FASD Elephant™ #007: The FASD Wheel™ – Brain Functioning

Today’s podcast reviews brain functioning and how it can be affected by FASD. This is the second of a multi-part series edited from a workshop on the FASD Wheel (TM) presented at the 2007 Brain Conference on the White Earth Indian Reservation in Mahnomen, MN… one of the largest annual conferences held in Minnesota. Feedback … Read more

FASD Elephant™ #006: The FASD Wheel™ – Misattributions and Metaphors

Today’s podcast reviews useful metaphors and non-useful misattributions regarding FASD. This is the first of a multi-part series edited from a workshop on the FASD Wheel™ presented at the 2007 Brain Conference on the White Earth Indian Reservation in Mahnomen, MN… one of the largest annual conferences held in Minnesota. See www.FASDElephant.com for more details.Feedback … Read more

FASD Elephant™ Special Article #001: The Ten Brain Domains

Click here to download the PDF File This week, I am sending the original article on the Ten Brain Domains from the Journal of FAS International for your review. The regular audio podcast will return next week. Feedback or comments may be sent to: Michael__at__FASDElephant__dot__com.

FASD Elephant™ #005: The Ten Brain Domains

The Fetal Alcohol Diagnostic Program (FADP), in Duluth, MN, spearheaded by the Executive Director, Jeanette Lang, and her crack team, has developed the Ten Brain Domains, which provides clear definitions of brain dysfunction, specifies empirical data needed for accurate diagnosis, and defines intervention considerations that address the complex nature of FASD. The Ten Brain Domains … Read more

FASD Elephant™ #004: Other FASD Diagnoses

Each key feature of FASD can vary widely across individuals exposed to prenatal alcohol. While consensus exists for the diagnosis of FAS across diagnostic systems (see last podcast), minor variations among the systems lead to differences in definitions and cut-off criteria for other diagnoses across the FASD continuum. The FASD conditions of Partial FAS (PFAS) … Read more

FASD Elephant™ #003: The Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Diagnosis

Any Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is diagnosed by assessing the four key features that were first identified in Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) in 1973. FAS requires a positive and severe finding in all four key features, but other FASD conditions may vary across a continuum of severity. FAS is the only expression of FASD that has … Read more

FASD Elephant™ #002: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) History and Diagnostic Introduction

History The earliest known observation of possible links between maternal alcohol use and fetal damage may have been made in 1899 by Dr. William Sullivan, a Liverpool prison physician who noted higher rates of stillbirth for 120 alcoholic female prisoners than their sober female relatives and suggested the causal agent to be alcohol use (Sullivan, 1899). … Read more

FASD Elephant™ #001: Definitions and Terminology

Today’s episode covers the definiton of FASD and attempts to clear up the confusing terminology that has been used in the past. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) describes a continuum of permanent birth defects caused by maternal consumption of alcohol during pregnancy. Maternal alcohol crosses the placental barrier and can stunt fetal growth or weight, … Read more

FASD Elephant™ Bonus Track 02: KDWA Interview – Part 2

This is a beginner’s bonus track – the second half of an interview conducted on-air by KDWA on December 5, 2006, with myself and Alice Garceau, an adoptive mother of an FASD child. It was a good interview, and we continued with many FASD topics. If you haven’t heard part one, go ahead and download it … Read more

FASD Elephant™ Bonus Track 01: KDWA Interview (12-05-2006)

This is an introductory bonus track – the first half of an interview conducted on-air by KDWA on December 5, 2006, with Alice Garceau, an adoptive mother of an FASD child, and myself. Alice has been active in the FASD community for several years, runs a support group in the southern Twin Cities area, has … Read more