FASD Ireland has called for urgent national action to address the growing impact of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) in Ireland.
At its second Annual National Conference recently, attendees heard stark warnings that Ireland’s entrenched relationship with alcohol, combined with low public awareness of the risks of prenatal alcohol exposure, continues to drive preventable brain injury in unborn children.
The conference, held at Hotel Woodstock, Ennis, Co Clare, brought together leading clinicians, researchers, legal experts, educators, social care professionals, and people with living experience from Ireland and internationally.
FASD is caused by prenatal alcohol exposure and is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disability that can affect memory, learning, impulse control, emotional regulation, communication, adaptive functioning, physical health, and social understanding. While outcomes vary significantly, FASD can affect every aspect of a person’s life from infancy through to adulthood.
Studies suggest that FASD affects an estimated eight in every 1,000 people globally, with prevalence in Ireland estimated to be significantly higher at up to 7.4 per cent of the population, according to the HSE. Conference speakers warned that Ireland’s historic and cultural normalisation of alcohol consumption means we are now facing a silent FASD epidemic.
Speaking at the conference, Dr Julian K Davies, Clinical Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Washington, Seattle, and one of the world’s leading FASD clinicians, highlighted the scale of prenatal alcohol exposure in Ireland and the profound developmental consequences that can follow.
Dr Julian K Davies said: “FASD is a complex developmental brain injury. It is frequently misunderstood because many individuals do not present with obvious physical characteristics.
“Behaviours associated with FASD are often wrongly interpreted as deliberate misconduct rather than manifestations of neurological disability. If you’ve told a child a thousand times and the child has still not learned, then it’s not the child who is the slow learner.
“However, FASD is not simply a childhood condition, but a lifelong disability requiring ongoing support and understanding across healthcare, education, housing, employment, social services, and the justice system. The gaps between folks with FASD and their peers can widen, particularly at these turning points. The hope is that we can close those gaps with time and intervention.”
Addressing Ireland’s drinking culture and the need for prevention, Dr Davies noted that no amount of alcohol during pregnancy can be considered safe, and emerging evidence also points to risks associated with paternal alcohol consumption in the 90 day prior to conception.
Throughout the two-day conference, it was stressed that FASD remains significantly underdiagnosed and misunderstood in Ireland despite increasing evidence of its prevalence within mental health services, addiction services, homelessness, disability services, care-experienced populations, and the criminal justice system. Speakers emphasised the importance of moving away from shame and stigma towards informed prevention, early intervention, compassionate supports, and FASD-informed public services.
