From rosse at ncf.ca Mon Jan 5 18:26:19 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Mon Jan 5 18:28:10 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] White Matter, the Brain's Connective Damaged by Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090105151916.03801580@ncf.ca> www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/133900.php From: Medical News Today http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/133900.php Article Date: 29 Dec 2008 White Matter, The Brain's Connective Network Damaged By Prenatal Alcohol Exposure One part of the prenatal brain that may be particularly sensitive to alcohol's effects is white matter, nerve fibers through which information is exchanged between different areas of the central nervous system. A recent study has demonstrated that alcohol consumption during pregnancy can alter the microstructural integrity of developing fetal cerebral white matter in the frontal and occipital lobes of the brain. These anomalies may help to explain the executive dysfunction and visual processing deficits that are associated with gestational alcohol exposure. Results will be published in the March issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View. "The brain's white matter is made up of nerve bundles that transfer information between brain regions," explained Susanna L. Fryer, a researcher at San Diego State University's Center for Behavioral Teratology and corresponding author for the study. "Optimal white-matter integrity is thought to support efficient cognition. So the finding that prenatal alcohol exposure is associated with altered white-matter integrity may help explain aspects of the cognitive and behavioral problems that individuals with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) commonly face." "Several studies of FASD within the last three years have used a new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique called Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) to examine the brain's connective network - also known as white matter - in ways not previously possible," added Jeffrey R. Wozniak, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Minnesota. DTI, like other MRI techniques, yields measures of biological tissue status at the microstructural level, allowing scientists to see more subtle forms of damage in the prenatally exposed brain. "Yet despite their sophistication, currently available MRI tools are still very crude instruments with limited sensitivity," said Wozniak. "Abnormalities observed with these tools may represent changes to tens or even hundreds of thousands of brain cells. The fact that these relatively crude measures can actually show clear evidence of abnormalities should serve to highlight that these are actually very large-scale changes that have damaging consequences for the individual." Fryer and her colleagues used DTI to assess white-matter microstructure in 27 youth, ranging from eight to 18 years of age. The youth were divided into two groups: with (n=15) and without (n=12) histories of heavy prenatal alcohol exposure. "The brains of individuals with FASDs showed evidence of altered nerve fiber integrity at a microstructural level, even though total brain size was statistically equivalent between alcohol-exposed and comparison participants," said Fryer. "Also, within the alcohol-exposed group, we generally found that white-matter microstructure did not differ based on whether youth met criteria for a diagnosis of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). In other words, similar brain alterations and behavioral problems can occur because of prenatal alcohol exposure, with or without the facial features and physical growth insufficiency required to diagnose FAS." "While previous studies had shown evidence of white-matter abnormalities in FASD, especially in the corpus callosum, a major bundle of white-matter fibers connecting the right and left halves of the brain," added Wozniak, "this study also showed abnormalities in other brain regions." Those other regions included white matter tracts in the frontal and occipital lobes of the brain. "Among other functions, the frontal lobes are important for planning and regulating behavior at an executive level," said Fryer. "Individuals with FASDs may exhibit problems with executive functioning, which can lead to difficulty inhibiting inappropriate or maladaptive responses, impaired attention regulation, and poor judgment and decision making abilities. The occipital lobes are important for processing visual information, and disrupted white matter coherence in these regions may relate to altered visual-spatial abilities in individuals with FASDs." "One of the most commonly asked questions of researchers in this area is 'What level of alcohol exposure is safe?,'" noted Wozniak. "Unfortunately, this question is impossible to answer for a variety of ethical and scientific reasons. Even more unfortunate is the fact that the public and some physicians conclude without scientific evidence that alcohol consumption during pregnancy is safe as long as it is not 'too much.'" Conversely, he added, data from imaging studies of this type and from neuropsychological studies of mental skills suggests that FAS is only the tip of the iceberg. "As the technology improves, it seems clear that increasingly subtle forms of brain damage and cognitive deficits will become evident among those exposed to lower levels of alcohol, those who would not have previously been diagnosed with FAS. In other words, one cannot define a 'safe' level of alcohol exposure for the fetus." "It is likely the cognitive and behavior problems will be the most devastating to affected individuals, and costly to society," Fryer added. Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. ---------------------------- Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research (ACER) is the official journal of the Research Society on Alcoholism and the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism. Co-authors of the ACER paper, "Characterization of White Matter Microstructure in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders," were: Brian C. Schweinsburg of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego and the VA San Diego Healthcare System; Olivia A. Bjorkquist, Sarah N. Mattson and Edward P. Riley of the Department of Psychology, and the Center for Behavioral Teratology, at San Diego State University; Lawrence R. Frank of the VA San Diego Healthcare System, and the Department of Radiology at the University of California San Diego; and Andrea D. Spadoni of the San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology. The study was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Source: Susanna L. Fryer, M.S. San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego Jeffrey R. Wozniak, Ph.D. University of Minnesota Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090105/a6c2f45a/attachment.html From w.burgoyne at healthnexus.ca Wed Jan 7 15:32:14 2009 From: w.burgoyne at healthnexus.ca (Burgoyne, Wendy) Date: Fri Jan 9 08:46:11 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] April edition of FASD Ontario News Message-ID: <8586DB900AAEF24798E6BB1F19510253016DD3B7@sv004.OPC.ON.CA> The next edition of FASD Ontario News will be released in early April, 2009. Submissions of photos and/or brief articles are welcome - see below for details. The deadline for submissions is March 15, 2009. Please note: All individuals in photos submitted to FASD Ontario News, must sign a release form (see below for the link to the release form). Can't be bothered with release forms? Send pictures that don't include people, for example, images of new resources, promotional materials, cakes, logos, banners, displays etc. FASD Ontario News is developed by FASD Stakeholders for Ontario to help people in Ontario work together to address FASD. This newsletter reports on the activities of FASD Stakeholders for Ontario and shares news of relevance to individuals, caregivers and service providers who work in the area of FASD across Ontario. The newsletter is available in both French and English. It is edited by the Best Start Resource Centre. Development of the newsletter is supported by funding provided by the Public Health Agency of Canada. Other submissions and content suggestions are also welcome. Examples include information about: -Ontario FASD workshops or conferences -National or international FASD conferences -New FASD resources -New FASD services in Ontario -Photos of recent FASD activities in Ontario (see Release Form) -Short articles about recent Ontario FASD initiatives, news or events (max length 200 words) Please contact me before sending writing and submitting an article, to ensure that there is space in the newsletter. Complete submission guidelines, the photo release form, information about the newsletter, and past editions are available at: http://www.beststart.org/projects/index.html Wendy Burgoyne Health Promotion Consultant Best Start: Ontario's Maternal, Newborn and Early Child Development Resource Centre Health Nexus Box 698, 96 Broadway Ave Wawa, ON, POS IKO Tel: 1-705-856-2997 or 1-800-397-9567 x2279 Fax: 1-705-856-1320 New Email: w.burgoyne@healthnexus.ca The Best Start Resource Centre Annual Conference is February 23-25, 2009 Register early at www.beststart.org/events/detail/bsannualconf09/index.htm _________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090107/c217e16d/attachment-0001.html From fasdcommunications at sasktel.net Wed Jan 7 16:18:13 2009 From: fasdcommunications at sasktel.net (FASD Network Communications) Date: Fri Jan 9 08:46:14 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] FASD Training Registration and Flight Lotto Message-ID: <00b901c97115$d790c210$86b24630$@net> Skipped content of type multipart/alternative-------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Diane Malbin Registration Reminder.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 71047 bytes Desc: not available Url : /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090107/931939a8/DianeMalbinRegistrationReminder-0001.pdf From rosse at ncf.ca Fri Jan 9 09:37:31 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Fri Jan 9 09:40:10 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] 3rd International Conference on FASD - EARLY BIRD DEADLINE - JANUARY 12, 2009! Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090108163744.03997bc0@ncf.ca> Date: Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:59:57 -0800 From: "Interprofessional Continuing Ed." Subject: 3rd International Conference on FASD - EARLY BIRD DEADLINE - JANUARY 12, 2009! Dear Colleague: On behalf of UBC Interprofessional Continuing Education, I would like to reminder you that January 12th, 2009, the Early Bird Deadline for The 3rd International Conference on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (March 11th ? 