Transcript dfdfd - FASEout

FASD and Education
An Ontario Perspective
Authored by
Mary K. Cunningham B.Ed. P.H.Ec.
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Acknowledgements
• Mary Cunningham is a parent of a young adult
with ARND. She has been learning about FASD
from her daughter and her students since 1998.
• Diane Malbin, (Oregon) Donna Debolt
(Lethbridge), Chris Margetson (Guelph), Bonnie
Buxton (FASworld Toronto), Cheryl Duquette
(Ottawa), Laura Spero(London)
• Alberta Government – Education ministry
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Presenter Information
• Parenting consultant and FASD advocate
• Retired from 30 years in education system as a
teacher, department head and consultant
• Has two young adult children, one with ARND
• Is married to another retired educator
• Co-author of Parenting in Canada, 2003
• Co-founder of ON Coalition for Parenting Ed.
• Lives in Kitchener, ON
[email protected]
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
FASD and Education
An Ontario Perspective
Part I-Educational Success for
Students Affected by FASD
Part II-Advocating Successfully
within the School System
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
FASD and Education
An Ontario Perspective
Part I
Educational Success for Students with
FASD
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Educational Success for
Students with FASD
1- Introduction
2- FASD 101 for Educators
3- What FASD Looks Like at School
4- Brain Damage = Behaviour
5- How Secondary Effects Develop
6- Success for Students with FASD
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
FASD is an umbrella term for:
• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
(FAS) (obvious to all)
• Partial Fetal Alcohol
Syndrome (pFAS)
• Alcohol Related
Neurodevelopmental
Disorder (ARND)
• ARBD, Static Encephalopathy
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
FASD and Education?
Have I seen FASD yet?
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2008
Alcohol Use In Pregnancy
• 50% of pregnancies are
unplanned
• 17% to 25% of women
reported drinking alcohol
during their last
pregnancy
• 7% to 9% reported
drinking alcohol
throughout their last
pregnancy
Canadian National Survey
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
What about Dad?
• A father’s drinking does not cause FASD…BUT:
– Drinking and drug use can damage sperm
causing subtle neurological damage such as
impulsivity,learning disabilities, attentional
problems & (lower birth weight)
– When a father drinks he influences the
mother’s drinking
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Co-occurring Mental Illnesses
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ADD/ADHD is often diagnosed
(Reactive) Attachment Disorder (R-AD)
Bi-Polar Disorder/Depression
Conduct Disorder (CD)
Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
•
(Kathryn Page – 2002- Ctr. For Families, Children & Courts)
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
FASD in Education Facts
Health Canada notes that 1% of live births are FASDaffected. (This is probably low). This means at least 300,000
Canadians are living with FASD
FASD is one of the most common birth defects in North
America
FASD is the most common cause of developmental delay in
North America
IF YOU ARE AN EDUCATOR
YOU HAVE DEALT WITH FASD
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Most Students with FASD
are Invisible
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2008
The Usual FASD Story
• JK/SK – unduly quiet or aggressive and
unruly (ADD/ADHD-like)
• May slip through cracks at first –
Level 2 – “C” evaluations
• By 4-6 serious learning problems are
obvious: reading, math, science
• May be a “Safe School” nightmare with
frequent suspensions
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
The Usual FASD Story
• By grade 7 or 8 is dropped by achieving friends
who can see disabilities
• Picks up with peers with similar problems
• School skipping, no homework, school failure
• Petty crime, drugs, alcohol use, early sexual
activities
• Early school dropout or expulsion – first sign of
marginalized adulthood
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
If you are an educator
• You have dealt with students who have FASD
• You will deal with students who have FASD for
the rest of your career
• So, what’s to be done?
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2008
Reframe The Behaviour
IT IS NOT THAT THEY WON’T,
THEY CAN’T
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2008
Brain Damage = Behaviour Change
(Donna Malbin with permission)
Prenatal Exposure to Alcohol Causes
Permanent Damage to the Brain
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2008
FASD = Information
Processing Disabilities
FASD is an extremely serious and debilitating
information processing learning disability
A student could have any or all of these deficits:
1.
