The FASD Virginia web hub is a project of nonprofit organization Formed Families Forward. FFF collaborates with other organizations, agencies, and individuals around Virginia to identify resources and manage information on this site. The hub is an emerging virtual network connecting individuals with FASD, their caregivers, and service providers to improve the lives of Virginians affected by prenatal alcohol exposure.
FASD Virginia is a group of parents, caregivers and professionals from Virginia connected around the need for greater awareness and support across the state.
Link to FASD Virginia Hub
From FASD Success (https://www.fasdsuccess.com/), this fillable packet provides families an opportunity to share unique and critical FASD-related information about their child or youth with teachers and staff.
Find more about this guide at https://www.fasdsuccess.com/understandingmefasdguide.
This fillable “All About Me” template from FFF gives families and students a simple way to share critical information with teachers, staff and others who can benefit from the essential key facts about a child or youth.
This was shared as part of our “Just So You Know… Strategies for Nontraditional Families to Share Their Information with Schools” training. It can be used by any family or student.
Fill in the blanks
Instructions
Sample completed All About Me
The educational strategies presented in this handbook are intended to be helpful to all teachers who work with students who may have a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). If this is your first time teaching a student with an FASD, this guide should be extremely helpful. While many of the strategies are general and are appropriate to use with all students who may share some of the learning needs of students with an FASD, they should be especially helpful to use with students who have been diagnosed with an FASD, from Sanford School of Medicine, Univ of South Dakota.
Children and youth who have intellectual disabilities or developmental disorders are at elevated risk for co-occurring psychiatric or behavioral problems. These young people pose a serious challenge for administrators, program directors and clinicians, especially when they present with aggressive or disruptive behaviors. When appropriate community services have not been organized, these youth can be among the most difficult and costly to serve. Across the country, their families report relentless stress, partly because it is very difficult to obtain the help they need. This paper provides resources and strategies that have improved outcomes and lowered costs, while diminishing risk for institutional placements, referrals to juvenile justice and child welfare.
This resource is developed by the National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW) for
child welfare professionals who serve children and families affected by prenatal exposure to alcohol and parental
substance use disorders. It provides a broad overview of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), their effect on child
development, and treatment for FASD.
Child welfare professionals play a key role supporting children and families affected by FASD through effectively
partnering with other agencies and service providers who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of FASD, ensuring
young children receive assessments and early intervention services, and providing family-centered substance use
disorder (SUD) treatment. The final section of this document provides detailed practice tips to help child welfare
professionals partner with these other agencies and, in doing so, best support infants, children, and families affected
by FASD using a collaborative, family-centered approach.
Practice Tips resource
Web version of Practice Tips
This visual booklet is designed to help explain to educators and other child-serving professionals (and family members) what survival or fight-flight-freeze-submit responses can look like in a school setting. It names some of the visible behaviors that can be a concern for teachers and others, and offers strategies that can be helpful.
Survival in School Booklet
Presented live on January 28, 2025, as part of the Formed Families Forward Winter FASD Webinar series, this webinar was presented by Jessica Wilson, LCSW.
The presentation offers an overview of therapy options which have demonstrated success for treating fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, including the Families Moving Forward (FMF) program and the FASCETS Neurobehavioral model.
Presentation Slides for Understanding Therapy Options for FASD webinar
Recording of Understanding Therapy Options webinar
In this technical assistance document (a companion to the Questions and Answers: Addressing the Needs of Children with Disabilities and IDEA’s Discipline Provisions, which outlines the legal requirements related to behavior support and discipline for eligible students with disabilities under IDEA), the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) provides information about resources, strategies, and evidence-based practices that (while not required by law) can help States, LEAs, schools, early childhood programs, educators, and families in their efforts to meet IDEA requirements and, in doing so, improve outcomes for children with disabilities.
Guide to Positive, Proactive Approaches
BRAIN-online is a new web-based screening tool that assesses cognitive and behavioral features known to be associated with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). It was developed by Dr. Sarah Mattson and her team at the San Diego State University Center for Behavioral Teratology as a first step to determine if you or someone you care for might have an FASD. Developmental and behavioral health screenings are important because they can help with early identification of FASD, allowing for the best treatment options and outcomes.
BRAIN-Online
Presented live on January 21, 2025 as part of the Formed Families Forward Winter FASD Webinar series, this webinar was presented by Kelly Henderson, FFF Executive Director.
The presentation covered topics including:
Making Special Education Work for Students with FASD slides
Making Special Education Work recording
Presented live on January 14, 2025, as part of the Formed Families Forward Winter FASD Webinar series, this webinar was presented by Lindsay Zach (Consultant and Adoptive Parent) and Stacia Stribling (Formed Families Forward).
