Posted by [EMAIL PROTECTED] : Date: Sun, 12 Dec 1999 17:22:29 -0500 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Lynne Moss-Sharman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Fetal Alcohol support group, Manitoulin-Sudbury Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Coping with fetal alcohol syndrome By Denis St. Pierre/THE SUDBURY STAR 12/12/99 Debby Hunter knew she was assuming an incredible challenge when she adopted a fetal alcohol syndrome child. “I knew quite a bit about it; I worked with special needs kids for 15 years,” says Hunter, a longtime social worker who lives in Silverwater on Manitoulin Island. But other parents of children with fetal alcohol syndrome may not be as well prepared, Hunter says. That’s why she would like to set up the first support group in the Sudbury-Manitoulin area for parents of FAS children. FAS is a combination of mental and physical defects caused prior to birth, by alcohol consumption by a child’s mother while she is pregnant. The physical, mental and emotional deficits of FAS are irreversible and continue throughout the child’s life. They include impaired reasoning, judgment and self control which often result in crime, delinquency and other anti-social behaviour. FAS children also can have physical characteristics such as permanent brain damage, growth problems and heart and kidney defects. Although not always prevalent, facial characteristics can include a low nasal bridge, abnormally small eyes, a flat midface, a short nose and thin upper lip. Two months ago, Hunter adopted a four-year-old girl from southern Ontario who was born with FAS. Despite her social work background, she still has had difficulty accessing information and services for her child. “I had a hard time just finding resources on FAS and I figured if someone with my background has trouble getting help, what kind of problems would some other people have.” Creating a support group would have multiple benefits for parents of FAS children, she says. “It would help get ideas and advice to parents on how to handle their child’s behavior. And we could have a respite program so parents could give each other some relief every now and then. The big thing is to help people cope, but it could branch out into different areas.” While awareness of FAS has increased significantly over the last several years, considerable misinformation remains, particularly in the education and health fields, Hunter says. “You find a lot of medical specialists and even teachers end up telling parents so many different things,” she says. An FAS support group could solicit and disseminate accurate advice from experts on the syndrome, she adds. Anyone in the Manitoulin-Sudbury area interested in establishing a support group can contact Hunter at (705) 283-3645. "Let Us Consider The Human Brain As A Very Complex Photographic Plate" 1957 G.H. Estabrooks www.angelfire.com/mn/mcap/bc.html FOR K A R E N #01182 who died fighting 4/23/99 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.aches-mc.org 807-622-5407 For people like me, violence is the minotaur; we spend our lives wandering its maze, looking for the exit. (Richard Rhodes) Never befriend the oppressed unless you are prepared to take on the oppressor. (Author unknown)