As awareness and diagnoses of FASD grow in Canada, there is increased need to support these individuals across their lifespan. One study suggested the prevalence of FASD may be as high as 10 per 1000 births (May & Gossage, 2001). The impact to society is growing as well, since this population requires support across their lifespan due to cognitive and sometimes physical impairments. It was estimated that the annual cost to Canadians was $53 billion (in 2007 dollar value) to support individuals aged 0-53 years (Stade et al., 2009). There is mounting evidence identifying the cognitive and physical impairments that these individuals have, particularly in children. Studies have also described the adaptive functioning of children with FASD, and their ability to cope in daily life. There is little information on youth and adults regarding their daily lives, and the factors that contribute to success in daily life. The purpose of this study was to identify predictive factors that contribute to success in occupational performance in youth and adults with FASD. Using the Canadian Model of Occupational Performance and Engagement (CMOP-E), the study explored variables reflecting the person, environment, and activity that promoted engagement and participation. The study also investigated the value of using self-report or performance-based assessment with the FASD youth and adult population. Due to memory, cognitive, and executive functioning deficits, the individual with FASD may not be able to accurately self-report. Results from the study suggest an individual’s living situation, involvement with foster care, and family involvement play a role in successful occupational performance. Formal assessments of cognitive, academic and memory abilities did not appear to play a role in the individual’s school completion and daily life. Interestingly, the characteristics of this FASD sample depicted a group of youth and adults, who, in general, lived with family, had completed some schooling at the grade 10-12 level, had limited employment, were not involved with the judicial system, and were just as likely to be Caucasian as Aboriginal. The concept of occupational performance proved complex, and future study on the factors contributing to occupational performance would benefit from additional variables related to environment and activity than were available in the current data set.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a health concern that is over-represented among First Nations peoples. Optimal prenatal nutrition plays a role in the severity of FASD. Prenatal nutrition as it relates to fetal brain development and fetal alcohol exposure is an under-researched area, especially among pregnant First Nations women. Finding current dietary intake patterns of pregnant women who drink alcohol could lead to developing a nutrition provision strategy. However, there is no appropriate dietary assessment research tool that is specific to this population. This study aims to develop an effective, culturally appropriate and interactive dietary assessment research tool using participatory methods to engage with women and communities in the process. We used community health priorities forums, information sessions, volunteering, collaboration with programs, and a trauma-informed approach as methods to engage with pregnant women. To develop the research tool, top sources of fetal brain development nutrients were determined for the food frequency component, several prenatal health workers reviewed the tool, and a pre-test with 20 pregnant women of the target population was completed. Pre-test results show the tool is being well-received. All of this ground work will help pave a path for further prenatal nutrition research with First Nations women. This research will inform programs and policies which strive to improve food and nutrition security and reduce the severity of FASD. / October 2015

No description available.

Individuals with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) are more likely to be involved in the criminal justice system than individuals without FASD. Research shows that individuals with FASD are unable to learn from standard methods of punishment, such as incarceration. The objective of this research was to determine how young offenders with an FASD diagnosis differ from young offenders without a diagnosis in order to inform sentencing and treatment options for FASD offenders. Using a pre-existing database of court-referred young offenders, the data of 197 youths were compared. Eighty-six young offenders in this sample were diagnosed with FASD. Information was available on a number of neurocognitive variables, such as cognition, memory, attention, achievement, and language, as well as social data, such as substance use, assistance in school, home stability, and criminal charges. Profile analysis was run on the neurocognitive data for young offenders with and without FASD. The social data were analyzed using a combination of correlation and one-way ANOVAs. Young offenders with FASD differed from young offenders without FASD on severity of impairment on the neurocognitive measures, with individuals with FASD scoring lower that the comparison group. There was no difference in the profile of neurocognitive deficiency between the groups, suggesting that young offenders with FASD have the same profile of impairments as other young offenders but to a more severe degree. There were not found to be any strong or moderate associations between the types of charges accrued and any neurocognitive measure, indicating that deficits likely do not directly lead to offending. Home stability between birth and age seven was particularly important as a protective factor for future crime, and having ever been in foster care was strongly related to number of charges. Current substance use of all kinds was associated with a higher number of charges. Youth with FASD are likely more at risk for criminal behaviour due to lower overall neurocognitive functioning, poor environmental stability, and an interaction of the two. Programs for people with FASD will be required throughout the life span and current correctional programs have yet to be developed for offenders with FASD.

