Project Description
Challenge
Self-regulation is the ability to attain, change, or maintain an appropriate level of alertness for a specific task or situation. Being able to do this is critical in our everyday functioning, but it’s something with which people with FASD struggle. Drs. Carmen Rasmussen and Jacqueline Pei (University of Alberta) have implemented a modified version of the Alert Program®, which was adapted (by the program developers) for use with adolescents with FASD.
The basis of the program is that it helps anyone struggling with self-regulation to be aware of their level of regulation (i.e. how alert they feel at any given time) and teaches them how to change their level of alertness to best fit a given situation, using simple strategies. In this way, individuals learn how to improve their alert levels so they can complete tasks throughout the day and experience more success in regulating their behaviour.
Project Summary
Many interventions for individuals with FASD target family support with younger children. The Alert Program®, on the other hand, focuses on adolescents with FASD. This is unique because it addresses a gap in the existing literature and helps adolescents build essential skills at a critical time in their life – as they move towards greater independence.
The team set up a study to determine the effectiveness of the intervention, with the expectation that participants would see improvements in behavioural, cognitive, and physiological measures of self-regulation.
Adolescents aged 11-17 with FASD were recruited for a 12 weeklong study. Over this time, researchers assessed cognitive measures such as executive functioning and response to conflict, behavioural measures including self-regulation, and physiological measures such as cortisol levels and sleep. These measurements were taken before and after the program was administered to detect any changes.
Result
The project is a partnership between researchers and clinicians across two Universities (The University of British Columbia and the University of Alberta) as well as several other collaborators, and also included consultation with program developers Therapy Works Inc. The modification and application of the program is a significant step towards the identification of an evidenced-based self-regulation intervention for adolescents with FASD. Families with children with FASD will also benefit from having more intervention options accessible to them.
Funding
This subproject was part of the larger “FASD: Early Life Adversity, Outcomes and Secondary Intervention and Prevention.” The FASD program was funded a total of $1,205,381 from the Kids Brain Health Network and $2,148,667 from participating partners.
Team
Carmen Rasmussen, University of Alberta
Jaqueline Pei, University of Alberta
Partners
Canada FASD Research Network (CanFASD)
Therapy Work Inc.
The Glenrose Hospital Foundation
The Woman and Children’s Health Research Institute (WCHRI)
