Foetal Alcohol Syndrome
National Organisation for Foetal Alcohol Syndrome And Related Disorders (NOFASARD)
Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), Foetal Alcohol Effects (FAE), Alcohol Related Neurodevelopmental Disorders (ARND) and Alcohol Related Birth Defects (ARBD) are all names for a spectrum of disorders that potentially result from pregnant women consuming alcohol.
Alcohol is a teratogen ie. an environmental agent that causes malformation of the embryo and the developing foetus. The effects of teratogen’s can cause functional deficits in individuals. Alcohol’s teratogenic effects on the developing foetus causes FAS/FAE/ARND/ARBD. The brain and the central nervous system of the unborn child are particularly sensitive to prenatal alcohol exposure and this can lead to long-term developmental disabilities.
How much alcohol is safe?
Researchers have not been able to determine a safe level for alcohol consumption for pregnant women. However, they do know that damage to the foetus varies due to the volume of alcohol ingested, timing during pregnancy, peak blood alcohol levels, genetic factors and environmental factors.
Alcohol can damage the foetus throughout the pregnancy. It crosses the placenta freely and produces equivalent concentrations in foetal circulation to that in the mother. Studies conclude that the developing brain can be injured even at low alcohol exposure levels.
To avoid damage to your unborn baby, the safest advice is “no alcohol if trying to conceive, during pregnancy and while breastfeeding”
Please don’t be alarmed if you are already pregnant and have been drinking alcohol - it is never too late in a pregnancy to stop drinking.
Diagnosis & Prognosis
FAS/FAE/ARND/ARBD is a lifetime disability. It is not curable, however early diagnosis and appropriate intervention can make an enormous difference to the life/prognosis of the person with the disability.
If there is documented or anecdotal evidence of alcohol use by a mother during her pregnancy then the possibility that her child has FAS/FAE/ARND/ARBD MUST be considered. An individual who receives a correct diagnosis is in a much better position to benefit from intervention than one who is not diagnosed or mis-diagnosed and receives only partial treatment. Lack of diagnosis means the adoption of inappropriate and ineffective traditional interventions that can lead to the development of secondary disabilities.
Primary Characteristics
Toddlers/PreSchoolers
Irregular sleep patterns -
Failure to thrive - height and weight growth deficiency
Lack of ability to make and keep friends on their own
Lacking in normal abilities to distinguish friend from enemy
Difficult to manage out in public
Danger to self and others because they do not grasp the universal laws of cause and effect
Deficient in the normal sequential learning abilities in reasoning, judgement and memory
Highly manipulative
Sometimes medically fragile
Children
Impulsive, unpredicatable and mischievous, creating ongoing safety hazards, e.g. setting fires and running away.
Uneven sleep patterns
Innately skilled in manipulative tactics
Desperate for stimulation and excitement to keep them happy
Emotionally volatile and often exhibit wide mood swings throughout the day
Often disconnected from their own feelings and are unable to identify or express logical reasons behind their volatile outbursts or behaviour
Void of natural empathy for others
Often isolated and lonely because the desire to be included remains intact while the reasoning skill to figure out why they are excluded is lacking
May struggle to master basic skills in literacy and numeracy, money concepts and time
Deficits in memory, reasoning and judgement
Adolescents
Still in need of limits and protection because of their deficits in reasoning, judgement and memory
At high risk of being drawn into anti-social behaviour such as lying, stealing and addicition to legal and illegal drugs
Unable to easily distinguish between friends and enemies
Often obsessed by primal impulses such as sexual activity and fire setting
Able to recover from emotional crises VERY quickly
Judgement and reasoning skills seriously impaired
Safety menace to themselves and others
Unaware or negligent of normal hygiene responsibilities
Extremely vulnerable to suggestions in movies, videos, advertisements etc.
Unable, not unwilling to take responsibility for their actions
Volatility - rage and strong emotions
Secondary Disabilities
Without the correct diagnosis and interventions individuals with FAS/FAE/ARND/ARBD experience a high prevalence of secondary disabilities such as:
Mental health problems
Early school dropout
Homelessness
Confinement in a residential treatment or correctional facility
Inappropriate sexual behaviour
Alcohol & Drug problems
Employment problems
May be unable to handle independent living
*Source: National Organisation for Foetal Alcohol Syndrome And Related Disorders (NOFASARD)
