Advocacy groups and disabled learners are celebrating a significant human rights victory after overwhelming support was shown for a landmark resolution recognising the rights of people with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) within New Zealand’s education and disability frameworks.
https://waateanews.com/2025/12/13/a-landmark-win-for-disabled-learners-as-fasd-community-backs-human-rights-resolution/
The Cap Times - Schools need to recognize
fetal alcohol challenges
A teacher watches a student struggle to follow yesterday’s lesson. The
child can’t remember the sequence or connect cause to effect, so the teacher
sees defiance and laziness.
https://captimes.com/opinion/guest-columns/opinion-schools-need-to-recognize-fetal-alcohol-challenges/article_d9160a4b-3452-400a-96c5-6c96e9966fb3.html
Quiver Quantitative (USA) - Murkowski and
Klobuchar Announce Passage of FASD Respect Act to Support Affected Individuals
Senators Murkowski and Klobuchar celebrate the signing of the FASD Respect
Act, enhancing support for individuals affected by FASD.
https://www.quiverquant.com/news/Press+Release%3A+Murkowski+and+Klobuchar+Announce+Passage+of+FASD+Respect+Act+to+Support+Affected+Individuals
The Conversation (South Africa) - South
Africa needs to rethink how it measures intellectual and developmental
disabilities – what’s lacking
The effective planning and delivery of services for people with
intellectual and developmental disabilities in South Africa is severely
constrained by the lack of reliable data.
https://theconversation.com/south-africa-needs-to-rethink-how-it-measures-intellectual-and-developmental-disabilities-whats-lacking-268497
Citybuzz (USA) - Texas Tech Student
Receives FASD Scholarship, Highlights Need for Better Understanding in Social
Work
Amelia Hernandez, a junior at Texas Tech University majoring in Social
Work, has been named the recipient of the 2025 Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
Scholarship.
https://www.citybuzz.co/2025/12/12/texas-tech-student-receives-fasd-scholarship-highlights-need-for-better-understanding-in-social-work/
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
(Australia) - Australia's mothers and babies: Alcohol consumption during
pregnancy
The consumption of alcohol is widespread within Australia and entwined with
many social and cultural activities. Alcohol consumption in pregnancy can lead
to poorer perinatal outcomes including low birthweight, being small for
gestational age, pre-term birth and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)
(NHMRC 2020).
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/mothers-babies/australias-mothers-babies/contents/antenatal-period/alcohol
National Organisation for FASD (UK) - National
FASD response to BBC report on adoption breakdown and FASD
Today’s BBC reports on adoption breakdown shines a light on the need for
better information and support for families supporting children with complex
needs, including FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) as mentioned in the
report.
https://nationalfasd.org.uk/response_to_bbc_report_adoption_breakdown_fasd/
NOFAS Policy Center (USA) - FASD Respect
Act Signed into Law, Delivering Support to Individuals with FASD
Thanks to the advocacy of families across the country, the FASD Respect Act
has been signed into law, following passage by the U.S. Congress as part of the
SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act of 2025 (HR.2483).
https://nofaspolicycenter.org/fasd-respect-act-signed-into-law-delivering-support-to-individuals-with-fasd/
FASD-CAN (New Zealand) - Alcohol and Mental
Health Sector Consensus Statement
In May 2025, over 100 stakeholders from the sector came together at an
Alcohol and Mental Health Symposium hosted by our friends at Alcohol
Healthwatch. The ‘Consensus Statement’ resulting from the symposium has
recently been released.
https://www.fasd-can.org.nz/alcohol_and_mental_health_sector_consensus_statement
NOFASD Australia - FASD Advocate Megan
Brown wins Human Rights Award
NOFASD is delighted to congratulate Megan Brown, a member of our Lived
Experience Advisory Group, who was announced at a ceremony in Darwin, as the
recipient of an award in the prestigious NT Human Rights Awards.
