As I walk into the classroom as a newly graduated teacher, I see children — each with unique abilities, interests and an eagerness to learn. This Ontario classroom was designed to be inclusive — a space where all students, regardless of their needs, can thrive.
https://theconversation.com/the-most-prevalent-disability-in-classrooms-may-be-fasd-and-supporting-students-is-vital-272553
CBC (Canada) - New 'Clear Skies Tent' aims
to help people with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder connect with culture
A new safe space to help with sensory regulation for people living with
fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) and prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) has
just made its debut at the annual Yukon First Nations Health and Wellness
Summit.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/fasd-yukon-clear-skies-tent-9.7069232
North Dallas Gazette - Inadequate Nutrition
and Lower Education Linked to Worse Outcomes for Children Exposed to Alcohol in
Utero
A new study addresses the puzzle of why heavy drinking throughout pregnancy
leads to widely varying outcomes for children.
https://northdallasgazette.com/2026/02/04/inadequate-nutrition-and-lower-education-linked-to-worse-outcomes-for-children-exposed-to-alcohol-in-utero/
News-Medical - Study examines the
effectiveness of urine testing as a screening tool for alcohol use in pregnancy
Data on alcohol consumption by pregnant women in Ireland has previously
only been collected through self-reporting in questionnaires, which may give an
incomplete picture of consumption.
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20260218/Study-examines-the-effectiveness-of-urine-testing-as-a-screening-tool-for-alcohol-use-in-pregnancy.aspx
Medical Xpress (Ireland) - Most pregnant
women in Ireland avoid alcohol, research shows
Alcohol consumption during early pregnancy in Ireland is significantly
lower than previously reported, according to new research. Previous estimates,
based largely on self-reported data, suggested that between 20% and 60% of
pregnant women in Ireland consumed alcohol.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-pregnant-women-ireland-alcohol.html
Daily Mail - If your mother drank even a
little alcohol during pregnancy you're far more likely to struggle with a
dangerous habit, research suggests
Women who drink alcohol during pregnancy are more likely to have children
who grow up vulnerable to alcohol dependence, a major study suggests.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-15521025/mom-pregnancy-disease-alcoholism-dopamine.html
Girls, Women, Alcohol, and Pregnancy - Finding
Opportunities for Women’s Resistance and Recovery when Alcohol is Increasingly
‘Pink’
Understanding the factors that contribute to alcohol use in pregnancy is
important. The research continues to highlight that factors associated with
prenatal alcohol use include informational factors (e.g., not knowing about the
risks of alcohol use during pregnancy), stress-related factors (e.g.,
experiencing violence), social determinant of health-related factors (e.g.,
socioeconomic status), and preconception and pregnancy-related factors (e.g.,
using substances before pregnancy).
https://fasdprevention.wordpress.com/2026/02/03/finding-opportunities-for-womens-resistance-and-recovery-when-alcohol-is-increasingly-pink/
VIDEOS
Formed Families Forward YouTube - Understanding the Diagnosis of FASD (FASD
Webinar Series Winter 2026)
Broadcast live on January 13, 2026, this webinar was presented by Ali
Sturgill, PNP and Stephanie McNerney, PNP of the University of Virginia
Neurodevelopmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. It overviews fetal alcohol
spectrum disorders (FASD) and details specifics of the medical diagnosis of the
condition, including signs at various developmental stages.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UnkJL0GjMA
FASDSUCCESS - FASD & Brain
Connectivity: Dr. Raja Mukherjee on Why "Behavior" is Biology
Dr. Raja Mukherjee joins Jeff to explain how prenatal alcohol exposure
impacts brain connectivity, revealing that many struggles with regulation and
memory aren't character flaws, but the result of different regions of the brain
struggling to communicate with each other.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvl1kXWQqKQ
CanFASD - FASD Innovation in Action:
Claudette Bradshaw Award Presentation
In this webinar recording, the 2025 recipient of the Claudette Bradshaw
FASD Innovation Award, the Enviros Neurodevelopmental Diagnostic Clinic,
presents its Transitions to Positive Futures program.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0nwWZ7hUa4
Formed Families Forward YouTube - Occupational
Therapy and FASD: Supporting Individuals and Families Across the Lifespan
Broadcast live on January 20, 2026, this webinar was presented by Misty
Pruner, PhD, OTR/L and Tracy Jirikowic, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA of the University of
Washington, Seattle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP_2pTzOVtc
FASDSUCCESS - Why Degrees Don't Fix Fetal
Alcohol Dysregulation w/ Carrie McCarter
In this episode of The FASD Success Show, Jeff Noble sits down with Carrie
McCarter a speech pathologist with a master’s degree and over two decades of
experience in early intervention.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7UJh3m9ZAA
Avoiding the Addiction Affliction - Fetal
Alcohol Spectrum Disorder" with Guida Brown
„Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs) is often overlooked,
misdiagnosed, and understudied. Individuals with FASDs and their families also
face persistent stigma, negative stereotypes, and harmful biases, due to public
misunderstandings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWkUhFF7fHM
CISUR - Let’s Act! Bill S-234: A national
FASD framework
Part of the Canadian Alcohol Policy Evaluation (CAPE) Community of Practice
event series. This session, co-presented by CanFASD, featured Senator
Mohamed-Iqbal Ravalia speaking about the background and core elements of Bill
S-234, why he is passionate about this issue, and the steps required for the
Bill to become an Act.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDYpb3NLZEo
Adoptive and Foster Family Coalition of New
York - Workshop 13A:Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders from a Trauma Lens with
Barb Clark | AFFCNY
In child welfare, we see high rates of children who have been prenatally
exposed to alcohol and drugs along with high levels of in-utero stress, which
