FASD

Challenge Up to 90% of children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) experience sleep problems, particularly insomnia, which refers to difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, and waking up in the morning. This number is in stark contrast to the 25% of typically developing children who have trouble sleeping. Poor sleep can lead to significant consequences for children’s [...]

Challenge Families and individuals with FASD often struggle when it comes to accessing supports, sometimes because they don’t know services exist, and other times inclusion criteria act as a barrier. Project Summary The Fetal Alcohol Resource Program (FARP) developed in partnership with Citizen Advocacy Ottawa was created to address this issue. FARP plays a navigator [...]

Challenge Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), which results from prenatal alcohol exposure, is the most common cause of neurodevelopmental impairments in the western world, with an estimated prevalence of 3-5% in Canada, and as high as 11% in some communities. Diagnosing the disorder is time-consuming and costly — but early diagnosis of children at risk [...]

A Pilot in Alberta, British Columbia and the Yukon Challenge Children with neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDDs) often navigate a confusing patchwork of uncoordinated services. These services span several different sectors, organizations and layers of government. Research shows that families frequently struggle to determine what supports are available, appropriate and accessible —especially at crucial life junctures such [...]

Challenge New biomarkers, new treatments, and new methods: scientific advancements bring new opportunities, but they also tend to bring further ethical questions with them. This is especially true in the field of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) since it involves vulnerable populations such as children, people struggling with addictions and people with disabilities. Project Summary Built into [...]

Challenge Social skills significantly impair children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), which can often lead to additional problems concerning health, education, and addictions. However, there is limited research on the efficacy of social skills interventions for children affected by FASD. To address this knowledge gap, researchers will investigate if gaming could be a viable [...]

Challenge Video games place a high demand on our cognitive systems and teach children skills that are generalizable to other tasks. For example, many games require the player to divide their attention between two different tasks; to ignore distractors; and to assess a situation and quickly make a decision, all skills that are applicable in [...]

Challenge A lot of genomics data has been published on neurodevelopmental disabilities, but researchers face challenges in accessing this information. Data found in the literature is often scattered and difficult to synthesize, and simply aggregating data onto one platform isn’t sufficient. Project Summary This project aimed to examine the literature on the genomics of FASD, [...]

Challenge Neuroscience is a broad field with a vast array of research and findings. The research often interconnects in various ways and allows scientists to extrapolate data that is useful for future projects. The problem, however, was to create a database where this information could be shared, accessed and used in meaningful ways. Project Summary [...]

Challenge Approximately 1 in 100 children per year affected by prenatal alcohol exposure. These estimates translate to thousands of affected infants born each year with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Intervention programs for children with FASD have traditionally focused on addressing deficits in cognitive ability and intellectual capacity, or on adapting social behaviours.  Such programs [...]