Educating Families and
Professionals
FAS Curricula Now Available!
In 2001, CDC
funded four nonprofit organizations to develop and evaluate educational
curricula for various audiences about fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and
other prenatal alcohol-related disorders and how to access appropriate
services for children with FAS and their families. After being tested
through multiple trainings and found to be effective, materials from these
four organizations are now available. More about each curriculum is
described below.
The Arc of the United States—Silver Spring, Maryland
The Arc has developed and tested a comprehensive curriculum that can be
presented to adult learners in a workshop format. Three modules address
general information about FAS and related disorders, components of care for
children with these conditions, and advocating for services and supports.
Using this curriculum, The Arc has conducted over 30 trainings in
approximately 20 states for more than 1,000 participants, such as
parents/caregivers, professionals, and trainers. For more information about
these materials and how to order them, please visit
http://www.thearc.org.
Double ARC—Toledo, Ohio
Double ARC has developed and tested separate training curricula for
parents and teachers. The parent curriculum describes the core deficits of
children with FAS and related conditions, teaches effective parenting
techniques addressing these deficits, and directs parents to service
resources for children, including school programs. The curriculum for
teachers describes FAS and related conditions, ways to recognize children
who might have the condition, and approaches to enhancing school
performance. Double ARC has also created a video on FAS available for use
with the curriculum. Double ARC offers training for facilitators who will
be teaching the parent classes. These materials have been tested with more
than 400 participants in sessions for parents and teachers. For more
information about these materials and how to order them, please visit
http://www.doublearc.org.
Education Development Center—Newton, Massachusetts
The Education Development Center has developed and evaluated an online
education package about FAS and related conditions; collaborated with state
agencies to identify and prepare a state cadre of trainers; developed,
facilitated, and evaluated an online training-of-trainers (TOT) course to
prepare state trainers; and collaborated with state agencies to develop a
system for providing FAS awareness sessions in schools targeting school
staff and parents/caregivers. The content of the TOT and awareness sessions
includes a comprehensive review of the physical, neurodevelopmental, and
behavioral characteristics of children with FAS; secondary disabilities;
needed services; family stressors and coping strategies; and what schools
can do with limited community resources. The TOT program was conducted with
more than 200 participants from 18 states and Guam. These trainers then
delivered school-based workshops in their respective states. The training
materials, including a how-to guide for states, are now available on CD.
For more information about these materials and how to order them, please
visit http://www.edc.org.
National Indian Justice Center—Santa Rosa, California
The National Indian Justice Center has developed and tested a training
curriculum that focuses on increasing awareness of FAS and related
conditions and encourages a cooperative approach to referring and
responding to persons with FAS within the tribal community. The curriculum
includes information about the medical and psychological aspects of FAS and
related conditions. It was developed to target American Indian populations
and is designed for use by tribal court judges, law enforcement personnel,
social service workers, tribal leaders, medical health providers, mental
health providers, housing authority personnel, teachers/educators, and
non-tribal judicial system personnel. The curriculum has been tested with
more than 400 participants from tribes in California, Idaho, Oregon, and
Washington. For more information about these materials and how to order
them, please visit http://www.nijc.org.
[Return
to Top]
|