# 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

> **NIH NIH R61** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2024 · $231,364

## Abstract

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.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10951335
- **Project number:** 1R61AA031695-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** TRACY L JIRIKOWIC
- **Activity code:** R61 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $231,364
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-01 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10951335

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10951335, 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 (1R61AA031695-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10951335. Licensed CC0.

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