Recognizing that learners with FASD can be highly intelligent yet still need supports to be successful is something that every teacher should be aware of. Many teachers tell me that they have never taught a student with FASD, which scientifically we know isn’t the case due to prevalence rates, they just haven’t taught one who has been diagnosed with FASD.

The CDC states a prevalence rate of 1 in 20 people, that means there is at least one, usually unrecognized and under-supported, student with FASD in every classroom across America - not something that was ever brought up in my studies to become a special educator.

When FASD isn’t appropriately accommodated in the classroom, it can look like bad behavior, laziness or willful defiance - it’s not, it’s the cry of a student who wants to do well but can’t because they don’t have the tools or resources they need to learn. FASD Impacts Schools and FASD Impacts Me