more by talking to women about alcohol and birth control use before pregnancy.

KPDSB Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder program applauded at Toronto symposium

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Keewatin Patricia District School Board “…’I’d like to see more of these classrooms and I’d like to see school boards and teachers around the province learning from it and implementing some of these strategies in a regular stream program, not just in the Transitions North program because these are things that can be adopted in the mainstream classroom,’..”

http://tinyurl.com/gqndqd8
Kenora Daily Miner and News
News Local

KPDSB Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder program applauded at Toronto symposium
SHERI LAMB
Miner and News
Monday, April 18, 2016 7:41:23 EDT PM

Transitions North classroom teacher Mike Dean and education assistant Nicole Downey with students diagnosed with FASD at Keewatin Public School. Dean and Downey are working with the students to help develop the emotional cues to cope in a regular classroom. SHERI LAMB/Daily Miner and News

Keewatin Public School’s Transitions North program and its teachers received high praise for their work last month during a conference in Toronto.

Mike Dean, Transitions North classroom teacher, and his education assistant Nicole Downey, were humbled when they received a standing ovation after presenting at March’s Biennial Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Ontario Network of Expertise (FASD ONE) Symposium.

“They were blown away in Toronto at the progress of these kids and I get a little emotional when I think about where the students are now compared to where they were when they came in,” said Dean.

Transitions North is a provincially-funded program being undertaken through the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board at Keewatin Public since September 2014. They started with three students and integrated a fourth into the classroom about four months ago, while at the same time working on the transition of another student back into a regular classroom.

“When she came to us and she was being sent home a lot of days and was having major temper tantrums and she just couldn’t cope with the busyness of a regular classroom,” said Dean. “She didn’t have any control of her own emotions. It was a long road, but we focused on relationships and on her emotional well being.

“She’s a different little girl today,” added Dean. “Her independent work has excelled. When she first came to us she couldn’t focus for more than a couple minutes, now she can hone in on an assignment and she can sit and do independent work for 40 minutes. The mainstream classroom teacher is very happy with her in the program, she’s focused and takes directions.”

Students with FASD often have issues with impulse control when it comes to reacting to situations. In order to work with children with FASD, many of whom are also diagnosed with ADHD or attachment disorder as well, takes patience, flexibility and lots of understanding.

In order to eliminate distractions for their students – a Transition North classroom has minimal decorations or student work on walls, are painted a calming blue colour and have spaces for “quiet time” when students need a moment to refocus their emotions. Students follow the same academic curriculum as those in the regular classroom, just with an increased focus on their emotional learning and well-being.

“A lot of it has to do with building self regulation strategies, so things like deep breathing,” said Dean.

The goal of the program is to develop functioning adults who can contribute to society rather than being tied up in the judicial system where too many FASD persons end up.

“Being happy and having a good network of people surrounding you through the different stages of life is incredibly important when talking about people living with FASD,” said Dean. “It’s a brain injury and these kids, these people, didn’t choose for this to happen, they were born with it and they’re living with it and we need to support them as much as we can.”

Dean added it’s not just a Northern Ontario problem, at the symposium he learned there were classrooms in other Ontario school districts for FASD students, but the problem has a worldwide scope.

“I’d like to see more of these classrooms and I’d like to see school boards and teachers around the province learning from it and implementing some of these strategies in a regular stream program, not just in the Transitions North program because these are things that can be adopted in the mainstream classroom,” said Dean.

SLamb@postmedia.com

Adults with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Factors Associated with Positive Outcomes and Contact with the Criminal Justice System

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New study published in Canadian Journal of Clinical Pharmacology

http://www.jptcp.com/pubmed.php?articleId=530

Adults with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Factors Associated with Positive Outcomes and Contact with the Criminal Justice System
J Popul Ther Clin Pharmacol Vol 23(1):e37-e52; March 9, 2016
Original Research

Beth Anne Currie, Jane Hoy, Lynda Legge, Valerie K. Temple, Munazza Tahir

Background 

Adults with FASD are at increased risk for contact with the criminal justice system (CJS). To date, there has been limited research devoted to development of supports for adults with FASD and it is unclear what supports are required to improve outcomes and reduce CJS contact.
Objectives
To examine the services and supports experienced by a small group of adults with FASD living in both rural and urban locations in Ontario, and their contact with the CJS.
Conclusion
As has been found previously, early diagnosis of FASD is associated with more positive outcomes including reduced amount of contact with the CJS. It is likely that early diagnosis leads to the receipt of more supports throughout childhood and contributes to a better understanding of FASD by family and caregivers.
Full study can be downloaded here:

FASD & Stigma: Why Do Women Drink When Pregnant?

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http://www.neurodevnet.ca/news/fasd-stigma-why-do-women-drink-when-pregnant

 

FASD & Stigma: Why Do Women Drink When Pregnant?

February 26, 2016

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is an entirely preventable form of brain damage. Increased awareness has meant a woman’s decision to consume alcohol during pregnancy has become highly stigmatized, and as a result, individual circumstances that surround the choice to drink are rarely explored or understood.

“This is unfortunate because alcohol use in pregnancy is a highly complex issue, complicated by the fact that many women consume alcohol prior to finding out they are pregnant,” says Sue Kobus, a research associate within NeuroDevNet’s FASD Research Group. Kobus has produced a new video that addresses stigma through the lens of Colette Philcox, the birth mother of a boy with FASD whose partner coerced her into drinking with him when she was pregnant. To refuse was to endure a beating.
“We just want to raise awareness so that these women aren’t judged because then the child is judged,” Sue explains. “There can’t be blame and shame put on these women – it’s the child that suffers in the end.”
Neuroethics experts Dr. Judy Illes and Dr. Emily Bell delve into the impacts of blaming and shaming: mothers are hesitant to disclose their alcohol consumption, and children are misjudged and stigmatized for their behaviour. Without confirmation of maternal drinking, physicians are unable to definitively diagnose FASD or to recommend appropriate treatment. Ultimately this impacts the child’s wellbeing and life course.
“Awareness campaigns aim to prevent the only known cause of FASD, drinking during pregnancy,” observes Dr. Bell. “In doing so, however, they may also unintentionally increase the blame towards biological mothers and impact the broader experiences of all those affected by FASD. For example, if such campaigns fail to address social factors surrounding alcohol consumption or neglect circumstances surrounding the behaviour (i.e., when a woman drinks before realizing she is pregnant), they could cause anxiety for women or increase reluctance to seek medical care for their pregnancy or drinking.”

“This video speaks to the vulnerable, high-risk segment of the population where FASD is a huge problem,” says Dr. James Reynolds, NeuroDevNet associate scientific director and co-lead of the Network’s FASD Research Group, based at Queen’s University. “This is the segment of the population where stigma and blame are felt the most, and where the greatest amount of work needs to be done to increase awareness and understanding.”

Watch the full video here: https://vimeo.com/156886402

Young Nunavut man, damaged by FASD, sentenced to residential treatment

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NEWS: Nunavut  January 07, 2016 – 2:25 pm
Young Nunavut man, damaged by FASD, sentenced to residential treatment
Youth, 18, participated in two Iqaluit robberies
THOMAS ROHNER

“…Instead of going to prison, a young Iqaluit man badly damaged by FASD will serve a sentence, imposed for two counts of robbery, at a residential treatment centre…”
“…Sharkey agreed with defence lawyer Steven Foulds that FASD is the ‘new face of Nunavut’…”

http://tinyurl.com/hzxznxp
NunatsiaqOnline