人妻少妇专区

September marks . Up to 80 percent of people affected by FASD don鈥檛 even know they have the disability. Rates of diagnosis lag well behind those of other, better-known conditions, such as autism. Yet according to experts, FASD is more prevalent than, for example, Down syndrome and roughly on par with autism, affecting up to 1 in 20 school age children in the US.

What is fetal alcohol spectrum disorder?

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is an umbrella term for a variety of conditions that are related to a child鈥檚 pre-birth exposure to alcohol. FASDs may be associated with specific facial features, growth delays, abnormal brain growth or functioning and neurobehavioral impairment that can affect intellectual functioning, learning, memory, impulse control, and self鈥恟egulation.

Beyond these immediate impairments, people with FASD are also at higher risk for other secondary conditions that have a negative effect on mental health, school, social functioning, employment, and independent living.

These secondary conditions typically emerge during adolescence and adulthood. However, experts agree that early diagnosis and interventions that address the immediate impairments of FASD can help prevent the development of these secondary conditions.

The challenge of executive functioning

鈥淥ne of the biggest challenges that kids with FASD have is with this idea called executive functioning,鈥� says 听a research psychologist at the 人妻少妇专区鈥檚听鈥� It can be difficulties with remembering multi-step instructions, problem solving, controlling impulses, and seeing tasks through from start to finish.鈥� Common parenting strategies often don鈥檛 work as well with children with FASD.

That鈥檚 why a team at the University, led by Petrenko, has been working for years to find ways to improve the lives of people with FASD and their families. One such strategy is a multi-component intervention called Families on Track that Petrenko piloted two years听ago to promising early results, including lower levels of anxiety and modest gains in the children鈥檚 ability to control emotions better.

Families on Track intervention: Progress and remaining questions

Of course, it鈥檚 important to know if interventions produce lasting results. Petrenko鈥檚 team discovered in its , that the Families on Track intervention had continued benefits for families six months after the program ended. These benefits were largest for caregivers, who exhibited continued improvement in their parenting abilities and maintained their prior gains in FASD knowledge.

Although improvements in overall behavior were stable, the initial positive gains for children鈥檚 self鈥恊steem and emotion regulation lessened at the six-month follow鈥恥p, the researchers discovered. Petrenko鈥檚 team, which also included psychology graduate students and , concluded that either continued, or alternative treatments are likely needed for children to maintain any gains.

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