Kids with FASD need more services: Alberta educators

Learning disabilities, memory loss, a short attention span and difficulty understanding the consequences of actions these are just a few of the problems faced by students whose mothers drank during pregnancy.

And while Alberta is considered a leader in the detection and treatment of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, more needs to be done to provide the special programs FASD students need to overcome their disabilities, Alberta educators say.

The early education programat Scott Robertson Elementary, whichis open to kids between 18 monthsand five years of age who have been diagnosed with FASD, appears to be a step in the right direction.

One parent, whose daughter is sharpening her language skills in the preschool program, said it helps students get more of the skills they need before they reach Grade 1. She said teachers in higher grades at the school also understand the needs of FASD children.

"The continuity is amazing," she said. "All of the staff talk and everyone at the school understands."

Specialized support

But the school doesn't stop there it continues to offer specialized support to students after they enter the first grade.

"There's not a specific classroom for FASD after you reachsix years old. What happens after that we have various different kinds of specialized classrooms," said vice principal Wendy McKenzie.

"We have children who have mild cognitive delay which some FASD children have but that's not necessarily what their total picture is, so the funding that provides that type of programming is not going to meet all of their needs."

Butnot all of the students in the preschool program will stay at Scott Robertson Elementary, McKenzie said.

Many go on to other schools in the area, McKenzie said, and those schools often want to send kids back because they don't have the expertise or special programs to deal with FASD.

The province should target money specifically for students with the disorder, McKenzie said, in order to provide schools with the tools they need to support their students.

The province said it is currently reviewing special-needs education and, if changes are necessary, they will be made by the fall of 2011.