Families Moving Forward Bridges: An Early Intervention Enhancement for Infants and Toddlers with Prenatal Alcohol Exposure with or at-risk for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Project Summary/Abstract Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) can lead to a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and a lifetime of neurodevelopmental disabilities and problems of daily living. Early intervention during the first three years of life has the potential to mitigate the teratogenic effects of PAE at a time of critical

brain development. Timely EI supports young children’s development, strengthens responsive parenting and the early parent-child relationship, and provides family resources that can reduce parenting stress. Early intervention by design aims to increase critical early life protective factors and reduce secondary disabilities associated with the cascade of complex learning and

behavior problems commonly reported among children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Yet there is a concerning lack of effective, evidence-based practices for this vulnerable group of young children at a crucial time of child development. Our research team has developed the Families Moving Forward (FMF) Bridges early intervention for infants and

toddlers affected by PAE or with FASD and their caregivers. This innovative early intervention was adapted from the scientifically validated Families Moving Forward (FMF) Program originally designed and shown to be efficacious for preschool and school-aged children with FASD. FMF Bridges blends standard FMF approaches that are FASD-informed with the essential elements

of early childhood intervention best practices that are relationship-based, strengths-based, and family-centered. This study aims to examine the feasibility of the FMF Bridges early intervention in two phases. In both Phases, the FMF Bridges intervention will be delivered by trained community early intervention providers in partnering community-based birth to three settings.

Phase 1 will be a small trial to examine if the FMF Bridges early intervention is feasible to implement in the community settings for which it was designed. Participants will be 12 children, ages 6-36 months with PAE or FASD, and their caregivers. Phase 2 will examine the feasibility of a pilot randomized controlled trial using methods and intervention refinements informed by

Phase 1 data. Thirty-six children, ages 6-36 months, and their caregivers will be enrolled across three participating early intervention sites. Eighteen families each will be randomized to either FMF Bridges or waitlist control conditions. Study results will inform a larger scale clinical trial of FMF Bridges as an FASD-informed early intervention that aims to enhance usual care in

community birth to three settings for this very vulnerable group of young children.