Addressing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in Aboriginal Communities

This chapter begins with a description of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and examples of reported prevalence of FASD in the international context. It then draws on international and Australian studies to describe the burden of FASD, including studies relevant to the Aboriginal population. The section on the Australian context provides a description of some of the action that has been taken in Australia to address FASD. The section on the Life Cycle model includes stories of Aboriginal people, from a major city and rural and remote communities in northern and southeast Queensland, on their experiences and perceptions of alcohol. These stories, collected by Hayes in 1997 and 1998, led to the development of the Life Cycle model. This model can be adopted to address the complexities of FASD in the Aboriginal population. The final section describes initiatives driven by local Aboriginal communities, and accepted as best practice, for addressing FASD in their communities. The chapter concludes with questions for reflective practice and FASD.