Health workers unite to combat $1B problem of fetal alcohol disorder
The effects of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder are costing Alberta nearly $1 billion each year, leading to renewed efforts to combat the public health issue.
The disorder is known to be caused by women drinking during pregnancy, but caregivers and educators gathered in Calgary for a two-day conference this week say preventing it is a shared responsibility.
Workers from across the province are sharing information and ideas on how to better prevent FASD, as well as diagnose and support people who have it.
As society’s understanding of FASD has evolved, so has the response, including approaches to prevention.
A new public awareness campaign about to roll out across the province will focus on involving men in FASD prevention.
“How can we support women and their partners to prevent FASD?” said Erin Palashniuk, co-ordinator of the Calgary Fetal Alcohol Network, one of 12 regional organizations established and funded by the Alberta government across the province.
“It’s not just a woman’s responsibility: it’s also her partner and her supports around her.”
FASD is a term used to describe a range of mental, cognitive and behavioural disorders caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol.
Brain damage from alcohol exposure can lead to problems with memory, problems adapting to change in routines and difficulty understanding cause and effect.
The provincial government spends $16.5 million on the FASD networks and associated programs.
Provincial officials don’t have any Alberta-specific statistics on FASD, but research estimates the number is nine in 1,000 babies are born with the condition.
Based on those figures, the government estimates there could be 36,000 Albertans with FASD, with an estimated 450 born with the disorder every year.
The government pegs the annual health, social, educational and correctional costs associated with FASD at nearly $1 billion.
Because FASD is totally preventable, considerable effort goes into spreading the message that any amount of alcohol during pregnancy is unsafe and warning families considering having children of the dangers.
“Start early and build it into more of a health promotion approach,” Palashniuk said.
And the approach isn’t a one-size-fits-all phenomenon: on the Siksika Nation, east of Calgary, a local program incorporates traditional First Nations values.
Children with FASD learn traditional drumming and dancing, as well as receiving guidance from elders on their role in the community as they grow into adults.
“We understand a lot of our kids have identity issues and may feel lost and not connected to community,” said Vanessa Buckskin, FASD clinic co-ordinator for Siksika health services.
However, for that to happen, it’s important to properly diagnose and assess kids with FASD.
“A lot of these children fall through the gaps,” Buckskin said.
FASD is incurable, but the proper diagnosis and support can allow people to overcome it, Buckskin added.
One program helping students with FASD in junior and senior high schools is already having a positive influence.
The Wellness Resilience and Partnership (WRAP) program employs 14 coaches who work with 175 students throughout the province.
“One of the things we see with the success coaches is kids are staying in school longer,” Tracy Mastrangelo said of the WRAP program, which is in its fifth year.
In the third year of the program, the 161 students enrolled in WRAP completed 87 per cent of their courses, Mastrangelo said.
Keeping children with FASD in school and supporting them when they are young gives them a better chance of success when they become adults and “age out” of government programs for students,” said Mastrangelo.
“The outlook for people with FASD in Alberta is very bright,” she said.