Strategy and structure essential for children with FAS disorders

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Many children are labeled as hyperactive, or as having attention deficit, personality or social behavior disorders, when "what we are dealing with is probably one of the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) disorders," says Joy Regan, a social worker and FAS consultant.

Regan and Tina Gelasco of People Works Consulting presented an FAS workshop at the Dreamcatcher Youth Conference in Edmonton over the Oct. 12 weekend.

The syndrome is a pattern of mental and physical defects that may develop in a fetus when the mother drinks alcohol during pregnancy. When alcohol is introduced into the bloodstream of a pregnant woman, it interferes with the ability of the fetus to receive sufficient oxygen for normal brain cell development.

Sometimes it takes six to eight weeks for a woman to realize she is pregnant, said Regan. By then, the fetus has gone through several weeks of critical development. Damage may consist of developmental interruptions, holes or deformities and is irreversible.

"The only way to know if a person has FAS is to do an autopsy, which is done only on dead people. We have to assume any prenatal exposure to alcohol causes FAS," said Regan.

Some babies with alcohol-related birth defects don't have all FAS symptoms.

"There is a small 18-hour window in the ninth week (of pregnancy) where you actually get the facial features that will give the diagnosis of FAS. If mom, no matter who this mom is, didn't drink for those 18 hours, the child has no facial features of the syndrome and does not get the syndrome diagnosis. But he has all the disabilities, all the learning problems, all the behavioral issues," said Gelasco. These defects are called Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE).

The fetus' vulnerability to brain damage depends on the stage of development in which alcohol is encountered.

"They used to say that the first two weeks of pregnancy were safe, and alcohol would not affect a baby in that period. Now it's scientifically proven that the fetus' brain is beginning development two days after conception, so there is no safe time," said Gelasco.

Studies suggest that drinking a large amount of alcohol at any one time may be more dangerous than drinking small amounts more frequently, said Gelasco.

"It's very common of people to drink occasionally, on weekends. That's what causes the most brain damage.

"What we're trying to teach mothers-to-be is 'You may be able to have a drink that will not have any effect on your child-but are you willing to take that chance?' We don't know what (alcohol amount) is safe."

Men's behavior before conception is as important to fetal development.

"After a drink, the DNA of male sperm is altered and takes three months to come back to normal."

"Many times we don't know children are affected until much later in life. If we could get the structure into place when they're infants and keep it there, it would make life way easier for them and for the caregiver," said Regan.

Children should be diagnosed when they're very young to get services early and to establish a structured environment at home and school, she added.

Attendees learned it's important for parents to understand what's wrong and to develop a proper attitude towards their child's behavior.

For example, shift from seeing the child as bad, to understanding him as frustrated; from mean, to defensive and hurt; from fussy, to oversensitive; from not trying, to exhausted; and from inappropriate, to not understanding proprieties.

Parents should teach him a coping strategy acceptable to society, which he can use his whole life, said the consultants.

Prince Charles School in Edmonton has an alternative Aboriginal program for kindergarten students to grade four. Assistant principal Judy Toews says they have many high need children for whom they apply a different approach to discipline.

The school has little rocking chairs in the main office and a fish tank. If children are having a difficult time in the classroom, they sit n these chairs and rock. Rocking is a very soothing action for them, said Toews.

"Sometimes all they need is 10 or 15 minutes of rocking instead of a time-out. It's a friendlier way to get them out of whatever it was that they were in in the classroom," she added.

Toews said a doctor doing research on FAS comes to the school once a month and has shown them slides illustrating brain damage.

"It gives so much understanding why one day they know something, are able to sit at the desk and retell the story you've read-or do a math question-and the next day it's gone. As an educator you get frustrated . . . . Now that we can see what's going on, it makes perfect sense why they just are unable to retain some of the information we're trying to teach them," Toews said.