This new task force includes representatives from a broad cross section of the service provider community (see below) and a parent/community member. Since formation in March 2010, the Taskforce has met three times during which Terms of Reference have been developed and ratified; and a draft Prevention Action Plan for Tasmania has been completed. Manager […]

Diagnosis called crucial to addressing FASD The first, and most crucial, step to effectively preventing and addressing fetal alcohol spectrum disorders is diagnosing sufferers, By Justine Davidson on September 28, 2010 at 3:06 pm

The first, and most crucial, step to effectively preventing and addressing fetal alcohol spectrum disorders is diagnosing sufferers, says one of Canada’s leading FASD researchers.

Dr. Sterling Clarren delivered his message to participants at the Walking Together symposium being held today and tomorrow at the High Country Inn Convention Centre.

“Every system is perfectly organized to deliver the results that are achieved,” Clarren said, quoting American doctor and public health care advocate Don Berwick.

“So,” he continued, “it is not an accident when the results are not those that were hoped for.”

The current system, Clarren said, is not effective in assisting people with FASD, nor preventing new babies being born with a fetal alcohol disorder, because there is a major lag in identifying how many Canadians suffer from the brain damage done when a pregnant mother drinks excessively.

The 4th International Conference on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder The Power of Knowledge: Integrating Research, Policy, and Promising Practice around the World March 2 – 5, 2011 The Westin Bayshore Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada This 4th International conference will provide an advanced forum for emerging and cutting edge research, policy and practice that will assist […]

Deborah Brauser

November 4, 2009 (Honolulu, Hawaii) “Psychiatric training in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) is “inaccurate and inadequate,” a national survey of psychiatric trainees reveals.

Presented here at the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 56th Annual Meeting, the survey showed although 40% of respondents reported receiving supervision with a patient with suspected or confirmed FASDs, 70% reported never diagnosing a patient with an FASD, and 51% reported they had never treated a patient with the condition.

In addition, a total of 83% reported they had never used any standardized diagnostic schema at all.

http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/resources/news/mhsurveylaunch Ontario Human Rights Commission

For immediate publication November 16, 2010

Toronto The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) launched a survey today to learn more about the human rights issues and barriers people with mental health and addiction disabilities face. The survey kicks off a broader consultation process on human rights and mental health-related issues.

The questions are aimed at learning how discrimination because of a person’s mental health issue or addiction may affect their ability to find and keep a job, get an apartment or connect with education and health-related services.

National Association of FASD State Coordinators special report states: While most reports state that 10% of pregnant women drink alcohol (including reports by government agencies), the actual figure is 23.7%. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the latest data (2008 survey) indicates that of women in their first trimester of pregnancy, […]

http://7thspace.com/headlines/363550/prenatal_exposure_of_ethanol_induces_increased_glutamatergic_neuronal_differentiation_of_neural_progenitor_cells.html 7th space Interactive

Published on: 2010-11-12 Prenatal ethanol exposure during pregnancy induces a spectrum of mental and physical disorders called fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). The central nervous system is the main organ influenced by FASD, and neurological symptoms include mental retardation, learning abnormalities, hyperactivity and seizure susceptibility in childhood along with the microcephaly.

[Thanks to Julia Greenbaum of CAMH Centre for Addiction & Mental Health] National Addictions Awareness Week: November 14-20, 2010

The Toronto Drug Treatment Court Program (TDTC) has made tremendous strides in keeping those with addiction and non-violent legal issues out of prison and in treatment programs where they can recover.

One area that has been a challenge for the TDTC has been the low rates of women applying to the program and engaging those who have applied. “Our program is rumoured to be ‘too hard’,” says Nick Doukas, Court Liaison at CAMH’s TDTC program. “The client feedback we received indicates that lack of housing is a factor that leads women to go back to abusive or unsupportive relationships.”

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2010/11/10/team.colors.cans.change.perceptions.alcohol.risks.mu.study.finds e! science news

Published: Wednesday, November 10, 2010 – 16:35 in Psychology & Sociology

Underage and heavy drinking on college campuses continue to be issues for college administrators. While some campuses, such as the University of Missouri, have made strides in efforts to reduce heavy drinking on campus, administrators are continually trying to educate students about the risks of excessive drinking. Now, two MU psychologists have found that students who viewed images of beer cans packaged and displayed in university colors believed that drinking beer was less dangerous than those students who saw images of regular beer cans. “In this research, we wanted to determine if certain marketing strategies had an effect on whether individuals felt that a certain behavior – in this case, drinking beer – was more or less dangerous,” said Chris Loersch, a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Psychological Sciences in the MU College of Arts and Science. “We found that when people identify themselves with a certain group, such as a college or university, and if that group ‘endorses’ a product, people assume the product is safe.”

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2010/11/16/eyeblink.conditioning.may.help.assessing.children.with.fetal.alcohol.exposure e! Science News

Published: Tuesday, November 16, 2010 – 16:36 in Psychology & Sociology

• Cognitive and behavioral deficits have been found in children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), which is extremely difficult to diagnose
• New findings indicate that those children, when trained using classical eyeblink conditioning, suffer from deficits in both learning and memory
• Using eyeblink conditioning could provide a good model for assessing and diagnosing FAS in children