Input- recording of information from the senses
2.
Integration- process of interpreting the input
3.
Memory- storage of information for later use
4.
Output- producing answers, responses, completion of
work
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Two Common Reactions
Processing Difficulties
1- Total shut down and turn off
May be confused with ADD
2- Hyperactive acting out
May be confused with ADHD
ADHD is frequently misdiagnosed!
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Brain Damage = Behaviour
• Our brain is like a computer “CPU” and it
controls our behaviour
• When the “CPU” gets the wrong data or
processes data incorrectly dysfunctional
behaviour results
• A FASD-affected brain will not recover so those
around it must adapt and serve as
“external” brains
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
What might an information
processing disorder feel like?
• Imagine: loud music is blaring, the lights are
buzzing and you are wearing a scratchy wool
sweater over your bare skin, (Dorothy Shwab,
Manitoba)
• This is how it feels for a student with FASD
• Exactly what would you actually learn under
these circumstances?
• How would you act under these conditions?
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Primary Effects a Teacher Might See
(A-L-A-R-M)
Adaptation - trouble stopping or starting activities
Language - talk a “great line”, but don’t “get it” when people
try to talk to them
Attention – ADD/ADHD frequently misdiagnosed
Reasoning – don’t understand abstract ideas, eg. math
Memory - ‘sketchy’-on and off, has big gaps, don’t learn from
experience…same mistakes over and over
IT IS NOT THAT THEY WON’T;
THEY CAN’T
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Brain Damage Causes Dysmaturity
• A confounding but classic sign of FASD
• Student appears to be functioning at different,
inconsistent ages, for example:
Chronologically 18
Socially 12
Emotionally 8
Cognitively 9
• Research is starting to show that individuals with
FASD tend to get as mature as they are going
to, or get “caught up” by age 35, too late for the
school system, but still a ray of hope for parents
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Dysmaturity Concept – Students with FASD
Frequently Show Many Different Ages
SKILLS
Expressiveness (Talking)
Understanding Ideas
Money & Time Concepts
Emotional Maturity
Physical Maturity
Reading ability
Social Skills
Living (Life) Skills
How Old He/She MAY act in each skill area
Cunningham
www.faseout.ca
Adapted from research findings of Streissguth, Clarren et al by D. Malbin 94
2008
Will Students Outgrow FASD?
NO
They may have life-long problems with:
- Learning
- Remembering
- Thinking things through
- Getting along with others
Brain damage is permanent!
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
The Worst Case Scenario:
Secondary Effects Develop
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2008
Students With FASD Often:
• Are bullied and stigmatized
• Have trouble finding friends
• Do not achieve at school
• Disappoint people around them
• Are disappointed in themselves
• Develop very poor self esteem
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Then FASD creates Secondary
Behaviours (Malbin, 2004)
• Primary FASD behaviours are those that most
clearly reflect underlying damage to brain
structure and function (slides 29 ff)
• Secondary FASD behaviours are defensive
and develop over time in response to a nonsupportive environment, the individual suffers
from a chronic inability to “fit in”
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Secondary Behaviours
An Educator Might See at School
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Inappropriate humour
Class clown
Isolated, Few friends
Pseudo-sophisticatedtrying to pass as “OK”
Irritability,Resistance,
Fatigue, Arguments
Anxious,Fearful,
Overwhelmed
Poor Self Esteem
Unrealistic Goals
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Bullied, Teased
Fighting, Outbursts
Running away, Avoidance
Sexually ‘inappropriate’ to
point of being
dangerous
• Depressed, Suicidal
• Co-occurring Diagnoses
• School Failure, Expulsion
– grade 9/10
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Secondary Effects of FASD
(1996-Washington State)
Alcohol/Drug
Problems
Percentage of Adults with
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum
Disorder who have specific
Secondary Disabilities
Innappropriate Sexual
Behaviour
Trouble with the Law
Suspended/Expelled
from School
Employement
Difficulties
Dependent Living
Arrangements
Mental Health
0
20
40
60
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
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80
