House of Representatives Committees

| House of Representatives Standing Committtee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs

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FASD: The Hidden Harm: Inquiry into the prevention, diagnosis and management of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

November 2012

© Commonwealth of Australia 2012

ISBN 978-0-642-79762-9 (Printed version)
ISBN 978-0-642-79763-6 (HTML version)

View the report as a single document - (PDF 1.69MB)


View the report as separate downloadable parts:

Preliminary pages (PDF 98KB)
 
Chapter 1 Introduction (PDF 122KB)
 
Chapter 2 FASD and alcohol consumption patterns (PDF 363KB)

What are Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders?
History
The effect of alcohol on a fetus
Normal development
Alcohol exposure
Impact on the fetal brain
Effects at critical times of development
FASD symptoms
Secondary conditions
FASD prevalence in Australia
FASD and Indigenous communities
Alcohol use in Australian society
Patterns of consumption
Young people
Indigenous communities
Pregnant women and alcohol consumption rates
Reasons pregnant women continue to consume alcohol

 
Chapter 3 FASD awareness and prevention (PDF 685KB)

Prevention through education and support
The role of health professionals
Raising public awareness
Specialised intervention and support services
Committee Comment
Prevention through reforms of alcohol sales and labelling
Pricing and availability
Promotion
Labelling
Committee Comment

 
Chapter 4 Diagnosis (PDF 139KB)

Critical importance of early diagnosis and intervention
Obstacles to diagnosis
Stigma
Current capacity of health professionals to diagnose FASD
Complexity of FASD
Nationally consistent diagnostic tool and guidelines
Lack of diagnostic services in Australia
After the diagnosis
Committee Comment

 
Chapter 5 Management needs (PDF 176KB)

Lack of prevalence data to inform management
Carers
Challenges
Actions
Education
Challenges
Actions
Criminal Justice System
Challenges
Actions
Identifying FASD as a disability
Committee Comment

 
Appendix A – List of Submissions (PDF 33KB)
 
Appendix B – List of witnesses appearing at public hearings (PDF 64KB)
 
Appendix C – List of exhibits (PDF 49KB)

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