Abnormal social behavior is a symptom of many human conditions, including Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). The zebrafish may be an excellent model to study embryonic alcohol effects, owing to the ease of drug administration. In recent decades, zebrafish have become increasingly popular in behavioral neuroscience, and their elaborate behavioral repertoire can provide insights in brain functioning and social behavior in response to teratogens or pharmaceutical agents. Shoaling is the zebrafish’s most notable behavioral feature, but has not been well characterized. I have started this characterization by describing the ontogeny of shoaling behavior. Embryonic exposure to low doses of ethanol has been shown to impair social behavior without any gross morphological alterations in zebrafish. However, this has not been studied in freely moving groups (shoals). Validation for using a shoaling task in behavioral testing, and potentially for high throughput analyses in the future, hinges on thorough characterization of the behavioral effects, however subtle in alcohol treated zebrafish. In my studies, I have shown that social behavior is impaired in zebrafish in a group setting after one time embryonic ethanol exposure. I have also discovered that this impairment is accompanied by a reduction of dopamine, serotonin, DOPAC and 5HIAA, neurochemicals measured in whole brain samples using HPLC. I have developed refined methods of measuring shoaling behavior in ten member zebrafish groups, laying the foundation for high throughput screening of adult zebrafish. Zebrafish are an economical model, and therefore lend themselves particularly well for high throughput screening. However, current paradigms are still labor intensive and require substantial human capital. By refining current behavioral tests and deploying new analytical tools, high throughput screening is starting to become within reach.

Abnormal social behavior is a symptom of many human conditions, including Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). The zebrafish may be an excellent model to study embryonic alcohol effects, owing to the ease of drug administration. In recent decades, zebrafish have become increasingly popular in behavioral neuroscience, and their elaborate behavioral repertoire can provide insights in brain functioning and social behavior in response to teratogens or pharmaceutical agents. Shoaling is the zebrafish’s most notable behavioral feature, but has not been well characterized. I have started this characterization by describing the ontogeny of shoaling behavior. Embryonic exposure to low doses of ethanol has been shown to impair social behavior without any gross morphological alterations in zebrafish. However, this has not been studied in freely moving groups (shoals). Validation for using a shoaling task in behavioral testing, and potentially for high throughput analyses in the future, hinges on thorough characterization of the behavioral effects, however subtle in alcohol treated zebrafish. In my studies, I have shown that social behavior is impaired in zebrafish in a group setting after one time embryonic ethanol exposure. I have also discovered that this impairment is accompanied by a reduction of dopamine, serotonin, DOPAC and 5HIAA, neurochemicals measured in whole brain samples using HPLC. I have developed refined methods of measuring shoaling behavior in ten member zebrafish groups, laying the foundation for high throughput screening of adult zebrafish. Zebrafish are an economical model, and therefore lend themselves particularly well for high throughput screening. However, current paradigms are still labor intensive and require substantial human capital. By refining current behavioral tests and deploying new analytical tools, high throughput screening is starting to become within reach.

This study traces the evolution of motherhood discourses in 41 fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) public awareness documents produced in British Columbia from 1979–2015. These documents offer a window for understanding how dominant cultural values and motherhood norms are upheld and promoted via FASD prevention, with special implications for women marginalized by race, culture, and socioeconomic status. In order to deconstruct dominant discourses, this project is rooted in feminist post-structuralism and uses a Foucauldian-inspired discourse analysis as its method. Drawing on Carol Bacchi’s (2009) problematization framework, I analyzed the documents using two questions: 1) What is ‘the problem’ represented to be? and 2) What presuppositions or assumptions underlie this representation of ‘the problem’? Findings indicate that FASD public awareness-raising overwhelmingly positions maternal substance use as a woman’s individual choice. Alcohol abstention is framed as a duty to the fetus, although it is framed differently depending on the targeted audience. Findings show that documents present maternal substance use as a gauge of fitness for motherhood and unfairly focus on women who are racialized, low-income, and young. Uniquely, documents produced by and for Indigenous populations differed thematically than for the general population. In conclusion, this study highlights how FASD public awareness-raising promotes dominant cultural values and adheres to a neoliberal health promotion tradition. / Graduate

