Presented by The Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, Texas Tech University School of Law, STARCARE Health Services, and FASD United
Friday, April 29th, 2022
This all-day training will provide an overview of diagnosis, ramifications, interventions and prevention of fetal alcohol
This training will explain why FASD is a severe developmental disability, how to recognize it, diagnose it,
treat it and manage it in our clients. It will address issues of suggestibility and gullibility as it relates to your clients
neurobehavioral and neurocognitive deficits and how these, and other deficits get them into the criminal justice system
and often keeps them there. This training will be for all attorneys from juvenile justice to capital attorneys in the
state of Texas.
The seminar will be held in person at the Lanier Center-Texas Tech University Law School
Course Directors
• William Edwards – California
• Philip Wischkaemper – Texas
What is FASD?
FASD is an umbrella term describing the range of effects that can occur in an individual who is exposed to alcohol in utero. These effects may include physical, mental, behavioral, and/or learning disabilities with lifelong implications. Children with FASD need early and ongoing intervention to provide intervention strategies and to prevent secondary disabilities. For example, the inability to read social clues may lead to delays in development, decision-making, impulse control, and learning which for many results in school failure, behavioral and mental health challenges, and involvement in the juvenile and adult justice system.
FASD in Texas
- Of the over 377,590 babies born annually in Texas, over 18,870 are estimated to have a FASD, far in excess of current diagnostic capacity*
- Of the 5.49 Million students in Texas schools, as many as 274,600 may have FASD, yet far fewer are diagnosed*
- Cost of FASD is $22,810 per year (by age 20 Arkansas has spent $456,200 per child with FASD)**
- Many individuals with prenatal alcohol exposure end up in the criminal justice system, including death row in Texas**
- A 2017 study showed that in 1000 babies born in Texas, 8% were alcohol exposed within 30 days prior to birth***
*May PA, Chambers CD, Kalberg WO, et al. Prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders in 4 US Communities. JAMA. 2018;319(5):474-482. doi:10.1001/jama.2017.21896 ** Data provided by Dr. Larry Burd, Ph.D., Director of the North Dakota Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Clinic ***Bakhireva L et al. (2017). Prevalence of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure in the State of Texas as Assessed by Phosphatidylethanol in Newborn Dried Blood Spot Specimens. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 41, 1004-1011.