Regional Competence Service – Congenital Effects of Substance Exposure
Contact usAbout us
The Regional Competence Service – Congenital Effects of Substance Exposure (RK-MR HSØ) works closely with the child’s guardians, the municipality and the specialist health service to ensure that children receive the care and follow-up they need. Our main task is to help ensure that children receive equal services, regardless of where they live in the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority area.
We offer assessment and diagnosis of children and young people in cooperation with the local specialist health service. We also provide information and help build expertise.
The service is available by phone every day from 08:00 to 15:00. We receive referrals and assess them on an ongoing basis.
Discussions can be held by phone or as video consultations.
Contact our consultant,Siv Stigenon 37 07 57 50 to arrange an appointment.
Here you will find some of our articles and publications.
Read our FASD magazine, which covers topics such as the importance of assessment and diagnosis, research, and knowledge and understanding of how the right diagnosis leads to the right support.
FASD magazine
In April 2018, Ane J. Rossavik submitted her master’s thesis, “Interventions for Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.” The thesis was supervised by RK-MR Director Gro CC Løhaugen, with senior adviser at the Norwegian Directorate of Health Gabrielle Welle-Strand, PhD, MD, as co-supervisor. The thesis consisted of a systematic literature review and qualitative interviews with professionals in Norway who have experience working with FASD. Unfortunately, there are still few studies focusing on how to help children with FASD. Interviews with Norwegian professionals provide important information about the interventions they have experience with.
RK-MR was invited to write about the establishment of the service and how it is intended to develop for the journal “Substance Abuse.” The article was titled:
Establishment of the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority Resource Center for Children with Prenatal Alcohol/Drug Exposure. Løhaugen GC, Flak MM, Gerstner T, Sundberg C, Lerdal B, Skranes J. Subst Abuse. 2015 Dec 6;9(Suppl 2):67-75. doi: 10.4137/SART.S23542. eCollection 2015.
The Regional Centre for Child and Adolescent Rehabilitation is an important partner of our competence service. In December 2015, RK-MR wrote a blog post on its website titledEqual services for children with congenital effects of substance exposure.
Consultant physician and paediatric neurologist Thorsten Gerstner has published three articles on sleep and EEG findings in Norwegian children with FASD. The articles provide important knowledge relevant to clinical practice.
First evidence-based guideline for interventions in FASD
Our German partners have recently published the first evidence-based guideline for interventions in FASD. The guideline includes both expert consensus and evidence-based recommendations, highlighting, among other things, the importance of intervention studies for children and young people, and the involvement of parents and support networks in treatment and follow-up.
Strieker, S., Heinen, F., Ziegler, A., Schmucker, C., Kopp, I., & Landgraf, M. N. (2025). First Evidence-Based Guideline for Interventions in FASD. Neuropediatrics, 56(3), 160–171. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-2547-4610.
Download the guidelineHERE.
Courses available to book from RK-MR HSØ:
We offer tailored courses and seminar programmes. The content can be adapted in scope and subject matter:
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) – Who are these children and how can we best help them?
Clinical presentation, assessment, diagnosis and planning interventions at home, in kindergarten and at school
Duration: Half-day or full-day course.
Target audience: Parents and guardians, kindergarten and school staff, Educational and Psychological Counselling Service staff, and municipal health services.
Diagnostic seminar – how to assess and diagnose children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)
Duration: Two days.
Day one: Clinical presentation, prevalence, multidisciplinary assessment with emphasis on the choice of methods.
Day two: Practical introduction to using the 4-digit code, with time for case reviews.
Target audience: Doctors and psychologists involved in diagnosis through the specialist health service.
The course will be submitted for approval as a specialist course for doctors and psychologists.
Intervention seminar – Children and young people with FASD – planning interventions at home and at school, and a review of recent research on treatment/interventions
Duration: Half-day or full-day seminar.
Target audience: Staff in specialist health services, municipal health services, kindergartens and schools.
Online intervention courses:
Monday, 19 October 2026, 09:00–12:00.
Register here:Intervention course – children with regulation difficulties – how to understand and help – Sørlandet Hospital HF
Wednesday, 13 January 2027, 09:00–12:00
Tuesday, 9 March 2027, 0900–1200
The FAS Association in Sweden holds a national conference every year called “Fokus FAS”. This year, the conference will be held in Gothenburg from 3 to 4 November. The conference focuses on both parents/guardians and people with FAS/FASD, as well as professionals. On the first day, it is possible to participate both online and in person. The second day is for professionals and will be held as an in-person course. Participants can choose between two different programmes: Diagnosis with Jon Skranes and Gro Løhaugen from RKMR-HSØ, or “Discover and Support” with neuropsychologist Åse Fagerlund. Online participation is free; in-person participation costs NOK 200 per day.