The presentation offers an overview of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) and the accompanying challenges faced by children and youth who have FASD and their families, at home and at school.
Presentation slides
Webinar recording
Presented live on January 7, 2025 as part of FFF’s January FASD webinar series, this webinar is presented by Jenn Werden, MSW, from The Florida Center on Early Childhood. The session provides an overview of prenatal exposure to alcohol, including specifics on diagnoses of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, as well as symptoms and impacts.
Presentation slides
Understanding FASD webinar recording
A Chapter from Understanding Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD): A Comprehensive Guide for Pre-K-8 Educators by RISE at Duke University.
This guide is designed for every educator (e.g., teachers, special education teachers, resource specialists, speech and language specialists, school nurses, psychologists, and occupational therapists) who works with K-8 elementary and middle school level students. The guide addresses the impact of prenatal exposure to alcohol and how it affects the K-8 grade student. Many educators believe they do not have students in their classes who have FASD, and they may even wonder why this guide would be useful in their own teaching and classroom management. Alcohol is the most commonly abused substance in the United States. Despite health warnings, 20% of women drink alcohol while knowing they are pregnant. Therefore, it is not surprising that there is a high incidence of children (2-5%) in the United States with FASD and they are likely present in every classroom.
The Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Toolkit was developed to raise awareness, promote surveillance and screening, and ensure that all affected children receive appropriate and timely interventions. From the American Academy of Pediatrics in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control.
This webinar was originally broadcast live on February 7, 2024. Presented by Lucy Beadnell of The Arc of Northern Virginia, this webinar offered historical perspectives on interactions between law enforcement and persons with developmental disabilities. Practical recommendations for families to prevent arrests were shared.
Presentation slides
Recording of webinar
This webinar originally broadcast live on January 31, 2024, was presented by Dr. Molly Millians, Emory University. Dr. Millians reviewed evidence-based school interventions as well as family and mental health supports for children and youth with prenatal alcohol exposure.
Webinar slides
Recording of webinar
Presented live on Wednesday, January 24, 2024 by Shannon Iacobacci from Embracing the Brain, this session offers tips on how to advocate for a child or youth with a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder in schools. Shannon reviews special education processes and provisions, and gives specific suggestions for IEPs and 504 plans.
Webinar presentation slides
Webinar recording
Dear Teacher template from Shannon Iacobacci
Delivered live on January 27, 2022, this webinar overviewed major educational provisions for serving students with FASD in schools. Presented by Dr. Kelly Henderson of FFF, the session also covered ways for building home/school collaborations and offered a variety of resources for educators and families.
Webinar recording
presentation slides
Changing our Approach blog from Barb Clark
Improving the Behavior of Children with FASD 2021 article by Hutton
Originally broadcast live on January 24, 2023, this webinar features Dr. Elizabeth Cleveland of the Central Arkansas University. Dr. Cleveland overviews FASD and in particular, the diagnosis of FAS and ND-PAE. She offers recommendations for meeting the needs of children, youth and young adults in home and school settings.
Webinar recording
Dr. Cleveland's presentation slides
Originally broadcast live on January 17, 2023, this Formed Families Forward-hosted webinar featured panelists:
Nate Sheets, Behavior Consultant and Parent Coach at Oregon Behavior Consultation, https://cognitivesupports.com/
Carson Kautz-Turnbull, 5th year graduate student at the University of Rochester, working with Dr. Christie Petrenko. ckautz@ur.rochester.edu Ms. Kautz-Turnbull shared this resource for families and educators: Families Moving Forward Connect project and related app: https://fmfconnect.com/
Kelly Henderson, PhD, Executive Director, Formed Families Forward
Additional scholarly resources suggested by Ms. Kautz-Turnbull are also provided here.
Recording of Panel webinar
Self care in Caregivers of Children with FASD
A Mobile Health Intervention for FASD Families Moving Forward Connect
Initial Feasbility of the Families Moving Forward Connect App
A meta analytic review of adaptive functioning in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, and the effect of IQ, executive functioning, and age
Strengths and Positive Influences of Children with FASD
Hosted live by FFF on January 20, 2022, this webinar featured Dr. Molly Millians of Emory University reviewing evidence-based interventions for children and youth with prenatal alcohol exposure.
Webinar recording
Presentation slides
Handout with resources from Dr. Millians
From Teaching Exceptional Children journal, this article by Hutton (2021) offers strategies for addressing FASD in the classroom.
Article
Presented live on January 6, 2022, this webinar features counselor and FASCETS Director Melissa Elligson covering foundational information about fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and other neurobehavioral conditions. Slides are available upon request from Melissa, melligson@gmail.com.
Recording of Instilling Hope webinar
Originally recorded January 16, 2020, presented by Dr. Molly Millians of Emory University.
Webinar recording
Slides for 1 16 20 webinar