Teachers play a critical role in facilitating positive learning and life outcomes for students with FASD. These children do not respond to traditional instructions or classroom management techniques, and while many children with FASD have average or high intelligence, they also have complex needs which impact many aspects of the school environment. Behaviours and challenges of a child with FASD vary, and can include:
- learning difficulties
- impulsiveness
- difficulty connecting actions to consequences (don’t learn from mistakes)
- difficulty making and keeping friends
- attention / hyperactivity
- memory challenges (short and long term)
- developmental delays
NOFASD Australia’s website provides a range of resources for teachers and educators. We have also produced a number of webinars including a 45 minute webinar for teachers which can be viewed here.
Some valuable resources include:
The Marulu FASD Strategy publication Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and complex trauma: A resource for educators is valuable for educators and other professionals. This book contains detailed information about FASD and how it interacts with trauma, and provides many practical strategies for supporting young people with FASD in the classroom.
South Australia’s Department of Education has a comprehensive webpage on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder which can be accessed here. This page covers the education implications of FASD, managing FASD in education and care, supporting children and families with FASD and related resources. Downloadable resources include:
- An interoception support planwhich provides a detailed explanation and opportunity for the development of individualised strategies to assist children to understand their bodies and thus self-regulate.
- A sensory overview support planwhich can provide a detailed understanding of individual sensory difficulties and assist in developing strategies to minimise sensory overload in the education setting.
- A regulation scale which assists children and adolescents to identify what is impacting their mood, what signals their body is giving them, and ways to respond and manage their change in mood.
WRAP Schools has produced short videos based on 8 Magic Keys: Developing Successful Interventions for Students with FAS by Deb Evensen and Jan Lutke. These are valuable resources for teachers and may be beneficial for parents and caregivers too. Read an overview of each Magic Key and watch them here.
NOFASD Australia’s resource, an Introduction to Teachers, can be downloaded and completed by parents/carers to provide specific information on strengths, challenges, and effective strategies for their individual child.
We recommend you access NOFASD’s comprehensive resources for teachers and educators. Recommended links include:
Supporting students with FASD – online learning
Trying Differently Rather Than Harder – highly recommended reading
Teaching a student with FASD
Understanding FASD: A comprehensive guide for pre-k to 8 educators
Finally, this video describes a shift in approach when working with students with FASD:
To read other NOFASD Australia blogs click here.
You may also like to read Edmonton and Area Fetal Alcohol Network’s blog KNOWFASD: Academic Difficulties.
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