RK-MR HSØ has revised its referral form. The form itself has been simplified, and changes have been made to ensure that the referring service obtains the necessary consent before sending us the referral. In practice, this means that the referrer/child welfare services must obtain consent from the biological parents for the referral if the child has been voluntarily placed in foster care. If there has been a care order, child welfare services must provide consent. Please also see the information sheet for referring services, which contains useful tips on considering a referral to us.
Target group:
Children and young people up to 18 years of age who have been exposed to alcohol and/or other substances during pregnancy.
Who can refer:
Doctors in specialist health services (BUP, HABU, paediatric outpatient clinics and paediatric departments) can refer.
How to refer:
A referral to us can consist of a short letter containing the following information: birth length, weight, gestational age and head circumference, as well as confirmed substance exposure (type and, if applicable, duration). We also request copies of previous assessments (medical and cognitive) from both primary and specialist health services. Please describe the challenges, functioning and what you would like RK-MR to contribute.
Referrals are reviewed within a few weeks, and we send a response to both the parents/guardians and the referring service.
Waiting time: The waiting time is usually 3–4 months, and may be somewhat longer if the referral is received just before the summer holidays. We will provide an appointment/admission date in our reply letter.
We offer video consultations when a physical examination is not possible or necessary.
The Regional Competence Service for Children with Prenatal Substance Exposure Disorders works to gather, organise and disseminate expertise on the diagnosis, assessment and follow-up of children exposed to substances during pregnancy.
We work to improve the quality of services provided to children exposed to substances during pregnancy by specialist health services in the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority. The competence service also offers clinical assessment and diagnostic services.
As a regional competence service, we primarily assess patients from our own health trust area, but may also receive and assess patients with particularly complex conditions from other health trusts in the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority, when appropriate.
Diagnosis and assessment of patients from other health trusts will take place in close cooperation and dialogue with the referring specialist health service.
Arrangements will be made for the referring specialist health service to send professionals to participate in these assessments at Sørlandet Hospital, helping to ensure that local specialists receive training as far as possible (hands-on supervision). RK-MR HSØ operates in accordance with the regional guidelines for competence services in the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority.
We have our own YouTube channel with useful information for those coming to the hospital for assessment and treatment.FASD Norge
RK-MR is occasionally contacted by adults, or their clinicians, asking whether they may have FASD.
Our target group is children and young people up to 18 years of age. The Adult Habilitation Service at Sørlandet Hospital, Arendal, has prepared a procedure and appendices that they use in their work. Specialist psychologist Ina Leistrud Fjærlig has given us permission to publish the procedure and appendices here.
Please note that if an assessment is to be carried out, both the doctor and psychologist should have completed a diagnostic course provided by RK-MR and/or the University of Washington:Online Training for 4-Digit Diagnostic Code (washington.edu).
Both courses are free, and RK-MR’s diagnostic course is approved for various specialties by the Norwegian Medical Association and the Norwegian Psychological Association.
If interested, contactSiv Stigenby phone at 37 07 57 55.
HAVO (Adult Habilitation Service, SSHF Arendal) can be contacted by phone at 95 23 90 00.
Procedures from HAVO Arendal:
Ethical considerations for adults with FASD
Appendix 1 Ethical considerations for adults with FASD.pdf
Screening form for adults with FASD.pdf
Appendix 4 Gathering information from informants.pdf
Appendix 6 Neuropsychological assessment.pdf
The evidence-based clinical guideline for the diagnostic assessment of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) in children and adolescents was revised and circulated to all hospitals in Norway for consultation in May 2024. The final revision was completed in August 2024.
Evidence-based clinical guideline(Norwegian)
Psychologist in specialist training Daniel Adrian S Olsen at the Neuropsychiatric Unit, Stavanger University Hospital (SUS), has, in collaboration with neuropsychologist Gro CC Løhaugen and Professor and paediatrician Jon Skranes at RKMR HSØ, developed an introduction for parents and young people about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS).
You can find the document here:Brief introduction for parents and young people.pdf
Read more about the rights and opportunities of children and young people with disabilities, and their families, in this brochure