Teacher-Reported Prevalence of FASD in Kindergarten in Canada: Association with Child Development and Problems at Home

Jacqueline Pei; Caroline Reid-Westoby; Ayesha Siddiqua; Yomna Elshamy; Devyn Rorem; Teresa Bennett; Catherine Birken; Rob Coplan; Eric Duku; Mark A Ferro; Barry Forer; Stelios Georgiades; Jan Willem Gorter; Martin Guhn; Jonathon Maguire; Heather Manson; Rob Santos; Marni Brownell; Magdalena Janus

doi:10.1007/s10803-020-04545-w

Teacher-Reported Prevalence of FASD in Kindergarten in Canada: Association with Child Development and Problems at Home

J Autism Dev Disord. 2021 Feb;51(2):433-443. doi: 10.1007/s10803-020-04545-w.

Authors

Jacqueline Pei¹, Caroline Reid-Westoby², Ayesha Siddiqua³, Yomna Elshamy⁴, Devyn Rorem⁴, Teresa Bennett², Catherine Birken^{5

6}, Rob Coplan⁷, Eric Duku², Mark A Ferro⁸, Barry Forer⁹, Stelios Georgiades², Jan Willem Gorter^{10

11}, Martin Guhn⁹, Jonathon Maguire^{5

12}, Heather Manson¹³, Rob Santos¹⁴, Marni Brownell¹⁵, Magdalena Janus²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Educational Psychology, University of Alberta, 6-131 Education North, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2G5, Canada. jacqueline.pei@ualberta.ca.
² Offord Centre for Child Studies, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neuroscience, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
³ Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
⁴ Department of Educational Psychology, University of Alberta, 6-131 Education North, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2G5, Canada.
⁵ Department of Pediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁶ The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁷ Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
⁸ School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
⁹ Human Early Learning Partnership, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
¹⁰ Department of Pediatrics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
¹¹ CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
¹² Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.
¹³ Public Health Ontario, Toronto, ON, Canada.
¹⁴ Community Health Services, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
¹⁵ Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.

Abstract

The prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) may be underestimated as it can be difficult to diagnose in early childhood possibly reflecting unique developmental trajectories relative to other Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (NDDs). Using data collected via the Early Development Instrument (EDI) between 2010 and 2015, we examined the prevalence of kindergarten children with FASD and their concurrent developmental outcomes. We found that the prevalence of FASD ranged from 0.01 to 0.31%. A greater percentage of children with FASD had teacher-reported home problems that interfered with their classroom functioning. Overall children with FASD had higher mean scores on the developmental domains compared to children with NDDs. Results of the current study can inform strategies and policies for early identification and intervention.

Keywords: Developmental health; Early Development Instrument; Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder; Kindergarten; Prevalence; Problems at home.

MeSH terms

Canada / epidemiology
Child
Child Development / physiology*
Child, Preschool
Databases, Factual / trends
Educational Status
Family Relations* / psychology
Female
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / diagnosis*
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / epidemiology*
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / psychology
Humans
Male
Pregnancy
Prevalence
School Teachers / standards*
Schools / standards*

Abstract

MeSH terms

Grants and funding