14th, 2009), is only few days away. An electronic PDF copy of the brochure is available on our website at http://www.interprofessional.ubc.ca/FASD09.htm. You can register by phone, fax, direct mail, or through our online registration website at http://www.peopleware.net/index.cfm?siteCode=1268. Please kindly forward this information to other members of your organization who may be interested in this event. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our office: Telephone: (604) 827-3112 or Toll-free within BC: 1-877-328-7744; by Fax: (604) 822-4835 or via E-mail: ipcde2@interchange.ubc.ca Kind regards, Katia Selezeneva Marketing and Advertising Assistant University of British Columbia Interprofessional Continuing Education A Team Approach to Learning Phone: (604) 822-7524 Fax: (604) 822-4835 Email: ipad@interchange.ubc.ca Website: www.interprofessional.ubc.ca From rosse at ncf.ca Fri Jan 9 16:53:55 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Fri Jan 9 17:04:09 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Fatal Link: Groundbreaking New Book Reveals Connection Between School Shooters and Prenatal Exposure to Alcohol Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090109162447.03aa9af8@ncf.ca> "...urges key stakeholders to raise awareness about the danger of FASD, which is amazingly still not taken seriously in many communities...." http://www.pr.com/press-release/122822 PR.com Levittown, New York Press Release Fatal Link: Groundbreaking New Book Reveals Connection Between School Shooters and Prenatal Exposure to Alcohol Waseca, MN, December 19, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Columbine. Jonesboro. Red Lake. As the number of school shootings continues at an unacceptable rate?including seven so far in 2008 a new book is shedding valuable insight on the shocking fact of what?s behind these killings and how to end an epidemic of violence. Educator Jody Allen Crowe?s ?The Fatal Link,? just published by Outskirts Press (www.outskirtspress.com) examines a sample of shooters? backgrounds to arrive at an alarming connection: most, if not all, suffered from Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), resulting in brain damage as well as physical defects. Undertaking a study of seven Minnesota and Wisconsin school shooters, and extrapolating data from 69 school shooters using sophisticated mathematical modeling, Crowe determines that more than 80 percent of school shooters across the nation fit the profile of being affected by prenatal exposure to alcohol. Crowe makes a persuasive argument that the prenatal alcohol-induced brain damage predisposes adolescents for aberrant behavior down the line including violence. ?The destruction to the fetus? neurological system is more dangerous than crack, meth or cocaine to the baby,? Peter Johnson of the advocacy group Healthy Brains for Children writes in a foreword. ?The resulting damage has led to behavioral disorders ranging from ADHD to autism to gang activity to high school shooting massacres.? But ?The Fatal Link? is also an intensely personal chronicle of Crowe?s journey to understand the root causes of violence in our schools. As an elementary student in 1966, his hometown high school was the site of the nation?s first adolescent school shooting, a memory that continued to haunt him throughout his life. Later, as a veteran of troubled schools on Native American reservations across the country, he saw first-hand the devastating effects of FASD, and became fixated on understanding why. The result is at once a feelingly told account as well as a thoroughly researched call to arms. The message is clear: Crowe urges key stakeholders to raise awareness about the danger of FASD, which is amazingly still not taken seriously in many communities. Alcohol companies, parents, doctors and public health officials must be held responsible, Crowe writes, to avoid further tragedies that?perhaps most tragically of all are completely preventable. ?The Fatal Link: The Connection Between School Shooters and the Brain Damage from Prenatal Exposure to Alcohol? is now available through Ingram, Baker & Taylor, Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and the online bookstore of Outskirts Press, at outskirtspress.com/store.php. Book Information ISBN: 978-1-4327-2917-2 Format: 6.14 x 9.21 paperback Pages: 224 SRP: US$17.95 CAN$22.95 Genre: School & Education About the Author: Jody Allen Crowe spent 18 years on reservations as a teacher, principal and superintendent where he learned first hand the devastation of prenatal exposure to alcohol. He developed award-winning school programs designed around the research of brain damage from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. He is the founder of Healthy Brains for Children, a non-profit organization focused on lowering the incidence of prenatal exposure to alcohol. Author Contact: Visit him on the Web at www.outskirtspress.com/thefatallink. About Outskirts Press, Inc.: Outskirts Press, Inc. offers full-service, custom self-publishing services for authors seeking a cost-effective, fast, and flexible way to publish and distribute their books worldwide while retaining all their rights and full creative control. Available for authors globally at www.outskirtspress.com and located on the outskirts of Denver, Colorado, Outskirts Press represents the future of book publishing, today. ### Outskirts Press, Inc., 10940 S. Parker Rd - 515, Parker, Colorado 80134 http://outskirtspress.com ? 1-888-OP-BOOKS Contact Information Outskirts Press Karl Schroeder 888.672.6657 media@outskirtspress.com www.outskirtspress.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090109/7985f8ab/attachment.html From fasd at reginacommunityclinic.ca Thu Jan 8 14:26:52 2009 From: fasd at reginacommunityclinic.ca (Cheryl Charron) Date: Mon Jan 12 08:34:14 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Update on local FASD news Message-ID: Skipped content of type multipart/alternative-------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 2009 Winter Newsletter.pdf Type: application/octet-stream Size: 402036 bytes Desc: 2009 Winter Newsletter.pdf Url : /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090108/7d4df529/2009WinterNewsletter-0001.obj From Christine.LeBlanc at von.ca Fri Jan 9 08:53:20 2009 From: Christine.LeBlanc at von.ca (LeBlanc, Christine) Date: Mon Jan 12 08:34:21 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Update on local FASD News Message-ID: <7588D5A72C398347AFA39E4FFA00BFB31832D9@EXCHANGE1.vonnat1.von.ca> Skipped content of type multipart/related-------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: "Cheryl Charron" Subject: Update on local FASD news Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2009 15:26:52 -0500 Size: 546228 Url: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090109/35426f09/attachment-0001.mht From rosse at ncf.ca Mon Jan 12 19:18:58 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Mon Jan 12 20:45:11 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Liquor tax hike recommended: B.C. Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090112191847.041b1d20@ncf.ca> "...Kendall said he's also recommending more road checks and fetal alcohol syndrome initiatives,..." http://www.metronews.ca/vancouver/local/article/156234 Metronews.ca Vancouver Liquor tax hike recommended KRISTEN THOMPSON/ METRO VANCOUVER December 17, 2008 05:36 British Columbians could be paying more for liquor if a recommendation to increase tax on alcohol, made yesterday by provincial health officer Perry Kendall, is implemented. A five-cent tax on drinks with high levels of alcohol is just one of several recommendations Kendall made after releasing his 2008 Public Health Approach to Alcohol Policy report. The study found that alcohol consumption in British Columbia has gone up eight per cent since 2003, and binge drinking among teens is also rising. Kendall said the increase could be attributed in part to the fact that 500 new liquor stores have opened in B.C. since 2002. "When we looked at (whether) the increase was resulting in harm, we did find that rates of potentially harmful drinking had gone up as well," Kendall told Metro. "Currently, high-alcohol beers cost less per unit of alcohol than lower-alcohol beers," he said, adding that raising the price of those drinks would encourage people to buy lower-alcohol beverages. Money raised from the tax increase, he said, could go toward research, prevention and treatment programs. Kendall said he's also recommending more road checks and fetal alcohol syndrome initiatives, as well as education programs for teens. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090112/2356e92e/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Mon Jan 12 19:13:56 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Mon Jan 12 20:45:15 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Keewatin sentencing proves difficult Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090112191343.04394b30@ncf.ca> "...a 33-year-old man who has spent most of his life in jail, and whose ability to learn is impaired by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder?..." Keewatin sentencing proves difficult Jana G Pruden. Leader Post. Regina, Sask.: Dec 23, 2008. pg. A.3 What can be done with a 33-year-old man who has spent most of his life in jail, and whose ability to learn is impaired by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder? That is the question before Court of Queen's Bench Justice Ellen Gunn as she considers the fate of Joseph Keewatin. Keewatin pleaded guilty on Monday to armed robbery and is now awaiting sentencing. The robbery took place on the night of Aug. 11, 2007, when Keewatin and an accomplice entered a Klein's convenience store armed with knives. Keewatin demanded money from the 17-year-old female clerk, but the clerk pulled out a bat instead and chased the two would-be robbers from the store and then locking them between two sets of outer doors until police arrived. Keewatin's accomplice previously pleaded guilty and received the equivalent of a 31/2-year jail sentence. Meanwhile, Keewatin -- who has a longer criminal record than his accmplice and two previous convictions for armed robbery -- has been on remand for 500 days, which would typically be considered by the courts as the equivalent of almost three years in custody. "This is his third conviction for an offence that carries a maximum penalty of life in prison," said Crown prosecutor Jamie Fitz-Gerald. Fitz-Gerald is seeking a further term of three years in prison for Keewatin, on top of the time Keewatin has already spent on remand. But defence lawyer Christina Skibinsky is arguing Keewatin shouldn't be given any more jail time for the robbery, but should instead be subject to the maximum three years of probation. "I think Joey deserves some compassion in sentencing," she said. Skibinsky said Keewatin's mother drank heavily when she was pregnant, and Keewatin has recently been diagnosed as having Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Skibinsky acknowledged her client's long record, but noted he doesn't have any convictions for physical violence and "hasn't really