100
Review
• Alcohol in utero can cause both physical and
neurological damage to the fetus
• Neurological (brain) damage is the root of most
FASD problems faced by schools
• Brain damage causes very serious learning
disabilities which lead to primary behaviours
• If left untreated primary behaviours turn into
serious secondary behaviours and a
marginalized adulthood (see Streissguth, 1996)
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
The Best Case Scenario:
Success for Students with FASD
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Change the Paradigm
• If they could they would -”It is not that students
with FASD won’t, they can’t”
• Understanding this will change your attitude and
they will notice your support Behaviour = Brain
Damage
• Diabetics need insulin, paraplegics need wheel
chairs, students with FASD have permanent
brain damage and need you to deal with this
irreversible fact
• “Learn to love the student you got, not the one
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you wanted”
2008
There IS a silver lining…
ALL STUDENTS WITH FASD
HAVE INNATE STRENGTHS
AND COMPETENCIES
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Recognize ability not disability!
• ALL people with FASD excel in some or all of the
following areas:
ART
MUSIC
MECHANICS
POETRY
“HANDS-ON” SKILLS
WORKING WITH CHILDREN & ANIMALS
COMPUTERS & TECHNOLOGY
COMPETITIVE SPORTS
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Multiple Intelligences
• Howard Gardner is the theorist behind “MI”, this is
especially useful for students with FASD
• Everybody has some of each of the 9 intelligence
groups. Find out what you are good at and work at
getting better. Don’t beat yourself up about your
weaknesses.
• Multiple Intelligence development is especially important
for students with FASD. Good for self esteem
development too
• “Google” Howard Gardner + Multiple Intelligences
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Multiple Intelligences
Verbal – Interpersonal – Visual
Kinesthetic - Musical – Naturalistic
Intrapersonal - Mathematical – Existential
Every student has some of each.
Discover and develop your best ones!
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Typical Strengths and Abilities
• Hands on learners
• Kinesthetic, energetic
• Learn by doing and
repeatedly shown
• Good long term visual
memory
• Value fairness and
can be rigidly moral,
comforted by rules
and orderliness
• Express themselves
well verbally
• Good with animals,
children, mechanics,
computers, and the arts
• Friendly, affectionate,
loving, loyal, gentle,
determined, sensitive
and compassionate
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Teaching Students with FASD
• FASD strategies will not hurt students so
when in doubt or waiting for diagnosis go
ahead and use these strategies
• The ideas in this presentation are an
introduction only and teachers should be
aware that an endless repertoire can be
developed. There is no magic formula.
• All these Special Education strategies are
just good teaching. They work for almost
any student with learning disabilities.
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
In General
• Head off trouble, nip escalating stimulus
overload before the child explodes
• Provide constant supervision, preventing a crisis
is easier than cleaning it up
• These students need “external brains”
• All the expectations in curriculum won’t be met,
teach life skills and blend in academics
• Teaching life skills that others learn by osmosis
must be multimodal,repeated and compelling
(ESSENTIAL)
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Some Starter Strategies
• Reduce stimulation, provide quiet places for
them to de-stress as needed
• Go slowly-”10 s children in a 1 s world”
• Hands on learning, focus on strengths
• Foster interdependence not independence
• Repeat, re-teach, repeat, re-teach, repeat…
• Carpe diem- Enjoy today, do a day at a time
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
More Starter Strategies
• Do not ask “why” – they don’t know
• If things go wrong try differently, not harder
• Make transitions as easy as possible
• Use visuals as often as possible
• Break everything into steps, do one at a time
• Remember that students with impairments teach
life lessons to everybody else
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
External Brains (S. Clarren)
• Help the child reframe their world
• Provide crutches for an invisible disability
• Provide pro-active and intervention strategies
• Assist the child to process information and to respond
more appropriately
If you are physically disabled you need a wheelchair.
