Project SPEAK (Screening for Prenatal

Exposure to Alcohol in Kids)

A Pilot Project from the American
Academy of Pediatrics

Project Overview
Project SPEAK is a new a pilot project from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), designed to better understand how to
improve screening for prenatal alcohol exposure in the clinical setting.

The AAP seeks pediatric primary care practices interested in reviewing and assessing newly
developed materials and resources for screening for prenatal alcohol exposure.

The pilot will occur across four 4-8 week sessions, each focused on a different area important to
screening for prenatal alcohol exposure. Pediatricians and pediatric practice teams can choose
to participate in one or more sessions. Each session will involve practice-based pre-work
followed by an interactive webinar where participants will come together to share their
experiences and feedback.

Throughout the project, participants will have the opportunity to work directly with a national
Expert Group, receive tools and resources, and consider ways in which their practice can
enhance their own efforts around screening for prenatal alcohol exposure.

Interested? Read on to learn more about the Project SPEAK sessions and how to apply.

Project SPEAK National Team

EXPERT WORKGROUP FEDERAL PARNERS STAFF/CONSULTANTS

Vincent C Smith, MD MPH FAAP Jacquelyn Bertrand, PhD Rachel Daskalov, MHA
(Chairperson)
Natasha Singh, MPA Josh Benke
Peggy Combs-Way (Family
Michelle Zajac Esquivel, MPH
Representative)
Laura E Peterson, BSN SM
Gwendolyn Messer, MD FAAP
Linda Radecki, MS
Yasmin N. Senturias, MD FAAP
Douglas Waite, MD FAAP
Project SPEAK Session Overview
Session [Dates] Session Description
Session #1 In this session, you will be
Measuring Current coached to use a chart review
Practice Regarding instrument to measure the
Prenatal Alcohol (PAE) current rate of PAE screening in
Exposure Screening your pediatric practice and to
[January/February identify ways in which
2018] documenting screening results
could be improved.
Session #2 In this session, participants will
Education/Awareness receive a set of written and
of FASDs and online educational materials
Recognizing/Reducing about FASDs, and the stigma
Stigma that persists around PAE, and
[February/March 2018] instructions for activities to
help practices surface and
address feelings and reactions
around maternal use of alcohol
during pregnancy.
Prerequisite Requirements and
Expectations
None Using a chart review tool to be
provided, review charts for 20
age-eligible children in the
practice.
Attend a 1-hour webinar to
discuss learnings about your
current level of PAE screening,
approach to documentation
None Review educational materials
and videos and discuss PAE
with others in your practice.
Attend a 1-hour webinar to
review key evidence about
alcohol use during pregnancy
and FASDs, and discuss
approaches to reducing stigma.
Provide feedback to faculty
about the materials.
Practitioner/Practice
Benefit
Understand your current
rate of performance for
PAE screening, and
where/how information
about PAE screening is
currently reflected in
your patient records.
Receive expert education
about FASDs, and a
structured framework
with which to address
stigma about alcohol use
during pregnancy in your
practice.
Session [Dates] Session Description
Session #3 In this session, you will receive
Universal Screening: components of an
Rationale and Practice Implementation Guide, with
Implementation resources designed to assist
[April/May 2018] clinicians to make PAE
screening part of routine
pediatric family history taking
and assessment.
Session #4 In this session, you will receive
Project SPEAK a Change Package a set of
Resources to Support tools, resources and examples
Pediatric Primary Care to help primary care pediatric
Practices practices make changes to their
[May/June 2018] care systems to support PAE
screening.
Prerequisite Requirements and
Expectations
None Review the Implementation
Guide and a brief (~15-min)
pre-recorded webinar about
rationale and considerations for
universal PAE screening.
Practice conducting PAE
screening discussions with birth
mothers in your practice.
Attend a 1-hour webinar to
debrief your experience and
receive expert guidance about
any barriers you experienced.
Provide feedback about the
Implementation Guide.
Participation Review the Change Package
in SPEAK and a brief tutorial about how
Session #3 to construct a swim lane
diagram (a method to depict
your current process for
conducting family history
assessments).
Use the diagram to identify
ways to modify your practice
system to facilitate PAE
screening.
Attend a 1-hour webinar to
share your swim lane diagram
and receive expert guidance.
Provide feedback about the
Change Package.
Practitioner/Practice
Benefit
Receive a structured
framework with which to
conduct screening
discussions in your
practice and assistance
overcoming any barriers
you identify.
Receive a set of tools and
resources that can help
modify practice care
systems to support
reliable performance of
PAE screening, and a
method to assess how
the practices current
system could be
modified to add PAE
screening.
How to Participate
Participants from primary care pediatric practices across the United States are welcome to
register. Registrations will be reviewed by the projects Expert Group and individuals/practices
will be notified of acceptance not later than December 29. Registrants will be notified no later
than January 4th regarding acceptance and next steps.

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Project SPEAK has received exempt status approval from the American Academy of
Pediatrics Institutional Review Board (IRB). No identifiable protected health information will
be collected by the project and HIPAA authorization will not be needed from patients or parents
for practice participation.

Questions?
Please e-mail or call Rachel Daskalov: rdaskalov@aap.org or 630/626-6063.

Project SPEAK is supported by the Cooperative Agreement Number NU38 OT000167, funded by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the
official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Department of Health and Human Services.