Fas

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Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is 100% Preventable

My adopted son has ARND - Alcohol Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder. What that means is that his developing brain was permanently damaged by alcohol in utro. At the time my son was born his birth mother could not have known that he would be damaged. She did Not knowlingly cause this disability. She deserves respect , love and acceptance and I have raised him all of his life to love her, his family and his culture.This damage is permanent - he will not outgrow it - it will stay with him for life. There are things that his brain is left incapable of doing, he will always require a certain degree of supervision and intervention even though he looks perfectly normal. Looking perfectly normal is perhaps the greatest disability that he has since people don't see any physical signs of his disability handicap and tend to treat him normally and expect normal behaviors. He was 9 years old when we finally were able to figure out what his problem was. Our lives are controlled by a continual series of appointments with Psychiatrists, social workers and special education intervention workers. His life has to be planned and structured and unlike most parents of a teenager we are unable to leave him unattended. It is estimated that he will need to live at home or in some other supervised setting until at least the age of 25-30. After his diagnosis I took it upon myself to study and gather all of the information I could get my hands on with regards to FAS/FAE/ ARDB/ ARND. I am currently the Parent Professional Advisor to the Regional FAS/FAE/ARBD/ARND Coordinating Committee. I do Presentations and Seminars on the related topics of FAS/FAE/ARBD/ARND and am available to travel for these as well. I assist with one on one interventions with families affected by this condition. My son and I have been both in the local newspaper and TV station.

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"This award was presented to me by one of the parents on the FasFriends Internet Support Group. Thank you Sharon ! "

"Welcome: This page is primarily a list of links for your
information, assistance and enjoyment. It includes FASWORLD, a group
of individuals who gathered on the Net to declare an International FAS
day and working very hard to raise awareness and make a difference.
Please make sure to visit this site. I have arranged my links with
the Canadian sites at the top since I am Canadian. Also near the top
is the Research Centre from the University of Washington in Seattle -
the best and most up to date information you would want. There is a
new site which is an Online clinic and very helpful. Followed by
Personal Sites, FAS Stars, Poetry, Music and the American and
International Sites. Please make you way down the page and find what
you need individually. And look for the FASLINK bar. FASLINK is an
online support group for all concerned with FAS - both professionals
and parents. Click on the banner to join the group. Included are pages
of poetry and song and links with a sense of humour - the one thing we
who deal with FAS couldn't live without."