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Volume 7, Issue 5(Suppl) J Addict Res Ther
ISSN:2155-6105 JART, an open access journal
Page 16
Addiction Therapy 2016
October 03-05, 2016
conferenceseries.com
October 03-05, 2016 Atlanta, USA
5th International Conference and Exhibition on
Addiction Research & Therapy
Zohreh Zarnegar, J Addict Res Ther 2016, 7:5(Suppl)
Outcomes of a neuro developmentally based early intervention model with children with fetal alcohol
spectrum disorders: Treatment modalities that worked
Background: Abundance of research findings show complex and multilevel developmental delays and retardation of brain
developmental systems of (A) regulatory; (B) somatosensory processing; (C) relational and psycho-social; and (D) cortical/
executive functioning, among children diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. However, research on early
intervention for young children (infants and toddlers) with FASD is limited.
Objective: To explore outcomes of a neurodevelopmentally based early intervention model with a group of young children
with FASD and their adoptive caregivers, respectively.
Methods: Using a neurodevelopmentally based intervention protocol, young children with FASD and their adoptive
caregivers in the study received mental health interventions, individualized according to the pre-test results of the measured
brain developmental systems (A, B, C, and D). Pre-post evaluation methods were applied to measure changes on these brain
developmental systems for the young children, and parenting styles, behaviors and concerns for the adoptive parents.
Results: The results showed substantial developmental improvements for the young children in the study on various
developmental systems of A, B, C, and D, and positive improvements for their adoptive parents on all the measured domains.
Conclusion: Outcomes of this study shows (a) positive outcomes of a neurodevelopmentally based early intervention model
with young children with FASD; (b) importance of early intervention on developing brain; (c) the importance of direct and
full inclusion of the primary caregivers during the intervention process; (d) significant impacts of parenting education on the
child’s outcome; and (e) the importance of inter-disciplinary integrated care for the families of young children with FASD.
Biography
Zohreh Zarnegar, a clinical, neuro-pediatric psychologist, PhD from University of Southern California (USC), completed a NIMH postdoctoral fellowship in Preventive
Medicine at USC Medical School. She has received awards for her expertise-services for health promotion, prevention and early intervention, and developing
programs focusing on early childhood development, prevention of prenatal exposures to (1) trauma and maltreatment; and (2) drugs, particularly alcohol. She takes
her messages around the world through teaching and training of the professionals. She is a Zero to Three Graduate Fellow, ChildTrauma Academy Fellow, and
director of Children’s Health International (CHI) serving families with young children worldwide.
Zohreh Zarnegar
University of Southern California, USA