While there’s still immeasurable research to be done in the field of FASD, I’m increasingly of the opinion that it’s OTHER FIELDS that need FASD research.. For example, the proponents of the Adverse Childhood Experiences body of study, currently enjoying a great whoosh of awareness and enthusiasm, seem entirely unmoved by the likely significance of prenatal alcohol exposure to their data and conclusions. Logically: the more ACEs you suffer, the more likely that alcohol has been present–problematically so. In addition, ALL of the behavioral outcomes and some of the medical ones are exactly those that keep showing up in FASD phenotypes. At the least, in this and so many other fields, researchers need to ask–and it’s not a good hard-science question–whether there was alcohol in gestation. Our scientists will balk at this, since it’s such a speculative question, but with a little will we could find a way–for example: “Are you pretty sure your mom never drank”, which would be a start.
While there’s still immeasurable research to be done in the field of FASD, I’m increasingly of the opinion that it’s OTHER FIELDS that need FASD research.. For example, the proponents of the Adverse Childhood Experiences body of study, currently enjoying a great whoosh of awareness and enthusiasm, seem entirely unmoved by the likely significance of prenatal alcohol exposure to their data and conclusions. Logically: the more ACEs you suffer, the more likely that alcohol has been present–problematically so. In addition, ALL of the behavioral outcomes and some of the medical ones are exactly those that keep showing up in FASD phenotypes. At the least, in this and so many other fields, researchers need to ask–and it’s not a good hard-science question–whether there was alcohol in gestation. Our scientists will balk at this, since it’s such a speculative question, but with a little will we could find a way–for example: “Are you pretty sure your mom never drank”, which would be a start.