Kids left with alcohol legacy
One in eight children living in remote Fitzroy Valley communities in WA suffers from foetal alcohol syndrome, a long-awaited study has found.
The research, based on an entire community of school-aged children, provides Australia's first comprehensive data on the syndrome in remote communities and reveals one of the highest rates of the disorder in the world.
Known as the Lililwan study and published in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health yesterday, it shows that 120 out of every 1000 children born in 2002 or 2003 in the Fitzroy Valley has foetal alcohol syndrome.
The landmark research was started in 2009 by Aboriginal community leaders, who asked researchers to help them advocate for sufferers.
The syndrome results from alcohol use in pregnancy and can cause low IQ, delays in development, and problems with learning, academic achievement, behaviour, motor function, speech and language, and memory. It is characterised by abnormal facial features and poor growth.
Chief investigator June Oscar, who heads the Marninwarntikura Women's Resource Centre in Fitzroy Crossing, said it helped governments and the community understand for the first time the scale of the problem.
Paediatrician James Fitzpatrick, a chief investigator from the University of Sydney but now based at Perth's Telethon Kids Institute, said the study was highly detailed, with children having three days of assessment by a paediatrician, psychologist, occupational therapist, physiotherapist, and speech and language pathologist.
The study was challenging because of the remote location of the 45 communities visited, limited accommodation, extreme climate and difficult roads.
"While these results are distressing, they are sadly not a surprise and the community has already initiated a comprehensive strategy to prevent alcohol consumption in pregnancy, and to support the children who have already been affected," Dr Fitzpatrick said.
Chief of Nindilingarri Cultural Health Services Maureen Carter said the findings would help to support measures to curb harm from alcohol.
"I have seen the awful impact of foetal alcohol syndrome in my community," she said.
