Awareness and Proper Support Can Help People with FASD Flourish
A national strategy on fetal alcohol spectrum disorder would improve prevention, diagnosis, and support for patients and families.
About 1 in 25 Canadians has fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) — more than autism, cerebral palsy, and Down syndrome combined. Yet awareness of FASD lags far behind that of these other neurodevelopmental conditions.
FASD is a lifelong disability that affects the brain and body of people who were exposed to alcohol in the womb. People with FASD experience significant challenges with cognitive, behavioural, and socio-emotional functioning. In addition, alcohol exposure during fetal development is often associated with adverse outcomes, including early life instability and trauma, ongoing victimization, and difficulties with independence, employment, and daily living.
When they don’t receive the proper support, people with FASD are more likely to experience substance use challenges, involvement in the criminal justice and child welfare system, challenges succeeding in school, emotional and physical abuse, and homelessness. More than 90 percent of people with FASD experience mental illness.
But with adequate supports, people with FASD can flourish and succeed, says Audrey McFarlane, Executive Director of the Canada FASD Research Network (Can FASD), an interdisciplinary network with collaborators, researchers, and partners across the country.
Standing up for those living with FASD
Support for FASD varies widely across the country, which is why Can FASD is calling for a national FASD strategy. “A national FASD strategy will give our provinces and territories an evidence-based direction that can improve FASD prevention, diagnosis, and support to help Canadians with FASD reach their full potential. It will also reduce the economic burden on taxpayers,” says McFarlane. When people with FASD aren’t properly supported, it’s estimated to cost taxpayers about $9.7 billion per year, including impacts on the criminal justice system, health care, education, and social services.
“We need to understand the challenges people with FASD face, but also their contributions and strengths,” says McFarlane. “We need to provide them with the proper programs and services that can help them do incredible things.”
We need to understand the challenges people with FASD face, but also their contributions and strengths.