Youth with FASD: Understanding the challenges and identifying supports to foster healthy development

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), resulting from prenatal exposure to alcohol, is linked to a range of cognitive, motor, social, and emotional challenges in multiple domains. Research has commonly focused on risk and adversity among individuals with the condition, while less emphasis has been placed on identifying supports and practices associated with enhanced health and well-being. There has also been a lack of population-level studies of youth with FASD. An aim of the current study was to address these gaps by focusing on the experiences of youth (ages 12–19) with FASD, using data from a population-level youth health survey (n = 38,488 overall). Findings indicated that youth with FASD (n = 218) were more likely than those without the condition to experience school challenges; victimization (e.g., abuse, bullying); involvement in the child welfare system and youth justice; and poorer health and well-being. However, supports and protective factors were also identified among youth with FASD that increased their odds of positive health and well-being (including self-confidence, life satisfaction, and hopefulness). These included having adults who helped them with various tasks (e.g., learning life-skills and making/getting to appointments); a caring and safe school environment; caring adults in the community (outside of the family and school); feeling they had a voice in their activities; and spending time in nature. Findings suggest that while youth with FASD experience challenges, offering them integrated supports in multiple domains, and ensuring they have input into decisions that affect them, can contribute to their healthy development.