Australia assesses problems from alcohol-related brain damage

By RJ Whitehead

- Last updated on GMT

© iStock
© iStock
About a third of young people in youth detention in Western Australia have alcohol-related brain damage, according to the country’s first study to assess young criminals for the condition.

Researchers have spent the past two years assessing over 100 residents at the Banksia Hill detention centre, Western Australia’s only facility for offenders aged 10-17. 

Early results show that 30-40% of young people assessed have foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), a neurodevelopmental disorder caused when an unborn child is exposed to alcohol in the womb. 

Carol Bower, who headed the study, said the results were valuable even at this early stage, and would be used to inform the development of a social framework to help youngsters with FASD. 

She said: “These young people have debilitating and life-long neurodevelopmental impairments, which affect their ability to function in society, through no fault of their own.​” 

Rachael Green, WA’s deputy commissioner for youth justice services, welcomed the release of preliminary data from the study. 

An impairment like FASD affects a young person’s ability to process instructions or understand the consequences of their actions, which impacts their behaviour and the effectiveness of our youth justice programs​,” she said. 

FASD is characterised by severe neurodevelopmental impairment resulting from an unborn child's exposure to alcohol during pregnancy. 

The effects of prenatal alcohol exposure are life long and may not be seen at birth. They include brain damage leading to delayed development, social, behavioural and learning problems.

Some pockets of Australia are believed to have among the highest FASD rates in the world, believed to be fuelled by high levels of alcoholism in many aboriginal communities. 

According to one study of the remote Fitzroy Valley region of WA, 120 per 1000 aboriginal children surveyed had physical features and neurodevelopmental impairment consistent with FASD. In 127 of the pregnancies studied, 55% of the mothers drank during pregnancy.

Prof. Bower added: “Now that we know how big the problem is in young people in detention, we can work towards developing strategies to help them while they are in detention, when they leave, and ideally before they reach detention in the first place.​” 

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