If you are blind you need a seeing eye dog.
If you are a child with FASD you need an external brain.
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
“Teaching Students with FASD
Building Strengths, Creating Hope”
• The following website is INVALUABLE:
www.education.gov.ab.ca/k_12/specialneeds/fasd.asp
• Western Canada is “light years” ahead of us in
all aspects of FASD understanding, prevention
and intervention (education)
• Do not try to re-invent the wheel, go to the above
Alberta website for the newest and best
resource on successful education for students
with FASD
• You may print for free – 165 pages in length
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
“Teaching Students with FASD
Building Strengths, Creating Hope”
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: What is FASD?
• Chapter 2: Key Program Planning Concepts
• Chapter 3: Positive Classroom Climate
• Chapter 4: Students’ Needs
• Appendices A, B & C (excellent resources)
• Bibliography and Index
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Ideally……..
We will substantially reduce the incidence
of FASD in the future…….
How?
By spreading the Zero 4 Nine message
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Zero 4 Nine Messages
• No known amount of alcohol can be consumed
safely during pregnancy.
• There is no known safe time to drink alcohol in a
pregnancy
• A pregnant woman has a choice, her baby does
not.
• A pregnant woman may need help from her
spouse and peers not to drink.
• Avoid alcohol when planning a pregnancy or
breast feeding*
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
FASD Prevention in Education
• The place to get the “0 for 9” message out so
it will stick is to students before can drink
legally
• OCMPE – The Ontario Coalition for
Mandatory Parenting Education wants all
high school students take and pass a
parenting course before graduation; FASD
messaging will be embedded.
• Fewer babies in the stream!
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
For More Information
• Please feel free to contact the presenter at
[email protected]
or 519-893-7393 (Kitchener, Ontario)
• The internet is a valuable source of information,
search under “fetal alcohol spectrum disorder”
www.education.gov.ab.ca/k_12/
specialneeds/fasd.asp (excellent resource)
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
The End of Part One
RECESS!
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
FASD and Education
An Ontario Perspective
Part II
Advocating Successfully
within the School System
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Successful Advocacy in
the School System
1-Advocacy and Advocates
2-Parent and School Relationships
3-Getting a Diagnosis of FASD
4-FASD Has NO Special Ed category!
5-Emphasize the Positive
6-Strategies for Successful Education
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
FASD Advocacy?
• Advocacy is active support; especially
the act of pleading or arguing for
something
• An advocate is a person who pleads
for a cause or promotes ideas
• Students with FASD need advocacy and
advocates to have any success in today’s
schools
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Who Can Advocate for
Students?
• Teachers
• Parents and/or caregivers
• Anyone else who works with students in a
school – professionals, paraprofessionals
- others working in the school
• Anyone who understands schools and FASD
has the potential to be a good advocate for a
student with FASD
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Involve the Whole School……
Ideally ALL the people who work in
a school from the administrators
and teaching staff to the custodians,
community coaches and lunch room
supervisors will understand the
realities of FASD and be prepared
to recognize and properly support
students who may have (or just look
like they might have) FASD.
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Whole School Efforts
• FASD 101 professional development
for everybody
• Use of whole school programs like TRIBES ™
• “With All Due Respect” Ronald Morrish (Font
Hill, ON)
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Involve the Whole Community
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Establish an FASD Task Force and Support Team at the board
level
Educate all school staff personnel about FASD.
Build community awareness about FASD.
Be prepared to support parents and teachers caring for FASD
children.
Implement changes in the school environment and academic
programming
Get diagnostic facilities in the community.
Refer children for FASD testing.
Revisit administrative procedures regarding safe schools.