hurt anyone." She said his IQ has been measured at around 70, and, like many with fetal alcohol problems, Keewatin is very easily led and influenced by others -- whether positively or negatively. She urged Gunn to take a "calculated risk" and pass down a probation order with a focus on rehabilitation that could hopefully provide Keewatin with enough structure and positive influences to keep him out of trouble. But Fitz-Gerald noted Keewatin got almost a three-year sentence for his last armed robbery, and has numerous convictions for failing to comply with probation orders and other court orders. He acknowledged that Keewatin has problems, but said many others in jail and prison have problems as well. Fitz-Gerald also pointed to reports that say Keewatin has just a mild impairment, and said the protection of the public had to be the foremost priority. Gunn ordered a pre-sentence report to look at what kind of treatment and resources might be available to deal with Keewatin in the community, particularly in light of his condition. The case was adjourned until Feb. 3 for sentencing. Credit: Jana G. Pruden; The Leader-Post -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090112/d72fb190/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Mon Jan 12 19:15:52 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Mon Jan 12 20:45:18 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Unconventional medicine Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090112191542.041b1258@ncf.ca> [Interesting about a managed alcohol program for homeless people. The featured doctor sounds really good.] [not about FASD] www.canada.com 2 Jan 2009 Ottawa Citizen Unconventional medicine Dr. Jeffrey Turnbull, the new chief of staff at The Ottawa Hospital, has a long history of looking outside the box to improve the health-care system, writes JOANNE LAUCIUS. There are rarely simple solutions to the convoluted problems of modern medicine. Just ask the new chief of staff at The Ottawa Hospital, who has tackled more than a few medical knots. [Photo] DAVID KAWAI, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Dr. Jeffrey Turnbull, the new chief of staff at The Ottawa Hospital, and nurse Louise Beaudoin, care co-ordinator of the Ottawa Booth Centre?s special care unit for men, check on patient Rudy Toma in the hallway of the centre. ?He?s a good doctor. Very good,? says Mr. Toma of Dr. Turnbull. ?Considerate, kind, very friendly.? Dr. Jeffrey Turnbull has a reputation for taking a problem, flipping it upside down and shaking it. He has had a turn at coming up with solutions to the province?s doctor shortage, improving the way medical students are taught, and keeping the city?s most hardened homeless alcoholics off the streets. Along the way, he has come to some unorthodox conclusions: that parachuting foreigntrained physicians into practice in Canada is not necessarily the answer to Ontario?s doctor shortage; that teaching medical students to solve problems and develop a good bedside manner creates better doctors than lectures and textbooks; and that one way to keep homeless alcoholics off the street and out of emergency rooms is to keep them lightly buzzed indoors, where they are warm and safe. Controversial, but the numbers say it works. The ?managed alcohol? program has been credited with saving Ottawa?s health care system $3.5 million a year by reducing the number of homeless alcoholics who go to emergency rooms with frostbite and fight injuries. Now, as recently-appointed head of the 1,100 physicians at The Ottawa Hospital, Dr. Turnbull faces another knot ? in 2009-10, the hospital is expecting a $16.6-million shortfall. ?The key challenge is that we have to change the way we deliver health services,? he says. ?We have physicians who do things others could do.? The other challenge is is occupancy. On the day of this interview, for example, The Ottawa Hospital is at 104 per cent occupancy, and has 135 patients waiting to go into long-term care occupying beds that cost between $500 to $1,000 a day, while 30 patients wait for beds in the emergency room. Dr. Turnbull?s not sure what the solution is, but it will have to be creative ?renovate a retirement home, perhaps, or care for more patients at home. ?You can?t keep cutting and cutting without thinking of going outside the box,? he says. Later, he talks about what he has learned while working in Kenya. The medical system there has long struggled with much fewer resources. And, he muses, families of patients in Kenya take care of their sick relatives while they are in hospital. That would certainly be outside the box in Canada. In high school, Dr. Turnbull wasn?t considered much of a candidate for university, let alone medical school. Reading was difficult. He wrestled with letters that seemed to rearrange themselves, indecipherable, on the page, but math and science came easily. A former teacher who had taken an interest in his struggles sent him a note just as he was entering the University of Toronto after reading about a similar curious case: dyslexia. To this day, it?s not easy. ?I read slowly, but only once,? says Dr. Turnbull. ?Everything that goes in, stays in.? He majored in zoology, and managed to pull up his marks enough in his last two years to get into medical school at Queen?s University. He graduating in 1978 and moved on to specialize in internal medicine, later acquiring a master?s degree in education from the University of Western Ontario. He was invited to Ottawa in the early ? 90s to rewrite the medical curriculum at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Turnbull?s idea was a curriculum based less on texts and lectures and more on individual cases that could serve as a jumping-off point for students to learn a range of subject matter, from prevention to treatment. The university no longer has an anatomy course, for example. But a case study about head and neck cancer leads to the study of the anatomy and the causes. And since smoking can cause that kind of cancer, students learn about smoking cessation strategies. The curriculum was overhauled in 1992 and its first products graduated in 1996. In 1997, a Medical Council of Canada comparison of graduates from Canada?s 16 medical schools concluded that the University of Ottawa graduates scored top marks in performance evaluations. The course is now available digitally, and other universities are borrowing parts of it. ?People quickly embraced it,? says Dr. Turnbull, who still teaches courses in internal medicine and poverty and health at the university. Dr. Turnbull is a farmer at heart, a love he has cultivated since he was a boy and his parents had a hobby farm near Orangeville. On his 96-hectare farm outside Wakefield, he has planted 23,000 Christmas trees and raises about 20 shaggy Highland cattle, four horses and assorted sheep and chickens. He gets up early to collect eggs, lets what he calls ?my folks? out of the barn and usually leaves Wakefield before 6 a.m. He?s still building up his beef herd and hasn?t wrapped his head around converting the cattle from personalities he knows and likes into food. When his duties at the hospital, the university, the homeless shelters and Kenya overwhelm him, he has hired help. Dr. Turnbull gets to the hospital at about 7 a.m. and won?t return to the farm until about 8:30 p.m. He counts the time he spends doing homework with his daughter, a Grade 12 student and the youngest of four children, as among the most pleasant times of the day. It was Dr. Turnbull?s time in the emergency room that got him thinking outside the box about ways to improve the health of homeless people while saving money for the system. ?People were coming in the emergency room. I would give them an antibiotic. They kept coming back in worse shape,? he says. His research began in homeless shelters, where he simply observed, then he ?shamelessly stole? from others who were tackling the same issues. The Shepherds of Good Hope program was modelled on a similar program at Toronto?s Seaton House, which was introduced after three alcoholic street people froze to death. The idea is not to make alcoholics stop drinking ? many won?t ? but to reduce the harm they experience. If they weren?t looking for alcohol or ways to buy it, they wouldn?t be panhandling, getting into fights, drinking cooking sherry or spending time in jail. It all adds up to fewer costs for health care and crisis services. ?Of course we agree that abstinence is best. But it?s not doable for our group of people,? says Dr. Turnbull. ?We still have to care for these people.? Ottawa?s program has grown and evolved, says registered nurse Wendy Muckle, executive director of Ottawa Inner City Health. The program started with about 10 clients, a number that has since climbed to 30. Clients can drink hourly from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., a daily maximum of 70 ounces of white wine brewed by volunteers in the basement of the Shepherds of Good Hope and sipped out of mugs. The maximum is equivalent to almost three bottles of wine daily. But that?s about a third of what they might drink on the street. ?One of the things that surprises people is that you can?t be drunk on the program,? says Ms. Muckle. The clients can?t panhandle when they?re in the program and they make their own personal covenants with the managers about what they can?t do, as well as the sanctions that will come down on them if they contravene those agreements. They are tough on themselves, says Ms. Muckle. ?They?re ambassadors for the program, which is controversial enough as it is.? Now, Ottawa Inner City Health is hoping to create housing away from Lowertown and all of its temptations for some of the chronically homeless who have been stabilized. The agency is looking for sites and contemplating how to raise the money, says Dr. Turnbull. ?I?m not as worried about budget cuts as I am about increasing numbers of homeless,? he says. Meanwhile, addictions among street people are changing, too. There are fewer hardcore street alcoholics, and more people addicted to crack cocaine, which is cheaper, more addictive and appeals to a younger generation. As four other people pile into Dr. Turnbull?s Volkswagen Passat to join him on his rounds of downtown shelters, Ms. Muckle jokes that she has $500 worth of parking tickets in her glove compartment from being ticketed while visiting the shelters. She?s out-of-pocket for those costs ? parking tickets are not subsidized by the hospital. Dr. Turnbull is known as ?Dr. T? by his homeless patients in the Ottawa Mission?s palliative care hostel, the Salvation Army and the Shepherds of Good Hope. Stabilizing a homeless patient often means juggling treatments for a range of chronic illness, including diabetes, mental illness and the ravages of substance abuse and time spent in jail. ?He?s a good doctor. Very good. Considerate, kind, very friendly,? says Rudy Toma, who has lived about half of his 50 years in Ottawa and spends some of his time at the Salvation Army, where he keeps his paints and canvasses in a sunny corners. He sells his paintings, done in the Ojibway style, at local galleries. Although a few of the participants in the managed alcohol program quit drinking spontaneously every year, most have no intention of stopping, says Ms. Muckle. That doesn?t mean the medical staff stop nagging. ?The nag is the currency of love,? she says. Willi Scharf, who has been in the program at the Shepherds of Good Hope for about four years, says she appreciates the companionship. ?People who have the same problem I do. I led a very lonely life for a long time. No one in my life besides the bottle.? Dr. Turnbull is in touch with people who have alcohol problems, she says. ?I think Dr. T is just fabulous. He always has an answer and he?s so cool. So you trust him,? she says. ?He tells you the way it is. But the way he tells you, you can?t be offended. I?ll bet other doctors go to him. He has such a good bedside manner.? Dr. Turnbull is a good doctor, says Frank Gemmill, who shares a corner table with Ms. Scharf at the Shepherds of Good Hope. ?He doesn?t pull any punches.? Ask Mr. Gemmill when he plans to stop drinking, and he grins affably. [Photo] ?When I go into a pine box,? he says. