Publications

This study aims to understand service users' experiences at a recently established student-led interprofessional neurodevelopmental clinic for children and adolescents with suspected or confirmed prenatal alcohol exposure.

Underpinned by an Indigenist research methodology, this article presents findings from a collaboration of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples to develop an Australian FASD (FASD) Indigenous Framework during 2021 to 2023. The FASD Indigenous Framework unfolds the changes that non-Aboriginal clinicians and Aboriginal peoples each need to make in their respective ways of knowing, being and doing in order to facilitate access to healing-informed, strengths-based and culturally responsive FASD knowledge, assessment, diagnosis and support services among Aboriginal peoples. These knowledges were mapped against Aboriginal cultural responsiveness and wellbeing frameworks and collaboratively and iteratively reflected upon throughout. This article brings together Aboriginal wisdom (strengths-based, healing-informed approaches grounded in holistic and integrated support) and Western wisdom (biomedicine and therapeutic models) in relation to FASD.

There have been significant advances in assessment processes and diagnostic criteria since the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure were first described in the medical literature. However, a key issue that continues to plague the FASD field is a lack of agreement regarding terminology, and criteria for describing and diagnosing FASD. A significant opportunity exists for the FASD field to work together and utilise the best available evidence to advance an empirically based approach to FASD diagnosis.

The FASD Research Australia Centre of Research Excellence (CRE) was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council to generate and translate evidence to address prevention, diagnosis, and management of FASD in Australia. Published in 2022, this paper describes the approach to policy and practice impact taken by this CRE, including stakeholder engagement processes and the key principles that underlie the approach. The publication provides examples of policy and practice influence in FASD prevention, diagnosis and management that have been achieved over the past five years and discusses challenges that are routinely faced in the translation of work.

This review paper gives a comprehensive overview of FASD research globally. This paper includes a review of: international prevalence of FASD; the mechanisms and pathophysiology of prenatal alcohol exposure; diagnosis, screening and prevention; management; quality of life; and outlook.

Early diagnosis of children with FASD assists in implementing critical early support. The challenge lies in having a diagnostic process that enables valid and reliable assessment of domains of functioning in young children, with the added complexity that many children will also have co-occurring exposure to childhood adversity that is likely to impact these domains. This study examines diagnostic assessment of FASD in young children using the Australian Guide to the Diagnosis of FASD. Ninety-four children (aged 3 to 7 years) with confirmed or suspected prenatal alcohol exposure were referred to two specialist FASD clinics for assessment in Queensland, Australia.