Set up a personal advocate for each child with FASD
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
A Delicate Balancing Act
• The squeaky wheel gets the grease?
OR
• The squeaky wheel gets changed?
• One always catches more flies with sugar than
vinegar
• Each school will have different limits
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Most FASD experts such as Diane Malbin or
Donna Debolt acknowledge that many parents of
children with FASD
give the impression of being ‘crazy’
Most parents will obsess to get their children
served
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Parent/School Relationship
• “FASD parents” are the ultimate, 24 hour
front-line workers and desperately need your
support
• These parents only appear to be crazy; they
are almost overwhelmed and super stressed
• Professionals are often tempted to assume
that (undiagnosed) FASD is the result of
ineffective parenting and family dysfunction.
• The family with FASD is often dysfunctional
because of FASD not the other way around
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Duquette et al Research
• School Experiences of Students with Fetal Alcohol
Spectrum Disorder Duquette, Cheryll and Emma J.
Stodel (U of Ottawa) in Exceptionality Education
Canada, vol 15, #2, 2005, pp.51-75
• Examined ‘factors leading to persistence in school
among students with FASD from perspectives of the
students & their parents’
• Relatively small sample (24), all children adopted
• The “high maintenance parent” appeared to foster
success; parental advocacy is strongly linked with
persistence and graduation among students with
FASD
• Parents studied FASD & then educated teachers
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Elements Related to School
Success (Duquette et al)
• Caring teachers who understood FASD and made
accommodations led to more success
• Parents obtained psychological testing and used
diagnoses to access services and to provide an
underlying reason for student difficulties
• Specialized programs and paraprofessionals,
when needed, were related to success
• Most parents advocated strongly and provided
‘encouragement’ at home
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Parent Advocates
• Need to remember that teaching has been
designated as just slightly less stressful than air
traffic control – the most stressful occupation in
that study
• Teachers are responsible for all the students in
their classes not just your child – who may be
taking a lot more energy than the others
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Summer holidays DO NOT make up for 10 months
of extremely stressful teaching.
They merely allow most teachers to continue
teaching the next September
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Educators on the other hand will do well to
remember that every student has parents and/or
caregivers who understand their individual needs
better than anyone else
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
An involved parent or caregiver for a child with
FASD is generally going to know a lot about FASD
and should be considered as an “expert”
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
It should never come to this…
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2008
Parents, schools fight $1.8 Billion special needs war – Dec. 5/05 (Star)
HELEN HENDERSON
LIFE COLUMNIST (THE STAR)
Gordon Martin is 9 years old. Over the past two years, he has arrived home from school on several occasions with feces in his lunch bag
and disturbing marks on his skin. In October, he was expelled for disruptive behaviour.
His mother has been banned from all school board properties
and accused of uttering profanities and
making false allegations against staff and students. The Martins moved to a smaller house, cashed in their retirement savings and got
help from community garage sales to pay for a specially trained support therapist to help in class with their son, who is autistic. The school
asked the therapist to stay out of the classroom.
Gordon's mother says his behaviour at school — X School in X was a response to how he
was treated there. The school calls her complaints "baseless."
Welcome to the war zone that is special education in Ontario………
………As in many cases examined by the Star,
communication between family and school board broke
down completely, an issue the working committee intends to address.
"We have to do better at communicating," says co-chair
Kathleen Wynne, parliamentary assistant to (Gerrard) Kennedy.
third party who knows how to get past the emotion, because common sense gets lost in emotion" — parents
whose children have gone through the system or retired teachers, for example.
"Maybe we need a
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Does my Student have FASD?
