Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) is when a baby is exposed to alcohol before they are born. PAE can change how a baby’s brain and body grow, changing how they think and act. People with PAE may be diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) if they have significant difficulties with at least three different skills, such as thinking and reasoning, school skills, and memory. We want to learn about children with PAE and their caregivers and educators in Manitoba. Often, these children are described as having challenging behaviors, such as trouble with truth-telling, bullying, not listening, and more. We plan to see whether these challenging behaviors change based on whether the child is a girl or a boy, whether they have another disorder, have physical differences associated with FASD, and more. We also want to see if caregiver factors, like their gender and the number of children in the home, affect this. We will also want to learn whether challenging child behaviors are because of skill difficulties (e.g., memory, learning) that the children need help with. What we learn from this study will help us at the Manitoba FASD Centre better support families and educators of children with PAE by helping us help adults see children’s behaviors more positively.