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090112/07cc0603/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Mon Jan 12 19:16:36 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Mon Jan 12 20:45:21 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Recovery coaches' effective in reducing number of babies exposed to drugs [and alcohol] Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090112191627.041b14e8@ncf.ca> [This makes so much sense. Too bad programs like this are rare.] http://esciencenews.com/articles/2009/01/05/recovery.coaches.effective.reducing.number.babies.exposed.drugs' e! Science News Recovery coaches' effective in reducing number of babies exposed to drugs Published: Monday, January 5, 2009 - 13:56 in Health & Medicine About 11 percent of the 4 million babies born in the U.S. each year have been exposed to alcohol or illicit drugs in the womb, according to a June 2006 report by the National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare. If removed from the home by child protection, these children tend to remain in foster care longer, and chances are very low that they will be reunited with their parents. However, a groundbreaking study led by Joseph P. Ryan, a faculty member in the School of Social Work at the University of Illinois, indicates that recovery coaches can significantly reduce the number of substance-exposed births as well as help reunite substance-involved families, saving state child-welfare systems millions of dollars in foster-care and other placement costs. The study, part of a larger collaboration among the U. of I., the Department of Children and Family Services, and Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities, appeared in the journal Child Abuse and Neglect. The sample included 931 women in Chicago and suburban Cook County who had lost temporary custody of their children to DCFS, and who were chronic substance abusers referred for alcohol and drug assessments. Sixty-nine percent of the women had given birth to at least one substance-exposed infant prior to enrollment in the study. Although several characteristics ? age, race, and cocaine or heroin use among them ? place certain women at higher risk for giving birth to a substance exposed infant, mothers who have at least one prior substance-exposed infant are significantly more likely to deliver additional substance-exposed infants. The study made use of an experimental design: Families were randomly assigned to one of two treatment conditions. The mothers assigned to the control group during the five-year study received traditional child-welfare and substance-abuse services; the mothers assigned to the experimental group received traditional services plus the services of a recovery coach. The coaches ? caseworkers with special training in addiction, relapse prevention, case management and counseling ? focused on getting the mothers into substance-abuse treatment and keeping them there by engaging in face-to-face contacts in the family home and with treatment-provider agencies. If a mother suffered a relapse ? a common event in the recovery process ? or dropped out of the program, the recovery coach helped re-engage her with treatment, and helped her meet the legal and other requirements associated with regaining custody of her children. At the study's conclusion, 15 percent of mothers assigned to the recovery-coach group had given birth to a subsequent substance-exposed infant compared with 21 percent of mothers assigned to the control group. Overall, mothers assigned to the recovery-coach group were more likely to access substance-abuse services, and were more likely to achieve family reunification, saving the state of Illinois $5.5 million in foster-care and other placement costs. Reunification rates for substance-involved families typically are the lowest of all families involved with the child-welfare system. "One reason that they don't achieve reunification is that they are unable to address the core problem of substance abuse, and that really presents an obstacle toward judges making decisions to have the children return home," Ryan said. "A recovery coach increases the reunification rate by about 6 percent, which is a small but significant gain." Often, substance-involved families are grappling with several major problems ? such as mental illness, inadequate housing, domestic violence and unemployment ? "so it's somewhat unrealistic to think that one case worker can effectively manage all those types of problems," Ryan said. "No single intervention is going to solve the complex array of problems that these families encounter. But if we chip away at it ? increase reunification rates, close out foster-care placements at a higher rate, decrease the likelihood of additional substance-exposed infants ? it produces gains for families and for the state." It is important to note that one obstacle to identifying substance exposure at birth is the lack of federal or state laws that mandate testing newborns for drug exposure. A recent nationwide study found that there are no standardized testing practices or criteria for testing infants in most hospitals, and the decision to test a newborn is left to the discretion of the attending physician or the hospital. Co-authors of the study, which appeared in the November issue of the journal, were professor Christopher R. Larrison, research specialist Pedro Hernandez and graduate student Jun Sung Hong at the U. of I., and Sam Choi, a postdoctoral scholar in the School of Social Service of Administration at the University of Chicago. Source: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090112/0bb3dc32/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Mon Jan 12 19:17:49 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Mon Jan 12 20:45:24 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Latest Research on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090112191739.041b1778@ncf.ca> http://www.ahw.co.nz/ Alcohol Healthwatch [Auckland, New Zealand] Alcohol Healthwatch News & views Issue 2 & 3 December 2008 page 3 - 4 Latest Research on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder International guest speaker Dr Paul Connor, a specialist neuro-psychologist from Seattle USA, spoke on the subject of 'FASD and Mental Health' at an Auckland seminar hosted by Alcohol Healthwatch marking International FASD Awareness Day on September 9th. Dr Connor's presentation set out what is currently known about the teratogenic (cell mutating) effects of alcohol on brain structure and function during gestation and the life outcomes for those affected. These effects can be pervasive, variable (because of the variation in timing, dose and genetics) and profound. They can also be hidden and misunderstood, adding greatly to the burden of harm experienced. [Photo] Dr Paul Connor Washington University Seattle USA The most commonly recognized cluster of physical and mental disorders associated with alcohol and pregnancy is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). However, FAS accounts for around 20% of cases. The other 80%, being predominantly brain-based disorders, must be assessed neuro-psychologically for a clinical diagnosis to be made. Diagnosing Alcohol-related Neuro-developmental Disorder (ARND) is made more difficult by the symptoms mimicking other disorders or being overlaid by other disorders. In these cases, confirmation of maternal exposure is essential. Dr Connor discussed the issue of whether the brain damage in a person with the physical features of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome was more severe than those without the associated physical characteristics. He pointed out that the physical features distinguishing FAS is more an indicator of the timing of exposure at critical times early in pregnancy when organs and structures are forming, rather than an indication of severity of brain deficits. The brain on the other hand is at risk of the teratogenic effects of alcohol throughout pregnancy. Therefore cognition and executive functioning1 may be similar irrespective of physical findings associated with FAS. Paradoxically, the higher functioning individuals experience a greater degree of difficultly in society as their disability is not recognized and fails to qualify for support services, even though their need may be as great. Diagnosis and effective intervention therefore needs to be based on the individual's functional strengths and weaknesses rather than being based on their appearance or growth, as is often the case. Studies of affected populations indicate that the vast majority have experienced significant mental health problems. Dr Connor urged mental health services to be alert to and screen for the possibility of FASD affecting some of their clients. Integrating this knowledge enables treatment to be targeted more appropriately, since traditional treatment methods may not work as effectively for this group. Brain scanning using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have become very useful assessment tools to elucidate the depth and scope of brain damage from prenatal alcohol exposure. These can show areas of structural and functional irregularities in the brain. One area of particular interest being researched is the corpus callosum, the area in the centre of the brain connecting the left and right hemispheres. Studies of an exposed population show significant deviation from the norm found in the non-exposed individuals in the size, shape and positioning of the corpus callosum. An abnormally shaped corpus callosum can indicate brain damage in early development. The ability to 'see' such anomalies backs up what has been observed from 30 years of studying behaviour and functional outcomes in the affected population. Dr Connor reminded the audience of the importance of identifying affected children as early as possible. One screening tool that holds promise, based on the corpus callosum study, involved a quick and inexpensive ultrasound scan of that area of the infant brain that can be viewed quite clearly through the anterior fontanelle, the opening in the top of a new born infant'fs head (Bookstein et al, 20072). Such screening would enable a child thought to be at risk to be monitored and receive effective early intervention aimed at enhancing development. If you would like further information, contact Christine Rogan, Health Promotion Advisor, Alcohol Healthwatch and the coordinator of the Fetal Alcohol Network New Zealand. Email; fannz@ahw.co.nz, DDI: 09 520 7037. 