The Academic Edge

The Academic Edge, Inc. recently received a two-year, $750,000, federal grant from the National Institute on Alcohol and Alcohol Abuse to continue development of its award-winning multimedia package that introduces parents and other care providers to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).

FASD is a set of physical and mental characteristics that occur among children whose biological mothers drank alcohol during pregnancy. FASD has long been known as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. The Academic Edge produced a CD-ROM to help care providers understand FAS and to seek a diagnosis if they suspect a child in their care may have been prenatally affected by alcohol. The additional funding allows AEI to development version 2.0 of the diagnosis module and design, develop, and evaluate version 1.0 of a groundbreaking multimedia tool to help parents seek care for their child beyond diagnosis.

FAS Characteristics and Diagnosis Version 1.0 is available today. More information about it and about the project may be found on AEI's project specific web site: fas.academicedge.com.

Company Background

The Academic Edge, Inc., located in Bloomington, Indiana, creates innovative, media-rich learning environments to support children, adolescents, and adults. AEI performs state-of-the-art media research and development for the federal government, universities, and corporate clients. AEI has received many national awards, including Parent's Choice, BESSIE, CODiE, and All-Star Awards. Projects include the development of an interactive conflict resolution curriculum for middle schools, the creation of training and support media on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, the design of media to increase prevention of pressure ulcers in the home healthcare environment, and the development of new warning labels and instructional media to reduce exposure to birth defect inducing substances. More information may be found at www.academicedge.com.