https://www.nofasd.org.au/blog/fasd-advocate-megan-brown-wins-human-rights-award/
VIDEOS
ZERO TO THREE - Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Minnesota’s Work on
Assessment, Treatment, and Building a Workforce
ZERO TO THREE’s Financing Policy Project brings together nationally
recognized experts to explore Minnesota’s innovative work to better identify
and support young children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enXcAVwdEXM
FASDSUCCESS - Why Progress in FASD Starts
with One Better Day
In this clip from Episode 179 of The FASD Success Show, Melissa Dobson
shares the advice she gives to parents who feel like they’ll never make it
through another year, week, or even day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGp_AOLaBzM
FASDSUCCESS - Dr. Catherine Lebel on Brain
Growth, Hope & Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Research
In this special episode, Jeff Noble sits down with Dr. Catherine Lebel,
Canada’s leading researcher in FASD brain imaging and Director of the
Developmental Neuroimaging Lab at the University of Calgary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuH88ma54Yg
FASD United (formerly NOFAS) - FASD United
- November 2025 Policy Forum
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM8q6C2h5_8
Patricia Kasper, Your FASD Coach - The
Invisible Struggle Addressing FASD in Child Welfare, with Dr. William Curran
In this compelling episode of Living with FASD, host Patti Kasper engages
with Dr. William Curran, a passionate advocate and researcher in the field of
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Dr. Curran shares his unique journey
into the world of FASD, revealing the pivotal moments that shaped his
understanding of prenatal alcohol exposure and its profound impacts on child
welfare.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl7c_YifT2I
FASD Hub Scotland and FASD Hub UK - Raising
Kids and Teens with FASD: Advice and Strategies to Help Your Family Thrive with
Barb Clark
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLY_FdqdV8g
PCA Families - Practical Strategies for
FASD
FASD Essentials part II: Practical Strategies for daily life presented by
Prue Walker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWcBXtrVQuY
FASDSUCCESS - Turning Sh*% Into Rocket
Fuel: Advocacy, Human Rights, and Real-Life Wins with Melissa Dobson
What if the things that keep knocking you down — the school meetings, the
misunderstandings, the sleepless nights weren’t signs you’re failing, but proof
you’re fighting for your family in systems that weren’t built for them?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ewds-c_g4A0
Radio Kraków - FASD doesn't go away with
age. About children and adults without support
In this episode, we discuss why diagnosing FASD is so difficult—in both
children and adults. What does the diagnostic process look like in Poland? What
challenges do parents face (emotion regulation, difficulties at school,
impulsivity)? And what happens when FASD remains undiagnosed until
adulthood—impacting relationships, work, independence, and mental health?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooKKpAD1co0
RESEARCH
Health & Justice - A content analysis of caregiver perspectives on
strengths and protective factors in youth with FASD and criminal legal system
involvement
Findings contribute to a shared understanding of factors that promote
overall wellbeing for youth with FASD and CLS involvement from a caregiver
perspective.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40352-025-00371-3
IDEAS - Prenatal Conditions and Midlife
Mental Health: Evidence from an Alcohol Policy Experiment
We estimate the long-term mental health impact of an alcohol policy
experiment on individuals exposed to the policy in utero. The policy lasted for
8.5 months and significantly expanded access to alcohol, especially for those
under age 21.
https://ideas.repec.org/p/hhs/vxesta/2025_002.html
Child & Family Social Work - The Lived
Experiences of Adoptive and Foster Parents of Children With Foetal Alcohol
Spectrum Disorder (FASD): A Systematic Review of Parental Stress, Social
Networks and Social Support
This review explores the stress and social environments (social networks,
social capital and social support) of foster and adoptive parents of children
with FASD.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/cfs.70096
Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research - Regional
cerebellum volume anomalies and associated cognitive function in children with
fetal alcohol spectrum disorders
A novel MRI method to evaluate cerebellum morphology in children with FASD
suggests that PAE is associated with cerebellum anomalies in a regionally
specific manner. The data also suggest that structural anomalies of the
cerebellum may have functional consequences for important cognitive skills in
children with FASD.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/acer.70207
Drug and Alcohol Review - Application of a
Minimum Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Threshold for Diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol
Spectrum Disorder: A Retrospective Chart Review
Concerns have been raised that introducing a minimum PAE threshold could
reduce FASD diagnoses. However, this study shows that applying the 2025
criteria retrospectively did not alter diagnostic outcomes for this specific
cohort.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/dar.70082
British Journal of General Practice - Fetal
alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD): how primary care can make a difference
Around 4% of the UK population are living with fetal alcohol spectrum
disorder (FASD) because of prenatal alcohol exposure. For a typical GP practice
of 10 000 patients this means at least 400 people with FASD per practice.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cheryl-Mcquire/publication/398079262_Fetal_alcohol_spectrum_disorder_FASD_how_primary_care_can_make_a_difference/links/692ecea918a6405a30fa7678/Fetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorder-FASD-how-primary-care-can-make-a-difference.pdf
Frontiers in Neuroscience - Differentiating
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder from other neurodevelopmental disorders:
neurocognitive and socio-emotional evidence
Findings support the presence of a distinctive neurocognitive profile in
FASD characterized by generalized cognitive deficits and domain-specific
impairments (particularly in attention, memory, and executive functions).
