09/09/2026
September 9 is Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Awareness Day.
FASD is a lifelong disability caused by prenatal alcohol exposure. It can affect the brain and body in ways that may not always be visible, but can have a significant impact on learning, behavior, communication, relationships, and everyday functioning.
In the United States, it is estimated that 1–5% of first graders have FASD. FASD can range from mild to severe and may contribute to:
Learning and memory difficulties
Speech and language delays
Vision and hearing challenges
Problems affecting critical organs
Social and relationship challenges
Difficulties with attention, organization, and executive functioning
Challenges with emotional regulation and understanding consequences
Prenatal alcohol exposure can also increase the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth, and sudden infant death syndrome.
FASD and School Support
For children with FASD, understanding the diagnosis is only part of the picture. What matters in the school setting is how FASD affects a child's ability to learn, participate, and function independently.
In Montana, FASD may be considered under the Other Health Impairment (OHI) eligibility category for special education when the student meets the applicable criteria and requires specially designed instruction. Montana's Office of Public Instruction requires medical documentation establishing a qualifying health condition as part of the initial identification process.
But a diagnosis alone doesn't tell the whole story.
A comprehensive evaluation and IEP should consider the functional impact of FASD, including difficulties with:
--Executive functioning: planning, organizing, starting, and completing tasks
Working memory: remembering instructions or information after hearing it
--Attention: sustaining attention or shifting between tasks
-Processing: needing additional time to understand or respond
--Learning and retention: difficulty remembering and applying previously taught information
-Math: challenges with number sense, money, time, and multi-step calculations
Language: difficulty understanding complex language or expressing thoughts
-Adaptive functioning: needing support with everyday school expectations and independence
-Social functioning: difficulty interpreting social cues, boundaries, or consequences
--Behavior and self-regulation: impulsivity, emotional regulation, and frustration tolerance
Generalization: knowing a skill in one setting but struggling to use it in another
-Children with FASD don't simply need to "try harder." Their brains may process information differently, and traditional approaches don't always work.
The goal of appropriate educational support is to recognize those differences, identify the child's individual strengths and challenges, and provide the instruction, accommodations, and supports they need to succeed.
Awareness matters. Understanding matters. And appropriate support can make a lifelong difference.
On September 9th each year, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) recognizes International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Awareness Day to raise awareness about the lifelong effects of FASD, and as a reminder that that there is no known safe amount of alcohol consum...