• Teachers should only assess and NOT diagnose
• All of the primary behaviours related to FASD can
have other causes and every “problem student” does
not have FASD - this is a critical concept
• FASD can be picked up even in ECE settings
• If you see several or all behaviours request an
immediate psycho-educational assessment
• While you are waiting use FASD strategies. They will
help almost all learning disabled students
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Most Students with FASD
are Invisible
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Physical Birth Defect Indicators
Most can be also caused by factors other than alcohol
• Brain damage
• Long, smooth philtrum
• Heart defects
• Short palpebral fissures
• Blood vessel defects
• Hearing/ear problems
• Kidney deformities
• Uro-genital defects
• Small head size
• Scoliosis (skeletal)
• Thinned upper lip
• Skeletal (eg.clinodactyly)
• Club foot
• Cleft lip and palate
• Dental abnormalities
• Growth abnormalities
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Primary Behaviours Related to
Neurological Damage
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•
Learning
Attention
Judgment
Memory
Performance (varies)
Impulsivity
Abstract Concepts
Communication
“Lack of Conscience”
(A-L-A-R-M
• Cognition/aural slow
• Inability to generalize
• Executive Functioning
• Social Perception
• Boundaries (touching)
• Sleeping Problems
• Eating Problems
• Learning is affected
PLUS)
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Getting A Diagnosis
• Psycho-educational testing is the first step
• If ‘psych’ testing suggests major learning
disabilities the next step is medical testing
• FASD diagnostic testing is done by a full
interdisciplinary medical team
• A medical diagnosis of FASD diagnoses the
child but the mother is also included so a
diagnosis of FASD is a “diagnosis for two.”
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Diagnosis – The Earlier the Better!
• Diagnosis should bring special programs for a child (and
disability support for an adult)
• Labelling may bring some understanding of self
and helps stop self-blame
• Demonstrates that the individual needs special
treatment. Intervention MUST follow diagnosis
• Increases social awareness of FASD which may
eventually reduce the stigma associated with it
• Individuals diagnosed early get fewer secondary
behaviours related to chronic frustration
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Missing an Early Diagnosis
• Unless they have serious behaviour problems
pre-school and primary students with FASD will
often be missed because their cognitive
limitations have not yet been challenged
• Parents MUST be believed when they describe
what is going on at home – the earliest clues will
be found there
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Psycho-educational Testing
• Average IQ for full FAS is 74
• IQ range for full FAS is 20-130
• Average IQ score for FASD is 90
• However, an IQ score in the normal range is
misleading as many people with FASD are
unable to perform at levels indicated by their IQ
scores. (Streissguth, 1996)
• Educational success is more than just IQ
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Psycho-educational Testing
• A full battery of psycho-educational tests is
needed, Verbal and Peformance IQ testing will
be part of this testing
• Full battery psycho-educational testing will
reveal very obvious skewing if FASD exists
• If possible, testing which tests two functions at
the same time will often reveal highly useful
results
• Plan an IEP which maximizes strengths and
minimizes weaknesses
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
The Ideal Situation
• Ideally the child with FASD will get early
diagnosis and his/her Parents/Caretakers,
Physician, Educators, Therapists, Social
Support Workers and mentors will meet at the
school level and begin to develop a realistic,
life-long plan of communication and care to
minimize the development of secondary
disabilities
• We all need to work towards this situation
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
FASD as a Learning Disability
• In Ontario FASD is not recognized as a
specific learning disability
• Many parents feel their children would be
better served if FASD was treated as a
specific learning disability
• In light of the Auton decision (June 2004) in
the Supreme Court of Canada it is unlikely to
be recognized as a specific learning disability
any time soon
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
FASD as a Learning Disability
• Governments are beginning to realize they
definitely can not afford to recognize FASD
which is almost twice as common as ASD and
far more costly in the long run
• Recognizing FASD as a specific learning
disability would open a “Pandora’s Box”
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
FASD as a Learning Disability
• Recognizing FASD as a Special Education
category could open the door to recognition as a
disability and Sections 7 and 15(i) of the CCRF
could kick in
• Your child or student needs help NOW not when
the “right thing” finally happens.
• You child can’t wait while you lobby!
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Then Why Diagnose FASD?