1 Executive functions are a group of: Cognitive Abilities - self-regulation of behaviors, sequencing of behaviors, cognitive flexibility, response inhibition, planning & organization of behavior; A "Future-Oriented" Process - goal directed, delayed gratification; and an Integrative Process . perception, attention, memory, motor & general intelligence . 2 Bookstein F, Connor P, Huggins J, Barr H, Pimentel K & Streissguth A (2007). Many Infants Prenatally Exposed to High Levels of Alcohol Show One Particular Anomaly of the Corpus Callosum. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, Vol 31(5) 1?]12. Produced by: Alcohol Healthwatch Trust P O Box 99 407, Newmarket Auckland Ph: (09) 520 ?] 7036 Fax: (09) 520 ?] 7175 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090112/a94591ff/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Mon Jan 12 19:18:21 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Mon Jan 12 20:45:27 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Glam night and not a Tipple in sight: New Zealand Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090112191811.041b1a90@ncf.ca> http://www.ahw.co.nz/ Alcohol Healthwatch [Auckland, New Zealand] Alcohol Healthwatch News & views Issue 2 & 3 December 2008 page 8 Glam night and not a Tipple in sight The people of Timaru show that it is possible to have a really good night out without alcohol. The King's Ball held in November was an event aimed at giving the local community good clean fun and a safe night out. The event was also a fund raiser. The chosen recipient this year was the Fetal Alcohol Network New Zealand (FANNZ) www.fan.org.nz. Proceeds will be invested back into the Timaru district to raise awareness about preventing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). The event's Mocktail list provided a fun topic of conversation with some of the more outrageous drinks appealing to the adventurous. Putting a new twist on what usually are alcohol-]based cocktails, presented the bar staff with a fun challenge. Even though selling alcohol would likely have brought greater profit to the venue, staff were very supportive and encouraging, and got right behind the cause. The evening held many fun activities such as lucky ticket prize draws offering a flight with Air Safari Lake Tekapo, Gift baskets and $50.00 vouchers. Along with these, king size chocolate bars were handed out for such things as 'Most committed on the dance floor',?Best tie? and ?Who had owned their dress the longest?. A number of teenagers attended the event. ?The comments from this age group was very positive and saying that they can?t wait to come along to the next one? said event organizer Melissa Gooch. Fewer tickets were sold than hoped, due largely to the economic climate and holding the event close to Christmas ? and a handful who didn?t attend because alcohol was not available. Despite this there are plans to make the King?s Ball a regular event. ?Our young ones really need a positive environment where they can see people having a fantastic time, letting go and enjoying themselves without the help of drugs and Alcohol, Ms Gooch says. Produced by: Alcohol Healthwatch Trust P O Box 99 407, Newmarket Auckland Ph: (09) 520 ?] 7036 Fax: (09) 520 ?] 7175 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090112/d5f4c1fe/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Mon Jan 12 19:18:39 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Mon Jan 12 20:45:34 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Sentencing postponed for 17-year-old mother of dead newborn: Edmonton Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090112191829.041b1bd8@ncf.ca> "...the court asked for psychological and psychiatric reports on the teenager, with emphasis on fetal alcohol spectrum disorder...." Sentencing postponed for 17-year-old mother of dead newborn Anonymous. CanWest News. Don Mills, Ont.: Jan 3, 2009. EDMONTON - Sentencing has been postponed for a 17-year-old mother of a newborn boy found dead in an Alberta park last spring so the court can get a better picture of the mother's mental health. Even though the mother pleaded guilty in October to concealing the birth of her baby and failing to get help during the birth, the court asked for psychological and psychiatric reports on the teenager, with emphasis on fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. "She had difficulty understanding the nature of the guilty plea," Crown prosecutor John Higgerty said. It was observed that the young lady appeared very distraught and fragile, sobbing through her Friday morning court appearance. According to an agreed statement of facts previously filed with the courts, the teen didn't know she was pregnant until she went into labour. She continued to have periods and a medical exam failed to reveal the pregnancy, but on March 10, 2008, she gave birth in her bedroom at her foster parents' home in Stony Plain, about 40 kilometres west of Edmonton. The baby had trouble breathing, so she performed CPR. Then she wrapped the baby in a towel, cuddled with him and fell asleep, court documents show. At some point during the night, the baby died. It's unclear when the baby was taken to the park, swaddled in a pink towel and left to the elements. Sentencing is scheduled for March 20 in Stony Plain court. Edmonton Journal Credit: Canwest News Service -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090112/addee122/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Mon Jan 12 19:19:28 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Mon Jan 12 20:45:37 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Teen's dream comes true: adoption California Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090112191911.041b1bd8@ncf.ca> "...Knapp herself is quite small in size due to poor nutrition early in her life and her birth mother's prenatal alcohol consumption...." "...Conway's home is Knapp's ninth and final placement...." http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/ci_11247656 insideBayArea.com California Teen's dream comes true By Kyveli Diener San Mateo County Times Posted: 12/16/2008 05:59:06 PM PST Updated: 12/17/2008 07:22:11 AM PST [5 Photos] People tell Jocelyn Conway how alike she and her daughter look, and the loving bond between the two is obvious. But Conway and 13-year-old Shawna Knapp are not related by blood. ? On Tuesday, Conway's adoption of Knapp was finalized at the San Mateo Juvenile Court's annual Adoption Day, along with 10 other adoptions of children by their foster parents. ? Knapp has been living with Conway as a foster child for more than four years, and Conway has always referred to her as "my daughter." ? "My dream for having a permanent home is coming true," Knapp said Monday. ? Conway remembers everything from the first day she met her daughter: what the child was wearing, how small she was and how she constantly reminded Conway not to leave ? even calling to her from the bathroom to make sure she was still there. Conway, a single parent who works full time, chose adoption instead of medical treatments to have a biological child. She said she knew many children in San Mateo County need homes. Conway became a licensed foster parent through the county's Human Services Agency, which is a public adoption agency and the only public service agency in California to be accredited by the Council of Accreditation for its high standards, according to human services manager Pravin Patel. "We owe it to our children to diligently find a permanent home, because every child craves to belong to a family," Patel said Tuesday. "The bond and the love is a real reward to see." Conway's first foster daughter was with her for nine months before being reunited with her birth parents, which is the primary goal of the agency, with adoption being the ideal alternative if reunification is impossible. Conway was next matched with then-8-year-old Knapp based on Knapp's needs, which included an opportunity to socialize with other children. She does so at her after-school program while Conway works. The Human Services Agency also wanted to give Knapp a childhood by placing her away from her brother, Nicky, whom she felt she needed to care for due to his disabilities related to fetal alcohol syndrome, a condition caused by their birth mother's alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Knapp herself is quite small in size due to poor nutrition early in her life and her birth mother's prenatal alcohol consumption. She is still in contact with her biological parents, having seen her birth father several months ago and her birth mother about a year ago. "It does feel like a friend connection, and I can look up to them because they're not having difficulties with alcohol anymore and they're better," Knapp said. Conway made a priority of keeping Knapp closely connected to her birth brothers Nicky, 14; Robert, 20; and Michael, 21. With Nicky's adoption finalized a year ago and the older brothers living independently, the four siblings are able to spend holidays together and speak frequently on the phone. Nicky and Robert attended Knapp's adoption finalization on Tuesday and sat with her and Conway at the table where they signed the legal documents. "It's important because they've been a big part of her life, and now we're a big part, too," Conway said. "It's too, not instead of. They're part of the family, too." Conway said Knapp has been asking her for more than three years to adopt another girl, giving Knapp her first sister. The new family is beginning that foster-to-adopt process together, with Knapp hoping for a girl her age and Conway aiming for a girl slightly younger than Knapp, who she said is a natural leader. Conway advised potential foster parents not to "sell themselves short" on their ability to provide a good home. She said a good foster parent doesn't need to be rich, married or with a partner, and Human Services Agency spokeswoman Amanda Kim said the agency even adopts children out to elder individuals, so long as they meet the needs of the child and provide a loving home. Conway's home is Knapp's ninth and final placement. She has memories of happy previous placements and ones where "they were kind of mean and they did not care and they just looked at me like, 'Ugh,'" she said, recalling one home where she spent only a day. Extremely mature for her age, Knapp said she considers herself a positive person and offered encouragement to the 155 children still in county foster care who have yet to find a permanent family. "I'd say to hang in (there) and just keep a positive attitude because there's always going to be someone out there that wants you," she said. