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. 2023 Jan 20;10(2):196.
doi: 10.3390/children10020196.

Development and Evaluation of a Virtual Model for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Assessment and Diagnosis in Children: A Pilot Study

Seema King  1 , Colleen Burns  2 , Brent Symes  2 , ShawnaLee Jessiman  3 , Amber Bell  2   4 , Hasu Rajani  2   4
Affiliations

Development and Evaluation of a Virtual Model for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Assessment and Diagnosis in Children: A Pilot Study

Seema King et al. Children (Basel). .

Abstract

The diagnostic process for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) involves a multi-disciplinary team and includes neurodevelopmental, physical, and facial assessments and evidence of prenatal alcohol exposure during the index pregnancy. With the increased use of virtual care in health care due to the pandemic, and desire of clinics to be more efficient when providing timely services, there was a need to develop a virtual diagnostic model for FASD. This study develops a virtual model for the entire FASD assessment and diagnostic process, including individual neurodevelopmental assessments. It proposes a virtual model for assessment and diagnosis of FASD in children and evaluates the functionality of this model with other national and international FASD diagnostic teams and caregivers of children being assessed for FASD.

Keywords: fetal alcohol spectrum disorder; fetal alcohol syndrome; neurodevelopment; pediatrics; prenatal alcohol exposure; virtual care.

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Conflict of interest statement

The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The in-person and virtual diagnosis and assessment model of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in children.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Parts of the assessment or diagnostic clinic process being used pre-webinar and considered post-webinar by FASD diagnostic teams.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Parts of the neurodevelopmental assessments being used pre-webinar and considered post-webinar by the FASD diagnostic teams.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Caregiver experiences with a virtual diagnosis and assessment model of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in children.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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