Project Description

Challenge

Following an FASD diagnostic assessment, individuals will receive a list of recommendations about services, supports and interventions with which to connect. The challenge is that the recommendations are often lengthy, may not always be understandable to families, and are provided and explained at at time when individuals and families are feeling overwhelmed.

Project Summary

COMPASS is a tool being developed from information in the National FASD Database. The National FASD Database is a Canadian database with information from over 2,000 people at 28 FASD diagnostic clinics in seven provinces. The Database captures recommendations about supports, services, and interventions. COMPASS will facilitate the process of translating this data into information that is useful for families and individuals. In particular, analysis of this information will help to identify patterns of needs, strengths, and interventions; this can then be used to develop an algorithm so those past learnings can be efficiently applied to new patients. In this way, evidence-based, accessible intervention plans can be generated. The aim is to provide individuals and families additional supports to help more easily understand and share suggested recommendations, which will be provided within a strengths-based intervention framework, thus helping to ease the process of lifespan planning.

Looking Towards the Future

The team leading the project plans to engage two community-based clinics to trial the tool as a way to inform best practices. The intention is to eventually roll out COMPASS-associated training materials and resources to all FASD diagnostic clinics partnering in the National FASD Database, as well as working with provinces to ensure that locally-informed recommendations for intervention supports and services are made available.

Funding

Kids Brain Health Network – $100,000.00

Team

Principle Investigators

Dr. Jocelynn Cook, Society for Obstetricians & Gynecologists of Canada

Program Manager

Kathy Unsworth, CanFASD

Collaborators

Dr. Jacqueline Pei, University of Alberta
Dr. Kaitlyn McLachlan, University of Guelph
Audrey McFarlane, CanFASD