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090112/4d8ea835/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Mon Jan 12 19:20:12 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Mon Jan 12 20:45:40 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Psychiatrists working on manual on mental disorders Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090112192000.041b20f8@ncf.ca> [FASD is not mentioned in this article - only in one of the Comments - as far as I can see] "...Lack of recognition of FASD in the DSM IV has been a huge impediment to making sure all the medical and mental health providers consider the brain damage exhibitions cause by prenatal exposure to alcohol..." from Comment] http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/36352979.html?elr=KArks7PYDiaK7DUvDE7aL_V_BD77:DiiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiU Star Tribune.com Minneapolis - St. Paul - Minnesota Lifestyle | Health + Wellness Psychiatrists working on manual on mental disorders By BENEDICT CAREY, New York Times Last update: December 17, 2008 - 8:48 PM The book is at least three years away from publication, but it is already stirring bitter debates over a new set of possible psychiatric disorders. Is compulsive shopping a mental problem? Do children who continually recoil from sights and sounds suffer from sensory problems -- or just need extra attention? Should fetishes be considered mental disorders, as many are now? Panels of psychiatrists are hashing out just such questions, and their answers -- to be published in the fifth edition of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders." The conclusions will have consequences for insurance reimbursement, research and individuals' psychological identity for years to come. The process has become such a contentious social and scientific exercise that for the first time, the book's publisher, the American Psychiatric Association, has required its contributors to sign a nondisclosure agreement. The debate is particularly intense because the manual is both a medical guidebook and a cultural institution. It helps doctors make a diagnosis and provides insurance companies with diagnostic codes without which the insurers will not reimburse patients' claims for treatment. The manual -- known by its initials and edition number, DSM-V -- often organizes symptoms under an evocative name. Labels like obsessive-compulsive disorder have connotations in the wider culture and for an individual's self-perception. "This is not cardiology or nephrology, where the basic diseases are well known," said Edward Shorter, a historian of psychiatry whose latest book, "Before Prozac," is critical of the manual. "In psychiatry no one knows the causes of anything, so classification can be driven by all sorts of factors" -- political, social and financial. "What you have in the end," Shorter said, "is this process of sorting the deck of symptoms into syndromes, and the outcome all depends on how the cards fall." Psychiatrists involved in preparing the new manual contend that it is too early to say for sure which cards will be added and which dropped. 283 disorders listed now The current edition of the manual, which was published in 2000, describes 283 disorders -- about triple the number in the first edition, published in 1952. The scientists updating the manual have been meeting in small groups focusing on categories like mood disorders and substance abuse -- poring over the latest scientific studies to clarify what qualifies as a disorder and what might distinguish one disorder from another. They have much more work to do, members say, before providing recommendations to a 28-member task force that will gather in closed meetings to make the final changes. Experts say some of the most crucial debates are likely to include gender identity, diagnoses of illness involving children and addictions like shopping and eating. "Many of these are going to involve huge fights, I expect," said Dr. Michael First, a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University who edited the fourth edition of the manual but is not involved in the fifth. One example, he said, is binge eating, now in the manual's appendix as a tentative category. "A lot of people want that included in the manual, and there's some research out there, some evidence that drugs are helpful," First said. "But binge eating is also a normal behavior, and you run the risk of labeling up to 30 percent of people with a disorder they don't really have." The debate over gender identity, characterized in the manual as "strong and persistent cross-gender identification," is already burning hot among transgendered people. Some transgendered men and women want nothing to do with psychiatry and demand that the diagnosis be dropped. Others prefer that it remain, in some form, because a doctor's written diagnosis is needed to obtain insurance coverage for treatment or surgery. Why the secrecy? The American Psychiatric Association says the contributors' nondisclosure agreement is meant to allow the revisions to begin without distraction and to prevent authors from making deals to write casebooks or engage in other projects based on the deliberations without working through the association. Some critics, however, say the secrecy is inappropriate. "When I first heard about this agreement, I just went bonkers," said Dr. Robert Spitzer, a psychiatry professor at Columbia and architect of the manual's third edition. "Transparency is necessary if the document is to have credibility; and, in time, you're going to have people complaining all over the place that they didn't have the opportunity to challenge anything." Psychiatrists involved in preparing the new manual contend that it is too early to say for sure which cards will be added and which dropped. 283 disorders listed now The current edition of the manual, which was published in 2000, describes 283 disorders -- about triple the number in the first edition, published in 1952. The scientists updating the manual have been meeting in small groups focusing on categories like mood disorders and substance abuse -- poring over the latest scientific studies to clarify what qualifies as a disorder and what might distinguish one disorder from another. They have much more work to do, members say, before providing recommendations to a 28-member task force that will gather in closed meetings to make the final changes. Experts say some of the most crucial debates are likely to include gender identity, diagnoses of illness involving children and addictions like shopping and eating. "Many of these are going to involve huge fights, I expect," said Dr. Michael First, a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University who edited the fourth edition of the manual but is not involved in the fifth. One example, he said, is binge eating, now in the manual's appendix as a tentative category. "A lot of people want that included in the manual, and there's some research out there, some evidence that drugs are helpful," First said. "But binge eating is also a normal behavior, and you run the risk of labeling up to 30 percent of people with a disorder they don't really have." The debate over gender identity, characterized in the manual as "strong and persistent cross-gender identification," is already burning hot among transgendered people. Some transgendered men and women want nothing to do with psychiatry and demand that the diagnosis be dropped. Others prefer that it remain, in some form, because a doctor's written diagnosis is needed to obtain insurance coverage for treatment or surgery. Why the secrecy? The American Psychiatric Association says the contributors' nondisclosure agreement is meant to allow the revisions to begin without distraction and to prevent authors from making deals to write casebooks or engage in other projects based on the deliberations without working through the association. Some critics, however, say the secrecy is inappropriate. "When I first heard about this agreement, I just went bonkers," said Dr. Robert Spitzer, a psychiatry professor at Columbia and architect of the manual's third edition. "Transparency is necessary if the document is to have credibility; and, in time, you're going to have people complaining all over the place that they didn't have the opportunity to challenge anything." [Comments] Page 1 of 2 Look to the Root Cause If I were to tell you my dad died of lung cancer, what is the first question that comes to your mind> Did he smoke? If I were to ask you what question comes to mind as to why so many kids are on Ritalin, do we have a question? I submit the question should be "did the mother drink any alcohol when pregnant." Until the DSM looks to the root cause of many of the categorized behaviors, the epidemic of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder will continue to be shoved into the background. We have no clue as to the depth of the problem caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol. Walk with me in the public schools and I will show you the exhibitions of brain damage caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol. Lack of recognition of FASD in the DSM IV has been a huge impediment to making sure all the medical and mental health providers consider the brain damage exhibitions cause by prenatal exposure to alcohol. posted by jocro on Dec. 17, 08 at 9:37 PM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090112/627a212d/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Mon Jan 12 19:34:16 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Mon Jan 12 20:45:43 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Crime and punishment: the Red Road Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090112192022.041b2240@ncf.ca> "...factors, often either ignored or not considered at all, is fetal alcohol syndrome..." .http://www.winnipegsun.com/news/canada/redroad/2008/12/18/7796926.html Winnipeg Sun News Canada PART 13: Crime and punishment By MARK BONOKOSKI, Sun Media Last Updated: 19th December 2008, 7:34am Story Video Play Video In Depth More on The Red Road [Photo] Sun Media's Mark Bonokoski speaks with an aboriginal expert about Aboriginal Persons Court, better known as Gladue Court. Friday morning, Courtroom 126, Aboriginal Persons Court, better known as Gladue Court, named after a Supreme Court judgment regarding a Cree woman on Vancouver Island who ran a knife through her cheating fiance?s heart. On this day, it is Provincial Court Judge Patrick Sheppard who is presiding, he being a Toronto alderman back in the days when David Crombie was mayor, and today one of the judicial instigators who, along with Gladue Court overseer, Judge Brent Knazan, got this ethno-specific court up-and-running six years