• A student’s educators MUST know they are
dealing with FASD
• USE EXISTING Ontario Special Education
categories with FASD in mind– They will work
• An advocate must help teachers to understand
how to deal with the behaviour caused by brain
damage. Be prepared to teach educators about
FASD
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
WE CAN EFFECTIVELY SERVE
STUDENTS WITH FASD IN
ONTARIO!
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Celebrate Strengths, Minimize
Weaknesses
• This is the good news and reason to hope: a
basis for intervention and educational success
exists
• Fostering innate strengths and minimizing
weaknesses is the basis of success for students
with FASD
• Success has been shown to prevent defensive
secondary behaviours in affected students
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Individual Education Plans
• Plan an IEP from the ‘psych’ test results, if possible
plan it WITH the teacher(s) and
caregivers
• Teachers, who are mere mortals, must be able to
follow this plan without jeopardizing their other 20+
students or their own health
• Re-assess IEP frequently and fine tune if possible
• Include others for support: caregivers, EA, mentors,
buddies, anyone in ‘circle of support’ (external
brains)
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Learning Styles
• Most students with FASD are first and foremost
tactile or “hands-on” learners. This helps with their
need to move. Learning in context is easiest and
most efficient for most of them
• Visual learning is the next easiest style for most
students with FASD. “A picture is worth a 1000
words” has a whole new meaning for FASD!
• Least of all, students with FASD are auditory
learners. This does not work well for most of them
(but teachers will still have to talk.)
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Typical Strengths and Abilities
• Hands on learners
• Kinesthetic, energetic
• Learn by doing and
repeatedly shown
• Good long term visual
memory
• Value fairness and
can be rigidly moral,
comforted by rules
and orderliness
• Express themselves
well verbally
• Good with animals,
children, mechanics,
computers, and the arts
• Friendly, affectionate,
loving, loyal, gentle,
determined, sensitive
and compassionate
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Educational Environments for
Students with FASD
1- Special class or school just for students with
diagnosed FASD (David Livingston in Winnipeg)
(video available, profiled on The National)
2- Home Schooling
www.edu.gov.on.ca/extra/eng/ppm/131.html
3- Regular Classroom with integrated special education
and withdrawal where necessary
With proper planning most students with FASD can be
accommodated in a regular classroom (challenging but
doable)
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Most Important – Reframe the
Behaviour you see
• If they could they would -”It is not that students
with FASD won’t, they can’t”
• Understanding this will change your attitude and
they will notice – you support them
• Behaviour = Brain Damage
• Diabetics need insulin, paraplegics need wheel
chairs
• Students with FASD have permanent brain
damage and need you to respect them for what
they are, they can’t survive without this
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Interventions for Success
Dealing with FASD Information Processing Deficits
• Structure is critical- structure with clear and
predictable routines is paramount,gentle transition
• Supervision/Monitoring – external brain may be
needed 24/7- or be a telephone call away
• Simplicity-simple, brief directions – repeat them
• Steps- break everything down, written/visuals
• Context- if teaching a skill do it where it will happen –
generalization is often difficult
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Start with the Classroom
Environment
The classroom learning
environment has the
most effect on students’
abilities to learn within the
settings we provide. This
includes its organization,
its management, and its
emotional components.
Use the acronym
S-C-O-R-E-S
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Scores
• Supervision
Close supervision to keep students safe
and out of trouble - 24/7 (Recess too!)
