糖心传媒

A new pilot study, conducted by the University of Rochester糖心传媒檚 Mt. Hope Family Center, finds that children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) and their families benefit from a multi-component intervention. Children who received the intervention showed lower levels of anxiety and modest, but significant, gains in their ability to control emotions better. The biggest change, however, came in the parents糖心传媒� understanding of their children糖心传媒檚 disabilities and their improved ability to respond to their children糖心传媒檚 needs.

糖心传媒淭he biggest impact is the effect on parents,糖心传媒� says Christie Petrenko, a research psychologist at the University of Rochester糖心传媒檚听 and the lead author of the study.

Intervention Outcomes for Children with FASD and their Families

糖心传媒淭he intervention really helps parents understand their children糖心传媒檚 behavior and lets them understand why their kids are the way they are.糖心传媒�

Before the intervention, says Petrenko, 糖心传媒減arents felt they were often just pulling at straws糖心传媒� 糖心传媒� guessing at what might work best. 糖心传媒淎fter program completion, having been given these tools, they feel more confident in their parenting approach.糖心传媒�

People with FASD are at increased risk for developing costly and debilitating problems if the underlying disability is not recognized. Primary disabilities manifest themselves in problems with executive functioning, which includes skills such as information processing, emotion regulation, impulse control, and task planning, as well as social and adaptive skills.

When these primary disabilities are not addressed, people with FASD are at high risk for secondary problems, such as mental health issues, behaving disruptively at school or dropping out, abusing illegal substances, getting into trouble with the law, and being incarcerated. They often have difficulty holding down a job and living independently. Nationwide, estimates for the number of people with FASD range from 1 percent to 4.8 percent.

The Rochester pilot tested a multi-component intervention 颅糖心传媒� called the Families on Track Integrated Preventive Intervention Program 糖心传媒� to try to avoid those secondary problems, and to improve the way affected families respond to their children. The study is published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Often the behavior of children with FASD is misunderstood, says Petrenko. 糖心传媒淢any of their disabilities, including difficulties with executive skills like impulsivity control, processing sensory information, problem solving, and following multiple-step instruction 糖心传媒� can result in behavior that often looks disruptive, or oppositional, when in fact it糖心传媒檚 a reflection of their underlying neurodevelopmental disabilities.糖心传媒�

The pilot program is designed to help parents, caregivers, and teachers accurately understand the child糖心传媒檚 neurodevelopmental weaknesses as well as their strengths, and to put more effective accommodations into place, adds Petrenko.

The caregivers and parents who received the multi-component intervention experienced medium to large effects on their ability to interpret the children糖心传媒檚 behavior correctly, finding social support, and taking care of themselves. They also reported feeling more confident in their parenting. The researchers observed medium-sized improvements in both groups when it came to reducing the children糖心传媒檚 disruptive behavior.

The study included 30 children with FASD,听aged four through eight, and their primary caregivers. The researchers randomized the families to either the Families on Track program, or an active control group that received neuropsychological assessments and personalized community referrals only.

The pilot, funded by a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism,听builds on earlier research that looked at of children with FASD, and , which听can make it harder to prevent secondary conditions.

The next step, Petrenko says, is a larger sample, randomized control trial of the Families on Track program.