ago this month. The docket, in total, is seven pages long. A 26-year-old Native woman, a single mother of two, stands guilty of child abandonment when, back in September 2007, she left her children alone in her apartment while she went out to ?socialize? ? and, according to the court record, spent the night ?consuming significant amounts of alcohol.? Her children, ages 7 and 4, eventually went out to find her, and were picked up by police as they wandered the streets. When finally located, the woman took it out on the children ? was ?rude,? ?insensitive,? and ?angry,? the court was told ? for bringing the cops down on her. After sobering up in jail overnight, and facing the first criminal charge in her life, she also woke up to find her children had been seized by the children?s aid, unaware that it would take her almost three months to get them back. Now it was time to pay the piper for what the woman admittedly called ?the biggest mistake in my life.? Jail, or no jail? In a long and well-thought judgment, Judge Sheppard cited the Supreme Court?s Gladue decision numerous times, and how First Nations people are ?over-incarcerated,? how ?all things are inter-related,? and how ?restorative justice? must be considered when it comes to aboriginal offenders. ?Jail does not aid the healing,? he says. ?Is it not better that the children have their mother?? In the end, after citing what the woman had already lost because of her ?mistake? ? her children for three months, a semester in educational upgrade, her home in a transition house, her freedom from random alcohol and drug testing (as part of her bail conditions), and her dignity from spending a night in jail with the potential of having a criminal record ? Judge Sheppard gave her a conditional sentence, with 18 months of strict probationary requirements. ?You suffered in very many ways from your actions that night,? he told her. ?You should not have to suffer anymore.? And, with that, he cut her loose. ?There was no question she was feeling a great deal of remorse,? he would later say. ?It was obvious.? She was, in fact, in tears when she left the courtroom. But she was also very grateful. If there is a benchmark in the criminal code when it comes to aboriginal sentencing, it is in Section 718, on the principles behind imposing jail time. And one paragraph, in particular, stands out. ?All available sanctions other than imprisonment that are reasonable in the circumstances should be considered for all offenders,? it reads ... ?with particular attention to the circumstances of aboriginal offenders.? That paragraph came as an amendment to the criminal code only in 1997. Two years later, the Gladue judgment was handed down, reminding prosecutors and judges to read the not-so-fine print a little closer. ?Any idiot of a judge should be able to read Gladue and be able not to make a mistake,? Sheppard said later in chambers. ?It is written that clearly. ?But none of us ? or at least very few of us ? were taking Gladue into consideration, at least at a human level. ?Something had to be done.? According to Sheppard, it was a convention in Ottawa of the Canadian Association of Provincial Court Judges back in 2001, and particularly a speech by then First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine, that planted the seed for the need for what would become Gladue Court. ?Chief Fontaine told us his life story, and it obviously had an effect on us,? said Sheppard. ?I remember a bunch of us going to a restaurant in Ottawa?s west end ? the Jupiter ? and discussing what had to be done.? One of those judges was Brent Knazan, now the over-all administrator of the court. ?What we needed was factual information on the aboriginal offender. We needed a historical perspective on the system ? from the residential schools, to you-name-it. And we needed to know, for a certainty, all the factors that come into play,? he said. One of those factors, often either ignored or not considered at all, is fetal alcohol syndrome. ?I would think that at least one in four of the accused who come before this court, a full 25%, suffer from fetal alcohol syndrome,? said Sheppard. ?There are a lot of red flags, of course, like when an accused says his or her mother drank all the time throughout her pregnancy. ?But it is difficult to get a diagnosis.? There is, in fact, only two fetal alcohol syndrome clinics for adult diagnosis in Toronto ? one at St. Michael?s Hospital, and the other at St. Joseph?s Hospital. At this moment, however, the earliest appointment that can be made for a diagnostic assessment at St. Mike?s, for the umbrella of ?fetal alcohol spectrum disorder,? is the end of April of next year. ?How does that service justice?? asked Sheppard. ?The true exercise of this court is to move juris prudence along. ?But to wait months on end for a diagnosis that is so critical? How does that help ? especially when the numbers are so large?? *** Out of all the domestic violence issues that routinely plague Native lives across this country ? with alcohol the predominate accelerant ? it was the 1996 stabbing death of Reuben Beaver by his fiance, Jamie Gladue, that did more for aboriginal justice in Canadian courtrooms than any other modern-times event. Gladue courtrooms exist today because of Reuben Beaver?s death, and because of the way the court at the time treated Jamie Gladue. Gladue, a pregnant Cree woman, while celebrating her 19th birthday in a booze-induced haze ? her blood-alcohol levels pushing twice the legal limit ? stabbed Reuben Beaver after confronting him in a rage about having an affair with her sister. After he called her ?fat and no good,? she stabbed him once in the arm with a paring knife and, then, when he tried to escape, she took a larger knife and drove it into his chest, after which she jumped up and down in triumph over his bleeding-out body, yelling, ?I got you, you bastard.? She pleaded guilty to manslaughter 17 months later and was sentenced to three years in prison, with the judge stating her aboriginal status and circumstances equated to nothing because she lived off-reserve in the urban centre of Nanaimo, B.C. And that, despite her obvious guilt, was the hook for an appeal. While the Supreme Court of Canada did not alter the length of Gladue?s sentence ? although she was freed after six months and hooked up to an electronic monitor ? it did take issue with the sentencing judge?s conclusion that Gladue?s Native heritage merited no special consideration. This ruling took a great deal of heat from the public, and from editorialists, for the proposed creation of a two-tiered justice system ? one for Natives, and one for the rest of Canadians ? and for the Supreme Court?s opinion that, ?in light of the tragic history of the treatment of aboriginal peoples within the Canadian criminal justice system,? too many aboriginals are being needlessly imprisoned. One opinion writer called the ruling ?breathtaking.? ?Too many Natives are in jail, so we must stop putting them there,? she wrote. ?This is almost as ridiculous as saying there are too many elderly people in hospitals.? There are, in fact, a disproportionate number of Native Canadians in jail, especially considering they represent 4% of the population but 22% of prison inmates. By 2005, the so-called ?Gladue principles? had taken root in the judicial psyche? so much so that the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that they must be applied, as well, to Native offenders found not criminally responsible (NCR) for their crimes, or mentally unfit to stand trial. Back in 2006, however, federal Corrections ombudsman Howard Sapers, in his annual report, claimed aboriginal offenders were still being routinely discriminated against by the corrections system, and were far less likely to get parole or be rehabilitated by their experiences in jail. The challenges faced by aboriginal people in Canadian jails amounts to ?a national disgrace,? he said. ?Despite years of task force reports, internal reviews, national strategies, partnership agreements and action plans, there has been no measurable improvements in the conditions for aboriginal offenders during the last 20 years,? Sapers told a news conference in Ottawa. He said the overall incarceration rate for aboriginal Canadians was nine times higher than for the population at large, and that the situation was even worse for aboriginal women. One in three inmates in federally-run women?s prisons were aboriginal, he said, with almost half of them in maximum-security institutions. Sapers? investigation also revealed a ?routine overclassification? of Native prisoners, who were far more likely to be sent to maximum security prison than offenders from other backgrounds. ?That means they often serve their sentences away from family, community, their friends and elders,? Sapers said, ?They are sent into segregation more often ... severely limiting access to rehabilitative programs and services that are intended to prepare them for their release.? Parole is routinely denied or revoked, often on technical grounds, said Sapers, and then he pushed for the federal government to address the situation urgently with new programs, more resources, and more consultations with aboriginal leaders and communities. While Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said he would ?consider? the findings of Sapers? report, he also stated there was no evidence of systemic discrimination against Native offenders in the prison system. The statistics, though, and the realities behind them, speak otherwise. Despite the initial perception by opinion makers back in the late ?90s, and the supposed hell path that the Supreme Court?s ruling would create, Toronto?s Gladue courts ? now also taking reports in the Hamilton and Brantford areas ? do not randomly dish out ?get-out-of-jail free? cards to Native offenders. The vetting of Native offenders, and their backgrounds, in fact, is more in-depth and pro-active than likely any other provincial courtroom scenario in the country. Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto, in fact, has three staff members ? Gladue caseworkers ? who write reports at the request of defence counsel, the Crown, and even the judge, on the life circumstances of the aboriginal offender. These reports also contain recommendations for the court?s consideration during sentencing, with the caseworkers, all Native, having a veritable Rolodex of contacts and Native agencies at their fingertips. Lawyer Jonathan Rudin is the Gladue court?s program director. As he put it, ?Gladue provides an opportunity to take some meaningful steps to counter the increasing reliance on incarceration as the response of choice to the sentencing of aboriginal offenders. ?In order to make the promise real, however, sentencing judges must be presented with realistic assessments of offenders and of non-jail community options,? said Rudin. In other words, no smoke, no mirrors and no exaggerations. Just the facts, and the realities. