Training Course Introduction

Positive Behaviour Support Strategies for Children and Adolescents with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a self-paced online course designed to equip you with practical, neurodevelopmentally-informed strategies to understand and support young people whose learning, behaviour, and emotional regulation are impacted by prenatal alcohol exposure.

Through this tailored FASD training, you will learn how brain-based differences influence attention, memory, sensory processing, impulse control, communication, and social understanding. You will also learn how to reduce environmental triggers, scaffold skill development, support regulation, and respond to behaviours of concern using an evidence-based Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) approach.

You will have 12 months to complete the course from the date of purchase.

Course Training Objectives

Overall Aim

To equip parents, educators, support workers, and allied health professionals with a deep understanding of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) through the Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) framework, and the skills to apply practical, strengths-based strategies that enhance safety, emotional wellbeing, learning, and participation.

The course emphasises creating predictable, low-demand, sensory-aware, and nurturing environments that reduce overwhelm, meet developmental needs, and promote positive behaviour across home, school, and community settings.

Learning Objectives

(By the end of the course, you will be able to...)

Knowledge

Define Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and describe the primary domains of impairment, including cognition, executive functioning, communication, sensory regulation, memory, learning, and adaptive functioning.
Understand how prenatal alcohol exposure impacts brain development and contributes to difficulties with attention, emotional regulation, transitions, impulse control, and problem-solving.
Explain how FASD affects learning, relationships, independence, and engagement across home, school, andcommunity environments.
Describe the core principles of Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) and how they guide proactive, neurodevelopmentally-informed, relationship-based strategies that are preventative rather than reactive.

Skills

Apply the Assess-Manage-Prevent cycle to understand the functions of behaviour and identify cognitive, sensory, emotional, and environmental contributors.
Conduct or contribute to a Functional Behaviour Assessment (FBA) that considers brain-based impairments, developmental age, trauma history, and contextual triggers specific to FASD.
Develop and implement Behaviour Prevention and Behaviour Response Plans that reduce cognitive load, support co-regulation, build predictable routines, and maintain safety.
Teach and reinforce replacement skills, including communication strategies, coping skills, emotional regulation, problem-solving, and adaptive functioning skills appropriate to the child's developmental profile.
Collaborate effectively with caregivers, educators, and allied professionals to implement consistent strategies, monitor progress, and celebrate growth and strengths.

Course Curriculum

This course is structured into six progressive modules, each designed to deepen your understanding of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and guide you step-by-step through the Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) framework.

Across the modules, you will move from understanding how FASD affects brain development and behaviour, to learning how to assess, prevent, and respond to distressed or unsafe behaviours in ways that promote regulation, learning, and connection.

Practical, evidence-based strategies are embedded throughout to help you apply the learning within your unique setting - whether at home, in the classroom, or in the community.

By the end of the course, you will have the skills to complete a Functional Behaviour Assessment (FBA), develop a Behaviour Prevention Plan, and design a Behaviour Response/Management Plan. These PBS tools will empower you to support positive, sustainable behaviour change in children and adolescents with FASD with confidence, compassion, and clarity.

Content		Course Time (hrs)
Module 1	Understanding Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Defining FASD and its neurodevelopmental foundations Causes and contributing factors of FASD Core characteristics of FASD and presentations Comorbidity and differential diagnosis Behaviours of Concern and FASD	0:00 - 0:30
Module 2	Introduction to Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) Assess-manage-prevent cycle	0:30 - 1:15
Module 3	Functional Behaviour Assessment (FBA) Individual profile Behaviour data collection Incident ABC Hypothesis	1:15 - 2:30
Module 4	Behaviour Prevention Plan Supportive environment Supportive interaction Supportive activity Teach skill	2:30 - 3:45
Module 5	Behaviour Management Plan Number of escalation stages Escalation stages description Stage specific de-escalation	3:45 - 4:45
Module 6	Conclusion	4:45 - 5:00

Course Resource

Accompanying Book

Included in this course is a Amazon voucher that will be sent to your email address. You
can use the voucher to get a free kindle copy of ‘Positive Behaviour Support Strategies for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)’ by Dolly Bhargava to accompany your study and provide lasting reference material after the course has been completed.

The book provides practical, step-by-step guide that helps caregivers, educators, and professionals understand behaviour through a neurodevelopmental, trauma-informed, and compassion-focused lens. Instead of viewing behaviour as “challenging,” this book reframes it as communication - a reflection of the individual’s underlying neurological needs.

The book can be purchased separately for self-guided study but is included for free as part of this course.

Start This Course Today

If you enrol via Teachable, you will automatically receive a receipt of payment.

If you would like an invoice issued to an organisation for payment, please email dolly@behaviourhelp.com and include the following details:

Organisation name
Course(s) you wish to enrol in
Participant names
Participant email addresses

If you would like to use NDIS funding to pay for a course, please email dolly@behaviourhelp.com with the following information:

Course name(s)
Child’s full name
Child’s NDIS number
The NDIS line item you would like the invoice raised against

Once enrolled, you will receive a Welcome email with course access details. Courses are self-paced and can be completed in your own time. A certificate of completion will be issued at the end of the course.

Alcohol Consumption During Pregnancy - Foetal Alcohol Syndrome

Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition caused by alcohol exposure during pregnancy. Alcohol can interfere with foetal brain development at any stage, and there is no known safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. As a result, FASD exists on a spectrum, with individuals affected in very different ways depending on timing, frequency, and other biological and environmental factors.

Across the general population, FASD is significantly under-diagnosed. Many young people affected by FASD do not receive a formal FASD diagnosis until later childhood or adolescence, and some are never diagnosed at all. Instead, they may be mislabelled as having behavioural problems, poor motivation, or mental health difficulties, without recognition of the underlying brain-based differences driving their needs.

For families raising children with FASD, this lack of diagnosis and understanding can be exhausting and isolating. Parents and carers often report a lived experience of repeated school exclusions, breakdowns in care placements, strained family relationships, and worsening mental health for both the child and the adults supporting them. Without appropriate strategies in place, expectations can easily exceed a child's developmental capacity, leading to distress, shame, and behavioural escalation.

Children and young people affected by FASD may experience challenges with memory, attention, impulse control, emotional regulation, communication, sensory processing, and adaptive functioning. These difficulties are not a result of poor parenting or lack of effort. They reflect differences in how the brain processes information, copes with stress, and responds to environmental demands. Over time, unmet needs can increase the risk of anxiety, depression, school refusal, involvement with the justice system, and other long-term health and wellbeing impacts.

Supporting Young People With FASD Diagnosis

Effective support for FASD is not about punishment, rewards, or trying harder. It requires bespoke training and a shift in mindset towards neurodevelopmentally-informed care. Positive Behaviour Support offers a practical, evidence-based framework to understand behaviour, reduce environmental stressors, and develop strategies that work with the brain rather than against it.

Through building new knowledge about FASD, caregivers and professionals can develop realistic expectations, create predictable and supportive environments, and teach skills in ways that match a child's developmental profile. This includes adapting communication, reducing cognitive load, supporting regulation, and proactively preventing distress before behaviours of concern arise.

With the right understanding, strategies, and collaboration, children and adolescents with FASD can thrive. Early identification, compassionate support, and consistent approaches across home, education, and community settings play a critical role in improving mental health, strengthening relationships, and promoting long-term health, independence, and participation for individuals living with FASD and the families who support them.

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Positive Behaviour Support Strategies for Children and Adolescents with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)