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnins.2025.1716494/full
Cornell University - Prenatal alcohol
exposure and child cognition: semi-continuous exposures, causal inference and
evidence synthesis
We address the challenge of causal inference status and the dose-response
effects with a semi-continuous exposure. A two-stage approach is proposed using
estimating equation for multiple outcomes with large sample properties derived
for the resulting estimators.
https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.09237
bioRxiv - ACSS2 mediates prenatal alcohol
exposure-related morphological and behavioral phenotypes
The metabolic enzyme Acetyl-CoA Synthetase 2 (ACSS2) recently emerged as an
unexpected regulator of molecular and behavioral changes associated with
alcohol use.
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.26.690774v1.abstract
Children and Youth Services Review - Leveraging
court appointed special advocates to improve outcomes for children involved in
the child welfare system with prenatal alcohol exposure
This study is the first step in harnessing CASAs’ potential to address
systemic child welfare challenges for children with PAE and has broader
implications for CASAs’ potential in addressing multiple facets of child
welfare reform.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0190740925005778
IN OTHER LANGUAGES
Suchttherapie (Germany) - E-Learning für Fachkräfte zur Förderung der
Alkoholabstinenz während der Schwangerschaft: Konzeption, Umsetzung und erste
Erfahrungen
Das E-Learning wurde insgesamt gut angenommen und bewertet.
Herausforderungen zeigen sich durch die heterogene Zielgruppe, so dass eine
stärkere Anpassung an die unterschiedlichen Arbeitskontexte sinnvoll wäre.
https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1055/a-2557-5947
Uniwersytet Papieski Jana Pawła II w Krakowie
(Poland) - Problem braku systemowej pomocy dla dzieci z Fetal Alcohol
Spectrum Disorde (FASD) i ich rodzin w Polsce
W rozdziale Doroty Kumorek omawiane są konsekwencje prenatalnej ekspozycji
na alkohol, prowadzące do powstania Spektrum Płodowych Zaburzeń Alkoholowych
(FASD).
https://monografie.upjp2.edu.pl/wn/catalog/book/178/chapter/829
Suomen Uutiset (Finland) - Antikainen:
FASD-tutkimus saa rahoitusta
Valtiovarainvaliokunta sai valmiiksi mietinnön hallituksen esitykseen
vuoden 2026 talousarviosta. Mietinnössä valiokunta päätti myös niin sanottujen
joululahjarahojen kohdentamisesta ensi vuodelle.
https://www.suomenuutiset.fi/antikainen-fasd-tutkimus-saa-rahoitusta/
NDR (Germany) - "Hand in Hand":
Alkohol in der Schwangerschaft - Noahs Leben mit FASD
Der dreijährige Noah hatte mehrere Promille Alkohol im Blut, als er zur
Welt kam. Er ist körperlich und geistig geschädigt, sein junges Leben stark
beeinträchtigt. Zusammen mit seinen Pflegeeltern hilft ihm der Mirower Verein
"Querleben".
https://www.ndr.de/hand_in_hand_fuer_norddeutschland/hand-in-hand-alkohol-in-der-schwangerschaft-noahs-leben-mit-fasd,fasd-112.html
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