Background: Prevalence and characteristics of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and total fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) were studied in a second sample of three South African rural communities to assess change. Methods: Active case ascertainment focused on children with height, weight and/or head circumference <= 25th centile and randomly-selected children. Final diagnoses were based on dysmorphology, neurobehavioral scores, and maternal risk interviews. Results: Cardinal facial features, head circumference, and total dysmorphology scores differentiated specific FASD diagnostic categories in a somewhat linear fashion but all FASD traits were significantly worse than those of randomly-selected controls. Neurodevelopmental delays were significantly worse for children with FASD than controls. Binge alcohol use was clearly documented as the proximal maternal risk factor for FASD, and significant distal risk factors were: low body mass, education, and income; high gravidity, parity, and age at birth of the index child. FAS rates continue to extremely high in these communities at 89-129 per 1000 children. Total FASD affect 196-276 per 1000 or 20-28% of the children in these communities. Conclusions: Very high rates of FASD persist in these general populations where regular, heavy drinking, often in a binge fashion, co-occurs with low socioeconomic conditions.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the work of three administrators and their staffs as they attempted to solve the ill-structured problem of integrating students with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) into their schools. A further purpose of the study was to investigate the role played by schools in influencing community responses that would enhance the post-school lives of students with FASD.<p>The study was conducted throughout one academic year and involved three schools in northern Canada. The use of Problem Based Methodology (PBM) permitted research to be conducted within the schools to generate solutions to the problem. By working with their staff, administrators were afforded opportunities to examine their theories in action and engage in double-loop learning as they searched for new theories of action and alternate constraint constructs.<p>The data for the study were derived from interviews with participating practitioners, parents, health professionals, and District Educational Authority (DEA) members. This permitted the gathering of spontaneous comments and general opinions to be turned into systemic records and detailed statements. The use of PBM determined that data selection involved a search for behaviours in classes of interest. Potential classes of interest were identified prior to the beginning of the study. By the use of a constraint structure, parameters were established for acceptable solutions that generated a theory of action for the ill-structured problem. The four criteria of explanatory accuracy, effectiveness, coherence and improvability were used in theory adjudication (Robinson 1993). Critical dialogue was used between the researcher and participants to collectively make decisions and solve problems through the exchange of the best possible information.<p>The study suggested implications for organizational theory that could better enable administrators and staff to address this ill-structured problem. The isolation and lack of resources oblige staff to create conditions conducive to inquiry and learning (Schon 1983). In the case of initial solutions the theories in action were similar, suggesting that assumptions surrounding the role of contextual factors caused by the heterogeneous nature of the schools are misleading. Prior to the study by Godel et al. (2000) lack of diagnosis diffused the urgency of the problem. Following the publication of the data from that study the lack of screening and diagnosis was a major challenge to stakeholders. Generation of data on the children with FASD in northern communities is essential to generate an organizational and professional focus.

Background: Sleep disorders have been poorly described in children and adolescents diagnosed with FASD. The objective of this study is to describe the sleep and circadian rhythm characteristics of children with FASD using overnight polysomnography, sleep questionnaires, and the Dim Light Melatonin Onset (DLMO) test. To our knowledge, no comprehensive studies of this nature have been conducted. Methods: Children ages 6-18 years diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) were recruited from various FASD clinics to the Youthdale Child and Adolescent Sleep Centre in Toronto. After medical consultation, each participant had one night of overnight polysomnography, as well as an additional night of DLMO. Participants completed various sleep and FASD questionnaires. Results: Significant differences were found when comparing the sleep architecture of FASD participants to normative data. There was a high prevalence of sleep disorders in this sample. Most of the melatonin profiles of the FASD participants were found to be abnormal.