| FAS - A Diagnosis, Not a Label | |
Parenting a child with fetal alcohol syndrome can be a challenge, but it is not hopeless. There are resources available to help.
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Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Alcohol and Pregnancy Pregnancy & Drinking |
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The school year is rapidly drawing to a close. Teachers, parents and students are getting together to plan for next year and figure out how best to help Little Johnny and Little Suzie pull up their marks sufficiently to pass this one. Should be a simple process, right? Well, if you are parenting challenged children, it surely is not.
"We don't like to label our kids." "Little Johnny could be doing so much better if only he'd apply himself." "Little Suzie keeps forgetting her books and course materials. I can't understand it. I told her so clearly what to bring." "What do you mean I need to re-teach Little Johnny these concepts? He himself told me just yesterday that he understood it quite well!"
"FAS? Oh, I didn't know Little Suzie drank!" "FAE? Isn't that a shame, well it could be worse, Little Johnny could have been born with FAS!"
Understanding the Problems
I've heard these responses and many more -- some worse! -- from teachers over the years. How frustrating to try to help your child get the best "bang" from their school years when the educators themselves don't understand the problems of FAS/FAE.Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effect are determined by a medical examination plus a comprehensive series of psychological and education tests, administered by a school district psychologist and/or pediatrician. The findings are a "diagnosis" not a "label." To distinguish between the two, let's go to the dictionary:
Diagnosis: 1. The act of deciding the nature of a disease, situation, problem, etc. by examination and analysis. 2. The resulting decision.Well now, either our children will have their presenting behaviours compared with pre-existing criterion -- the first one being evidence of maternal alcohol abuse during pregnancy -- or they will have a hunk of paper nailed to their forehead saying, "Unteachable. Return to owner, postage guaranteed."
Label: 1. A card, paper, etc. marked and attached to an object to indicate its contents, destination, owner, producer, etc. 2. A term of generalized classification.
Severity and nature of alcohol-related birth defects are related to stage of pregnancy and pattern of drinking -- binge drinking being the most destructive. Incidence of FAS is two per thousand births; FAE, a further one to three per thousand.
Help is Available
For those of us who are working with, living with or are related to FAS/FAE children, take heart ... even though education budget cutbacks have made everyone's lives more difficult there are things we can do. Find out all you can about the challenges facing your child. Look carefully at your community; there could be a resource worker in your area willing to help guide you through the system. Take advantage of workshops and seminars; not only will you learn more but you'll be rubbing shoulders with the very people who care most about FAS/FAE kids. Network endlessly; the best solutions come from those who have already jumped through the hoops. Get to know your child's teachers and keep in touch regularly.Public health nurses, teachers, social workers and other helping professionals can provide initial screening with a recommendation to a pediatrician or other specialist. A plan can be developed to identify and prioritize problems with a schedule in place to re-direct this plan as the child grows older. Ongoing advocacy is critical to ensure the child's needs are met. Lifelong support is critical for the more severely affected individuals. Counselling is also important to address the guilt factor of birth parents.
Most important: Don't Give Up! FAS/FAE is not a label, it is a valid diagnosis and there are valid strategies to help us cope! Our children can lead happy, productive lives. The damage was done before birth, god grant us the grace to work towards a solution to benefit the entire family.
FAS / FAE In the Classroom
Some or all of these common classroom symptoms may happen to children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or Effects.
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday
Friday | Saturday | Sunday
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