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Families Moving Forward Project
Core Function: Research and Evaluation
The purpose of the Families Moving Forward (FMF) Project is to carry out programmatic research examining an innovative model of behavioral consultation intervention for families raising children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). The first research step was to develop and carry out an initial test of efficacy of the FMF intervention in a randomized controlled trial. This was completed, with promising positive intervention results which are now being published. The second research step, currently underway, is to carry out the FMF intervention in the community, to study real-life feasibility and see if the same promising outcomes for children and families can be achieved. Scheduled for 2009 is a videoconference training for selected providers in several states across the US to teach them to carry out the FMF intervention in their own communities. The FMF Project has also provided research and clinical experience to multiple undergraduates, graduates, post-graduates and post-doctoral fellows.
The FMF Project provides much-needed information on intervention for the surprisingly large population of children with the neurodevelopmental disabilities known as FASD and their families. Funded by the Centers on Disease Control and Prevention, FMF research is part of a five-site collaborative research group that has been the first to systematically carry out FASD intervention research. The current FMF research study involves a partnership between Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute, the University of Washington FAS Diagnostic and Prevention Network (a statewide network of diagnostic clinics and research center), the Institute for Family Development (a community mental health agency), and NOFAS Washington State (a parent support/advocacy group). FMF research so far has been very carefully designed (N=52 in initial efficacy study; N=29 with comparison to original group of 52 in second efficacy study). More research on FMF intervention efficacy is planned. Parent involvement in the FMF intervention has been very high, with 96% treatment compliance in the university-based initial study, and 89% compliance in the second study when intervention was based in the community. There has been very little drop-out from FMF research studies, so results are highly representative of the range of outcomes. For instance, 100% of the child subjects were seen at follow-up in both the initial and second tests of efficacy.
Findings from the Families Moving Forward Project are being disseminated in publications. There have also been many different presentations about the FMF Program and study results across the US and in Canada, recently including: the FASD Leadership Institute in Atlanta, Georgia; the SAMHSA-funded FASD Center for Excellence in Washington DC; and annual meetings of professionals in a variety of disciplines that are working to improve clinical care of children with FASD and their families.
More Information
Families Moving Forward Website |