can have a significant impact on a child’s brain development. Although fetal
alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are twice as common as autism, this disorder
often goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRNiT_I4WiY
FASD Hub Scotland and FASD Hub UK - Wednesday
Webinar with Dr Dr Maude Champagne
Decoding Aggression, Complex Behaviours and Brain Based Disabilities
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UBaQSVRQZE
Beyond 6 Seconds - Neurodivergent
communication differences (Autism, FASD, ADHD and more) -- with Patti Kasper
This episode is a special collaboration between Beyond 6 Seconds and the
Living with FASD podcast hosted by @PatriciaKasperYourFASDCoach. Fetal alcohol
spectrum disorders (FASD) are lifelong conditions caused by prenatal alcohol
exposure that can impact physical, cognitive, and behavioral development.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHSPtkomsRQ
Patricia Kasper, Your FASD Coach - Passage
of the FASD Respect Act: Next Steps in Advocacy
In this episode of Living with FASD, Patti talks with FASD United’s Jen
Wisdahl and Susan Shepard Carlson about the recent signing of the FASD Respect
Act into law, highlighting the journey of advocacy that led to this significant
achievement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olge0rVq89Q
FASD Hub Scotland and FASD Hub UK - Wednesday
Webinar with Eileen Devine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9al76Q0y5c
RESEARCH
International Journal of Molecular Sciences - Comprehensive Analysis of the
Placenta–Cortex Transcriptomic Database Reveals a Neuroactive Ligand–Receptor
Dysregulation After Prenatal Alcohol Exposure
Neuroplacentology is an emerging field of research supporting that the
placenta actively contributes to the fetal brain development through the
release of bioactive molecules.
https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/4/1819
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research
- The fundamentals of Fetal
Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Evaluation of an awareness-raising webinar
Health professionals in the UK and internationally often lack knowledge of
prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).
Raising awareness of PAE and FASD across health and social care sectors is
vital to support Scotland’s implementation of neurodevelopmental pathways.
https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/publications/the-fundamentals-of-fetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorder-evaluation-of/
Neurotoxicology and Teratology
- Profiles of polysubstance exposure in youth with fetal alcohol spectrum
disorders and the association with neurodevelopmental outcomes
Findings highlight heterogeneity in neuropsychological outcomes based on
distinct patterns of prenatal polysubstance exposures. Neuropsychological
assessment remains essential for capturing this variability and informing
individualized, exposure-responsive care.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0892036226000012
AlterNative: An
International Journal of Indigenous Peoples - Māori caregivers’ experiences
of parenting a person with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder
The findings show that Māori caregivers face great adversity in providing
the best possible care for their children living with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum
Disorder, and that they sacrifice a great deal in terms of their health or
finances, alongside battling for basic supports and resources for their
children.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/11771801251409088
Alcohol: Clinical and
Experimental Research - An examination of child outcomes and predictors of
severity when prenatal alcohol exposure is frequent and heavy
Higher maternal body weight and a BMI between 25 and 29 appear to be
protective for the offspring. Long-term adequate nutrition and less alcohol
consumption in the third trimester may protect highly exposed children from the
most severe and negative outcomes.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/acer.70228
BMJ open - Establishing
the prevalence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder among young people in Youth
Justice residences in Aotearoa, New Zealand: a study protocol
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a diagnostic term that describes
the neurodevelopmental and physical effects resulting from prenatal exposure to
alcohol.
https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/16/2/e107208.abstract
Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology
and Biological Psychiatry - Prenatal alcohol exposure and the retrosplenial
cortex: Structural and functional mechanisms across species
The retrosplenial cortex (RSC) is a structurally and functionally complex
hub with broad connectivity, integrating sensory inputs, cognitive states, and
memory to guide behavior. It supports perspective transformation, predictive
modeling, and memory retrieval, making it critical for navigation, executive
function, and higher cognition.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0278584626000291
medRxiv - Prenatal
alcohol exposure and the development of multiple risk behaviours in
adolescence: A birth cohort study
This study supports the UK Chief Medical Officer’s Low Risk Drinking
Guidelines that the safest approach if pregnant, or if there is a possibility
of becoming pregnant, is to avoid drinking alcohol, with the more alcohol
consumed during pregnancy the greater the risks of long-term harm to the baby.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.29.26345107v1
IN OTHER LANGUAGES
Fördermagazin Sekundarstufe (Germany) - FASD ‒ die große „Unbekannte“
FASD ist eine noch recht
unbekannte und vor allem gemiedene Diagnose. Jährlich kommen etwa 14.000 Kinder
mit dieser, durch pränatalen Alkoholkonsum verursachten, Störung zur Welt.
https://elibrary.utb.de/doi/abs/10.5555/fsek-1-2026_07
La Presse Médicale
Formation (Italy) - Alcool et grossesse. Un risque évitable trop banalisé
La grossesse est une fenêtre d’opportunité pour aborder la question de
l’alcool qui est la substance psychoactive la plus consommée en France mais
aussi la plus dangereuse pour le fœtus.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666479826000108
Chaos im Kopf Podcast
- Dein FASD Podcast (Germany) - Das FASD-Bermudadreieck C92
Manchmal fühlt sich Alltag mit FASD an wie ein Leben im Bermuda-Dreieck –
Dinge und Informationen verschwinden spurlos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvQeV31grXM
