Nov 6, 2007

Media contact: Anne Russell
604-795-2826
or 604-504-7441, local 2826
Cell: 604-798-3709
anne.russell@ucfv.ca 
 
UCFV project takes a new approach to
working with kids with FASD

Most people with a casual knowledge about fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) know about the weaknesses associated with the disorder, but what about the strengths?

A new project being led by the Human Performance Centre and the Centre for Child and Family Development at the University College of the Fraser Valley is taking a new approach to treating children with FASD.

“The traditional approach to intervention for children with FASD is to identify their deficits — whether they are behavioral, social, or cognitive, — and try to work on those deficits,” says Dr. Chris Bertram, a UCFV kinesiology professor and one of the lead researchers in the project. “That approach has had limited success. We plan, instead, to focus on areas of relative strength — motor skills and motor performance — and help them improve in those areas and then measure whether or not that carries over into other areas of their lives.”

FASD is a preventable brain injury caused by alcohol use by the mother during pregnancy that results in lifelong challenges in all areas. It's estimated that for every 1,000 births in B.C., nine infants will be affected in some way by FASD.

The UCFV project, entitled Toward Exercise Intervention for Children with FASD: A Strength-Based Approach, has received $347,339 in funding from the Victoria Foundation as part of the $10-million Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Action Fund established by the B.C. Ministry of Children and Family Development in March 2006.

UCFV is working in partnership with the Fraser Valley Child Development Centre and pediatrician Dr. Sterling Clarren, a leading authority on FASD research.

The project will bring together around a dozen children with FASD aged 8 to 12 years, and UCFV student workers for twice-a-week motor skill sessions at a local school gym.

The UCFV team will pre-test participants on a variety of different motor tasks that measure basic strength, speed, agility, and fine motor skills.

“The program will focus not only on objectively assessed areas of strength, but also on areas that the children themselves say they want to get better at. This could be a game-type activity, or sitting at a desk manipulating an object. They will then work one-on-one with a UCFV student to improve their ability to complete these tasks.”

The team will continually retest the participants, but not just on whether they’re improving at the selected tasks. They’ll also monitor success in school and family stress levels, and take physiological measurements, such as checking saliva samples to see if stress hormone levels are changing.

“We’re hoping to find that the successes that the children achieve in our program will carry over into other parts of their lives,” says Bertram. “Research suggests that a program that focuses on enabling children to choose their own goals in the area of physical activity has important implications for enabling participation and building the social skills necessary for school and daily life.” 

Bertram adds that improved motor skills on the part of the participating children are expected to result in increased success in physical activities, which will increase their ability to lead active lifestyles. Increased levels of physical activity are associated with reduced risk of chronic disease and also yield a variety of psychological benefits, he notes.

“These include reduced stress and depression, and increased emotional well-being, energy level, self-confidence, and satisfaction with social activities, as well as improved memory, cognition, and literacy skills.”

The project is also a great learning opportunity for the UCFV students working on it, including students from kinesiology, psychology, and child and youth care.

“This is a unique opportunity for them to work one-to-one with kids with disabilities, and to see their work make an impact on these children’s lives,” he said. “They’ll also see how that work translates into formal research data.”

UCFV kinesiology professors Alison Pritchard Orr and Dr. Kathy Keiver will work alongside Bertram to monitor the program, and collect and analyze the data. The will work with occupational therapists from the Fraser Valley Child Development Centre to design the activities and train the student researchers. Parents will also be partners in the project, and will be trained to continue activities with the children once the program is finished. The participant children will be referred from local clinics.

The FASD Action Fund, from which UCFV received funding for this project, has three focuses: $2 million to promote prevention, public education, and parent and caregiver education; $7 million for projects that focus on improving outcomes for children and youth with FASD; and $1 million in an endowment fund to help attract additional funding through community contributions. It is funded by the provincial government and distributed through the Victoria Foundation.

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