Neuropsychological aspects of prevention and intervention for FASD in Great Britain.

Abstract

The USA has relatively well-developed programs focused on the prevention of and intervention for prenatal alcohol exposure when compared with most other coun-tries. This includes federal and state government programs involving extensive efforts by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Despite these efforts and widely available and publicized information about the dan-ger of alcohol exposure to the developing fetus, prenatal alcohol exposure remains a significant problem in the USA. As such, more advocacy efforts are needed to in-crease the research in this area and the dissemination of these findings. Pediatric neuropsychologists are ideally suit-ed to consider the neurological compromise associated with prenatal alcohol exposure and how risk and resiliency fac-tors in the environment influence neurodevelopment. As such, pediatric neuropsychologists can serve as effective advocates for improved services and research for children affected by prenatal alcohol exposure. Advocacy needs in-clude increased funding for research and intervention, great-er engagement, and coordination of the medical, education-al, juvenile justice, and psychological communities as well as increased support of local, state, and federal government agencies to reduce the incidence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) and provide appropriate services. This ar-ticle reviews the available literature regarding these con-cerns and discusses considerations for pediatric neuropsy-chologists for the current efforts on prevention and inter-vention for individuals with FASD in the USA.