Sindrome alcolica fetale connessa al binge drinking: uno studio australiano
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Foetal alcohol syndrome linked to binge drinking by mums
YOUNG women who binge drink while pregnant are producing a new wave of school children with learning difficulties, experts say.
Foetal alcohol syndrome, in which the unborn baby's brain is damaged by alcohol, is leading to more students with impulsive behaviour, poor attention spans, judgment and social skills.
Experts say if children have memory impairment and struggle to follow instructions they may have an undiagnosed foetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
Education Department special education director Julie Aschberger said there was a need for greater awareness and understanding among teachers of the differing learning needs of students affected by the syndrome.
She said this was in part being addressed through a national partnership initiative that included presentations by expert Professor Barry Carpenter and other visiting speakers.
Prof Carpenter told The Advertiser there was a "new generation" of children whose brains were wired differently as a result of foetal alcohol exposure.
While not a new phenomenon, he and other experts warned because more young women were binge drinking more children were at risk, and not just those from remote and poor communities. Data from the 2010 National Drug Strategy Household Survey revealed 37 per cent of 20-to-29-year-old women and 51 per cent of those aged 18 to 19 drink at dangerous levels at least once a month.
"The child population who have disabilities is changing quite dramatically ... we need to ensure teachers know how to engage these children," said Prof Carpenter, who has written some content for the Flinders University teaching program.
National Organisation for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Related Disorders chief executive Vicki Russell said the message was not getting through that parents planning a pregnancy must stop drinking and University of Sydney's Professor Elizabeth Elliott said promotions needed to target schoolgirls.
(Articolo pubblicato dal CUFRAD sul sito www.alcolnews.it)