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It affects up to 1 in 20 learners. It is more common than Autism, Intellectual Disabilities, ADHD, Cerebral Palsy and Down Syndrome. This data guarantees that you've taught one, if not dozens, of students who fall under this umbrella.
It has a dedicated month but you've probably never heard about it. It doesn't have 5ks or ribbons or car decals. Most educators are teaching numerous students with it but have no idea the ways it can affect their learning and behavior. What is the significant public health concern that affects so many of our students?
On Motherhood
I was a mother on a mission in 2018. Our adopted son was 4 years old at the time and I was knee deep in months' of research to figure out his brain. To figure out.. him. No developmental delay was quite "fitting", but it was clear to us that something was significantly different about how his brain worked. He showed us daily that mainstream rewards and consequences were inconsequential. Every day was like Groundhog's Day, with the same difficult behaviors occurring. As an early reading, incredibly verbal, friendly and charming little boy, we regularly heard the sentiment from others that they "couldn't see" what we were dealing with at home. It hardly helped that we felt completely and entirely alone on our parenting journey.
With an educational and professional background in social work, I wasn't ignorant to developmental delays. In fact, just a few years prior, I thought my pre-parenthood experience might give me a leg up as an adoptive parent through the foster care system. Yet there I was, regularly in tears that my sweet son said "I don't know" when asked why he bolted across streets, spit on his windows every day, peed down his bedroom air vent, ran out of his preschool into the parking lot, and so on.
My desperate search led me to a book, Trying Differently Rather Than Harder: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, written by Diane Malbin. Every page I read sent off checkmarks in my head. I knew I had found it. I quickly read Making Sense of the Madness and all of the incredible work of Jeff Noble. My husband and I mourned as we learned, a process that evolves and continues to this day. After a nearly year long wait, the only FASD specialist in the state of North Carolina confirmed his diagnosis. A lifelong, whole body, traumatic brain injury.
I had never even heard of FASD before I bought Malbin's book.
The reasons it is often called the "invisible disorder" include:
- Cultural treatment of addiction
- Stigma and shame upon pregnant women and mothers
- Lack of outward signs and misdiagnosis
- Under education for pregnant women
- Under education of medical professionals
- Discomfort discussing alcohol and pregnancy
FASD refers to the wide range of physical, behavioral, and cognitive impairments that occur due to alcohol exposure before birth. There is no known safe amount of alcohol to consume during pregnancy. Any amount can put a baby at risk for FASD. Individuals with FASD may have difficulty in the following areas:
- learning and memory
- understanding and following directions
- switching attention between tasks
- controlling emotions and impulsivity
- communicating and developing social skills
- performing daily life skills like counting money, telling time and minding personal safety
On Education
If the symptoms listed above sound like they might make the standard educational experience more difficult for these learners, bingo! I also acknowledge that as online educators, we likely have no idea if our student has FASD, Autism, or any other neurodiversity unless that information is offered by their parent.
*As a note to parents, please give your children's educators all the information possible to best serve your student.
The challenges in giving students with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder a safe and equitable education are plentiful. First, FASD can be difficult to identify because its symptoms vary widely and overlap with other conditions. Many students remain a true mystery to their educators and families, which leads to frustration for all involved. In the case of our son, we had an academically gifted young student, who played with his spit every single time he was unsupervised. He had a brain full of dinosaur facts, was perhaps "too social" to be Autistic, but ripped up every single blanket or sheet he was given for years. I am certain his needs would be unidentified to this day, had I not found that first book.
Next, educators may not have sufficient training to recognize FASD or understand its impact on learning and behavior. This lack of awareness can result in misinterpretation of students' needs and behaviors. Managing these behaviors in a physical classroom or virtual classroom setting requires specialized strategies and super human patience from educators. We were fortunate to have a few beautiful and patient early education teachers for our son. But ultimately, given the lack of resources in our public education system, leading to a shortage of qualified teachers, our son also came under the care of a substitute that was simply unqualified to tolerate his behavioral symptoms. We very quickly became a homeschooling family.
The message to educators is this: We don't know what we don't know.
So, what if your student isn't lazy?
What if they aren't being careless?
What if they aren't giving you a hard time?
What if they are having a hard time?
Let's lead our online classrooms with an open mind, giving grace and assuming the best of all learners. Get curious about their behaviors. After our son had been diagnosed with FASD for about a year, our 7 year old daughter began to struggle significantly in school. As self declared FASD experts by that time, the symptoms were painfully easy for us to see. She was diagnosed by the same specialist in 2019.
Every student with FASD is as unique as any other. In our case, our daughter will likely never understand the concepts of time or money. Our son will likely never have the impulse control to safely live independently. Our parenting journey is difficult and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder simply sucks. I would never sugar coat or try to paint a rosy picture of completely avoidable, lifelong, brain damage inflicted on children. Curious, patient, collaborative educators will make all the difference in their lives.
To learn more about FASD, please visit:
Free, Confidential Information for Substance Use
Understanding Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
Brittney Machovec, a special needs and adoptive mother of four, began her journey of online teaching in 2018. Knowing that her family's needs required her to work from home, she found her passion with English learners on the other side of the world. Six years later, she now teaches independently while educating her children from home. With a special heart for neurodiverse learners, she specializes in private reading tutoring and private ESL instruction. To learn more about her offerings, visit SOR With Teacher Brittney.
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