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Glenn Martyn Pearson Symons BA (Education) PhD Candidate B.A. (Hons) PhD. Director of First Nations Strategy and Leadership; Head, First Nations
Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) is associated with growth deficits and neurodevelopmental impairment including foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Difficulties with oral and written communication skills are common among children with PAE; however, less is known about how communication skills of adolescents who have PAE compare with those who do not.
Young people with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) can face significant challenges in their lives, including overrepresentation in the justice system from a young age. Police questioning and court proceedings can be difficult for these young people to navigate. Practice and policy responses are necessary to identify these individuals, provide appropriate support/rehabilitation, and upskill the justice workforce. The aim of this research was to determine the unmet workforce development needs of a regional workforce providing care and support to youth involved with the justice system.
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a condition caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol and characterised by severe neurodevelopmental impairment which have lifelong implications. Impairments in executive function, memory, cognition, language and attention are common, and can lead to early and repeat engagement with the criminal justice system.
This study aims to establish FASD prevalence among sentenced young people in detention in Western Australia (WA)
Aboriginal children living in remote Western Australia have poor visual-motor integration skills regardless of prenatal alcohol exposure or FASD
There was widespread agreement of the need for more information and training about FASD to optimise outcomes for people with FASD engaging with justice system
Soft neurological signs were more common in children with prenatal alcohol exposure or FASD, consistent with the known neurotoxic effect of PAE
Alcohol use in pregnancy is thought to be common in remote Australian communities, but no population-based data are available.
Aboriginal leaders concerned about high rates of alcohol use in pregnancy invited researchers to determine the prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and...