great research site for FASD

Here's a site I found -- NOFAS (National Organization for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome) with TONS of links to research studies showing the devastating effects of alcohol on a fetus, and later on the child and adult, as well. It is linked to ADHD, severe behavior problems, lowered iq, school failure, violence, incarceration.

A study on FASD rate in a Russian baby home in Murmansk is available on this page. The rate of facial feautures consistent with prenatal alcohol exposure was MANY times higher than in the general population, and that's only the babies with the facial features. Many more will have problems just as severe, though they may look perfectly normal. There was also a study of a Russian internat school, basically an orphanage for older kids, and the rate there was also, expectedly, very high.

It's hypothesized, and there's even some emerging evidence, that very intense early intervention in the form of constant stimulation, interaction, and nurturing can greatly improve outcomes for kids with FASD--but here's the catch: It has to be done in the FIRST TWO YEARS OF LIFE. Obviously, a child in an orphanage won't be getting this in their infancy and toddlerhood. Does it suggest that the damage from FASD could be even greater when the opposite is true? When the baby and toddler does not even receive the basic nurturing that any child needs? When their mother is unavailable, which is just about the worst thing that can happen to a human infant?

Those of us parenting Russian adoptees will not be surprised with this research. Here's the NOFAS site:

http://www.nofas.org/news/FASDnews.aspx