Understanding Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: A Guide to Fasd for Parents, Carers and Professionals

169 Pages·2014·0.64 MB·English

by  Maria Catterick

Size: 246x173
Spine width: 9mm
‘This book calls for appropriate assessments and interventions, and a collaborative approach to supporting
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the complex needs of individuals with FASD. This message is one that needs to be heard far and wide! N
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Written in easy to understand language, this informative book is a “must” for anyone caring for or working
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in the field of FASD – the tools and strategies for success cover a wealth of practical and helpful tips.’ R R
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–Bernadette Howell, adoptive mother of two sons diagnosed with FASD TA E
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‘This is a guide that is long overdue. The authors…have put together a fabulous resource that provides an
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easy-to-read guide for individuals dealing with this important issue… [T]his guide does an outstanding job E A
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in putting FASD into perspective within a single resource.’ A
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–From the Foreword by Dr Ed Riley, Director, Center for Behavioral Technology, San Diego State A
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University, USA C
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Understanding Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a useful introduction to the most common O
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non-genetic learning disability, which is caused by alcohol consumption during pregnancy.
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Written by two FASD experts, it describes how alcohol can harm the fetus and disrupt development, and C P
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explains how FASD affects individuals at different stages of their lives. With the aid of simple, illustrative R K
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diagrams, photographs and charts, it shows how you can identify FASD and gives guidance on how M J
mothers at risk can be helped. It also provides advice for parents or carers on how children, young people D
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and adults with FASD can be best supported.
O
R
D UNDERSTANDING
Accessible and informative, this is the essential guide to FASD for social workers, family placement teams, E
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child protection workers, foster carers, adoptive parents, midwives and teachers.
M FETAL ALCOHOL
Maria Catterick trained as a social worker and has 30 years’ practical experience of A
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working in the voluntary and community sector. She has been a foster carer for 10 years IA
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and is founder of the FASD Network UK which supports families affected by pre-natal A
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alcohol exposure. In 2013 she received the Prime Minister’s Big Society Award for her work. E SPECTRUM A GUIDE TO
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Liam Curran is an Independent Social Worker and certified FASD educator and trainer. AN FASD FOR
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He is currently a Director at Arc Adoption, Dublin, Ireland. He has over 25 years’ L DISORDER
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experience working with young people in residential homes, child and family social work M PARENTS,
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and children’s disability services social work. He lives in Montreal, Canada, and travels U
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widely lecturing and training on FASD-related issues. R
A CARERS AND
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PROFESSIONALS
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
73 Collier Street
London N1 9BE, UK
400 Market Street, Suite 400
Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
www.jkp.com MARIA CATTERICK AND
Cover design by Blue Box Design JKP LIAM CURRAN
Understanding Fetal Alcohol
Spectrum Disorder
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Understanding Fetal Alcohol
Spectrum Disorder
A Guide to FASD for Parents, Carers and Professionals
Maria Catterick and Liam Curran
Foreword by Edward P. Riley PhD
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
London and Philadelphia
Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and to obtain their permission for
the use of copyright material. The authors and the publisher apologise for any omissions and would
be grateful if notified of any acknowledgements that should be incorporated in future reprints or
editions of this book.
First published in 2014
by Jessica Kingsley Publishers
73 Collier Street
London N1 9BE, UK
and
400 Market Street, Suite 400
Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
www.jkp.com
Copyright © Maria Catterick and Liam Curran 2014
Foreword copyright © Edwards P. Riley PhD 2014
Photograph copyright (p.53) © Susan Astley PhD, University of Washington 2014
Front cover image source: iStockphoto®. The cover image is for illustrative purposes only, and any
person featuring is a model.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including
photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or
incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright
owner except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or
under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6–10
Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission to
reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publisher.
Warning: The doing of an unauthorised act in relation to a copyright work may result in both a civil
claim for damages and criminal prosecution.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Catterick, Maria.
Understanding fetal alcohol spectrum disorder : a guide to FASD for parents, carers and
professionals /
Maria Catterick and Liam Curran.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-84905-394-5 (alk. paper)
1. Fetal alcohol syndrome. I. Curran, Liam. II. Title.
RG629.F45C42 2014
618.3’26861--dc23
2014007799
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 84905 394 5
eISBN 978 0 85700 758 2
A special dedication to LJ and LH for all your
life lessons, inspiration and smiles.

CONTENTS
Foreword 9
Edward P. Riley, PhD
AUTHORS’ NOTE 11
Introduction 13
1 What is FASD? 17
2 FASD Recognition, Screening and Diagnosis 38
3 FASD Across the Lifespan 60
4 Tools and Strategies for Success 87
5 Supports and Services 119
6 Future Policy and Practice 126
7 FASD – A public health challenge for all 144
AFTERWORD: MAKING PROGRESS IN THE FUTURE 147
APPENDIX – SLEEP ASSESSMENT 151
BIBLIOGRAPHY 153
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 159
SUBJECT INDEX 160
AUTHOR INDEX 165

FOREWORD
This is a guide that is long overdue. The authors, a social worker and a carer,
both with a great deal of experience and understanding of fetal alcohol
spectrum disorder, have put together a fabulous resource that provides
an easy-to-read guide for individuals dealing with this important issue. I
have been studying the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on brain and
behavioral development for over 35 years, and when I began my research
in this area, I was sure it would be a short-term project. Research would
confirm or not the clinical findings of Dr. Ken Jones and Dr. David Smith
in 1973 that alcohol was a teratogen, an agent capable of causing birth
defects. If alcohol was established as a teratogen causing birth defects,
pregnant women and women considering pregnancy would stop drinking
and the problem would be solved.
How naïve I was back then. There is little doubt that within ten years
after the identification of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) by Jones and Smith,
human data, and data collected with animal models clearly established the
damaging effects of prenatal alcohol exposure, prompting the US Surgeon
General to issue a warning about the hazards of alcohol consumption
during pregnancy. But despite another 30 years of research, the warnings,
the public debate about alcohol use during pregnancy, the problem
remains, and it is indeed a staggering problem, and a preventable one.
Having worked in this field for this long, I regularly hear from parents
and caregivers about the problems and issues they face in caring for their
children (regardless of their age) who have fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
(FASD). I often hear ‘I can’t get services …no one seems to understand …
we received a diagnosis but there is no follow through with service …what
will happen to my child when I am no longer able to take care of them.’
This book will certainly help in answering many of these questions.
Maria Catterick and Liam Curran have put together a useful guide
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