Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is an important
social issue in Manitoba fraught with misconceptions and communications
challenges. Communicating with Manitobans about FASD is difficult because
people’s thoughts about this issue hinge on deeply held and widely shared
beliefs about motherhood, substance use, choice, responsibility, and morality.
To engage members of the public in thinking about FASD in ways that boost
support for the policies and programs that are necessary to address it,
communicators need an empirically based framing strategy that anticipates and
redirects public thinking.