• Structure
Teach students that every day has a consistent
and routine structure to it
• Simplicity
Keep rules, routines and directions simple
Give directions orally and in visual form
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
SCores
• Communication
-Regular and frequent communication
between home and school
-Students are taught and reminded how to
communicate feelings and needs to teacher, peers and
others
• Consistency
-Routines, rules and consequences are
consistent
-Steps to complete a task are given in the
same way every time
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
ScOres
• Organization
The school helps students to become organized
by teaching and reinforcing sequential
organization strategies – repeat, repeat, repeat
Classroom is organized – a place for everything
and everything in its place
The lessons and the day are organized
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
ScoRes
• Rules
- Simple, concrete and easy to follow
eg.– “Don’t hit” ; rather than abstract
eg. “Be kind” or “Stay safe”
- All staff use the same words for each rule and follow
the same rules
- Check to see whether students know and understand
what the rules mean
- Consequences are followed up
- Consequences applied immediately and consistently
taking into consideration students disabilities
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
ScorEs
• Expectations
-Focus on life skills/social skills vs academics
-Realistic, attainable, and easily understood
-Modified/take into consideration the special needs
of students
-Clearly specify what is to be expected and
accomplished on any given assignment
-Limit the amount of work, including homework
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
ScoreS
• Self Esteem
-Students feel accepted, valued and safe
-Positive encouragement is given in a consistent
way each day
-Student’s strengths are explored to help them
cope with the frustration of things they cannot do
-Students are reassured that they are not bad
even though their behaviour is unacceptable and
needs improvement
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
More Classroom Strategies
• Minimize visual/sensory overload
• Tone down colors – paint walls light blue/grey
• Reduce/remove clutter
• Clearly define areas- use lines on floor or
colored tiles
• Provide visual cues – sequencing
• Keep classroom as simple as you can
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Attention Strategies
• Use as few words as you can
• Use auditory/visual cues and prompts
• Focused teaching areas (One activity only)
• Use separate seating/carrels/dividers
• Repeat/Reteach/Repeat
• Reinforce, Recognize, Encourage and Support
• Vary background sounds and activities – soft music
or silent activity followed by physical activity
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Strategies for Transitions
• Prepare for transitions – use visual and/or auditory
cues
• Have an agenda for the day on the board for the
students to see
• Routine!!
• If you are aware of a change in routine, alert ahead of
time and practice new steps
• Practice – Repeat – Re-teach
• Have a digital clock visible
• Warn or remove before fire drills
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
“Discipline” Strategies
• Focus on solutions not problems
• Positive incentives
• Reinforce the value of failure
• Recognize and celebrate little successes
• Firm, consistent, clear rules
• Consistent follow through
• Emphasize responsibility for own choices
• Encourage positive self-talk
• De-emphasize cause/effect
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Strategies for Dealing
with Hyperactivity
• Recognize triggers – read body language –
nip outbursts in the bud
• Brain Gym
• Provide regular breaks and allow cocooning
in a quiet place
• Provide clay, kushy balls or anything soft to
be held and manipulated by hand for the child
to keep at his desk so that he/she may sit a
little longer
• Make use of weighted vests (dentist)
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
“Teaching Students with FASD
Building Strengths, Creating Hope”
• The following website is INVALUABLE:
www.education.gov.ab.ca/k_12/specialneeds/fasd.asp
• Western Canada is “light years” ahead of us in
all aspects of FASD understanding, prevention
and intervention (education)
• Do not try to re-invent the wheel, go to the above
Alberta website for the newest and best
resource on successful education for students
with FASD
• You may print for free – 165 pages in length
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
What’s Next for FASD?
Current Trends in FASD :
• Intervention - Understanding FASD and helping
individuals with FASD and their care-givers to be
Successful
• Prevention – Messaging – “Zero 4 Nine”, There
is no safe level of alcohol in pregnancy, etc.
• Research- FASD is quickly becoming a
hot research topic – early times as yet
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
For More Information
• Please feel free to contact the presenter at
[email protected]
or 519-893-7393 (Kitchener, Ontario)
• The internet is a valuable source of
information, search under “fetal alcohol
spectrum disorder”
• www.education.gov.ab.ca/k_12/
specialneeds/fasd.asp (excellent resource)
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008
Thank you for your attention to and interest in
helping to understand, prevent and intervene in the
lives of those living with FASD
Mary K. Cunningham
Cunningham www.faseout.ca
2008