Project
Predictors of Positive Academic and Behavioural Outcomes in Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
Principal Investigator(s): Devon Palmer; phone: 306-773-3473 or 306-655-1111; email: sasklife@yahoo.com
Start/End Date: January 2006 – August 2006
Location: Saskatoon, SK
Brief Description: Research on the prenatal effects of teratogenic substances, such as alcohol, on developmental processes has paralleled a conceptual shift in psychology from a focus on identifying deficits to one that aims to identify those attributes and characteristics that serve to ameliorate or decrease the negative influences of being at risk (i.e., those adaptational and developmental processes that contribute to strength and resiliency). Unfortunately, while our knowledge about gestational exposure effects and their relationship to various developmental outcomes is expanding, we know very little about what protective factors are linked to positive behavioural and academic adjustment in children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). The current study considers whether executive functioning as measured by the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), Internal Locus of Control as assessed by the Behaviour Assessment System for Children, Second Edition, Self Report of Personality (BASC-2-PRS) and IQ as measured by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) predict positive behavioral and academic outcomes in children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). The sample will consist of 15 – 30 children between the ages of 10 and 17 who have been diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), Alcohol Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder (ARND), or partial-FAS (pFAS) as per the Institute of Medicine and/or Health Canada. Knowing what variables are predictive of behavioral and academic outcomes will give researchers target areas to develop and enhance within each child diagnosed with FAS, pFAS, and ARND. This would be accomplished using goals, assessments, strategies, and evaluations in the fields of prevention, intervention and treatment as they pertain to FASD. Thus, despite their spectrum of disability, children with FASD and those that support them both personally and professionally can be provided with the specific tools to increase the possibility of success behaviourally and academically, and therefore increase the potential of improved mental health both on an individual level and on a population-based level.
Time Frame: completed
Kind of Project: research
Population Served: urban and rural children aged 10 -17
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