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090112/3ce18f47/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Mon Jan 12 19:21:20 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Mon Jan 12 20:45:46 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] No pride in sentencing Addison to death Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090112192110.041b2388@ncf.ca> "...Jurors ....considered his behavior while incarcerated and the possibility that fetal alcohol abuse damaged his brain...." http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081219/OPINION/812190323/1027/OPINION01 Concord Monitor Concord, New Hampshire Editorial No pride in sentencing Addison to death Monitor staff ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- December 19, 2008 - 6:47 am The scales of justice hit rock bottom for Michael Addison yesterday. Unless his sentence is altered at some point, the convicted killer of Manchester police officer Michael Briggs will receive the maximum penalty - death. Some will think that sentence just. Addison's crime, though it took place in just a few beats of a heart, was a terrible one. But no decision to execute a human being, no matter how fine and scrupulous the process used to arrive at it, is cause for celebration. December 18, 2008, was a sorry day for New Hampshire, a state that has not sentenced anyone to death in a half-century or executed anyone since 1939. The death penalty is an abomination. There are dozens of powerful arguments against it, but they all add up to this: When the state is allowed to kill in our name, it diminishes us all. But as long as the death penalty is sanctioned by the state, it must be charged and tried with as much diligence and wisdom as humanly possible. From all appearances, those who participated in the long and sober trial of Michael Addison did just that. Race - Addison is black and Briggs was white - did not come into play in the trial in any easily perceivable way. The 12 jurors who voted to condemn Addison to death are the only living New Hampshire residents who bear that burden. The last men sentenced to death - Russell Nelson and Frederick Martineau in 1959 - received stays of execution and were ultimately paroled. We respect the Addison jury's decision and sympathize with the pain it may cause each juror now and in the future. We thank them for devoting months of their lives to the service of justice and toiling under tremendous pressure. The judicial process, so wrenching for all who followed the case, must have been exponentially so for those who participated in it, and torture for the families of Briggs and Addison. After deciding that Addison's act qualified for the death penalty, jurors were required to weigh 45 aggravating and mitigating factors that would decide whether he would instead receive a sentence of life without parole, like millionaire Jay Brooks, who was convicted of capital murder but shown mercy last month. Jurors weighed Addison's long and violent criminal history against his upbringing as the child of an abusive, alcoholic mother and an absent drug-addicted father. They considered his behavior while incarcerated and the possibility that fetal alcohol abuse damaged his brain. The what-if's are legion. Addison's sister spent much of her youth with her paternal grandparents, and her grandfather was a strong moral figure and powerful role model. She is thriving and on a path to become a nurse. Addison lived with his maternal grandmother, a struggling single parent with two addicted adult children. What if Addison had lived with his father's parents long enough to absorb their influence? What if Briggs, a veteran, devoted family man and dedicated police officer, had lived? How much good would Briggs have done in a career that was really just beginning? Is Addison beyond redemption? The first three questions will never be answered. If Addison is executed, the last may never be either. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090112/dcca1495/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Mon Jan 12 20:58:34 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Mon Jan 12 21:09:11 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Tragic birthright...one Flagstaff family Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090111213428.03aa8650@ncf.ca> What a positive story, especially about school. http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2008/12/28/news/20081228_front_187814.txt azdailysun.com Flagstaff, northern Arizona Special report: Tragic birthright Fetal alcohol syndrome often goes undiagnosed and unsupported by the state, but one Flagstaff family is fighting for change. By AMY JOSHU and JANNA JOHNSON Special to the Sun Sunday, December 28, 2008 Her petite frame curled up on the couch, Marsha Kenny is watching TV. Short black hair frames her thin face, and her dark eyes light up in excitement as she talks about a few of her favorite things: Hannah Montana, the Jonas Brothers, Tae Kwon Do (she is a brown belt), swinging at Thorpe Park and text messaging -- the same activities most young teenagers enjoy. [Photo] Marsha Kenny has filled her bedroom walls with posters of Hannah Montana. (Jake Bacon/Arizona Daily Sun) Marsha, however, is not a normal teenager. She is 20 years old and was diagnosed at birth with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Her condition affects her speech, her reasoning ability, her social skills and her judgment. But with support and love from her foster parents, her teachers and her friends, Marsha has learned to cope with her disability. She has enough credits to graduate from Flagstaff High School, where she participates in a work-study program. And she and her family are trying to get the state to recognize FASD as a supportable disability that will allow Marsha and thousands of others like her to live indepen dently as an adult, albeit in a structured environment. IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE It was in 1989 that Mary Ann Conrad, Marsha's foster mom, first learned about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, as it was called 20 years ago. "The environment is going to be everything," she recalled thinking. "They say her brain's been damaged, but I am going to change that." Conrad did not know, however, that alcohol exposure inside the womb during pregnancy had caused irreversible damages and there are no medications to fix it. "I have seen her grow and realize how hard she works, but the limitations are there and will always be there," Conrad said. Marsha is lucky to be one of the few diagnosed at birth. Many alcohol-exposed children are not diagnosed until they reach preschool or elementary school age, and even then it is often misdiagnosed as Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Because Marsha knows that she has this disability, she has been able to make adjustments on her own in the classroom and help others to understand where she is coming from. "FASD can sometimes feel like when you're relating to people it's another language," Marsha said. "Socializing with other kids, I find that a very hard task." Many people misunderstand what she is trying to say or have trouble getting through to her, which she says takes a lot of patience. "When a person needs a wheelchair, we get them a ramp," Conrad said. "With FASD, we need a different kind of ramp, a ramp of recognizing the brain damage and then adjusting expectations accordingly." TWO IDENTITIES Born in Fort Defiance to a mother struggling with alcoholism, Marsha Kenny almost failed to thrive. A very tiny baby, she had to take seizure medicine and was cared for by an aunt during her first fragile weeks. A single, working mother, her aunt realized that she was not able to care for Marsha and asked for help from Child Protective Services. At 14 months and 14 pounds, Marsha came to foster parents Mary Ann and Dan Conrad. Supported by both Marsha's aunt and her mother, the Conrads were granted guardianship of Marsha when she was 2 years old. Even guardianship was a difficult process because at that time, non-Native Americans were not allowed to adopt Navajo children. "We believed in that restriction. One of our goals was to keep Marsha in touch with her family and her Navajo identity," said Conrad. "We continue to keep that relationship open with visits, pictures, and phone calls." From the time Marsha was in first grade, she traveled back and forth, juggling holidays between her two families, and often felt stuck in the middle. At 10 years old, she went to live with her birth mother for an extended period of time, but was not getting her proper medication or the support she needed, so she came back to live with the Conrads. "I was going back and forth and I started realizing how hard it must be for kids who have divorced parents, even though that is not my situation -- I only have my mom," Marsha said. "But I just realized this is hard for me, there are two separate rules, but now at the age of 20, it is sort of balancing itself out." EDUCATING HER TEACHERS Mary Ann has made working with Marsha's teachers and educating them about FASD a priority as a parent, and it has helped Marsha to be successful in school. Learning disabilities in math, which are common among children diagnosed with FASD, is something that Marsha struggles with, along with organization. "Organization has never been one of my strongest issues: handing in homework, losing assignments, forgetting to hand them in, forgetting to do them, or I do them and forget to hand them in, or I forget where I put them," Marsha said. Added Conrad: "She aspires to do well all the time, but in her room, dirty and clean clothes or food are together in one pile all over the floor. I have to be that external brain, the person who helps her get organized." Milestones have always been difficult for Marsha, especially the transition from elementary school to middle school, an age when many children struggle with fitting in and a time when peers become more judgmental and even mean to those they consider to be different. "There were kids she was frightened of and kids who would tease her," Conrad said. "We saw a real dip in who she was as a happy, outgoing child. She started to wear a hat and pull it down and got more of a shell. It was at that point when we got a diagnosis of bipolar disorder and depression." Legally, because of Marsha's individual education plan that recognized her special needs, she can receive services from the government in school until she is 22. Although she has enough credits to graduate, she has chosen to stay at Flagstaff High School as a "super senior." "She is choosing to stay in school, we are not telling her to," Conrad said. "She does not like change, she loves Flag High. There are a lot of teachers there that are part of her security net, she stops in and gives them hugs, they say hi. That is her network." 'A TOUGH COOKIE' One of them is Kathi Baron, an English teacher at FHS. "Since I only see Marsha for a few minutes maybe once a week, I can only say that she loves hugs and has a dry sense of humor," Baron said. "She drops by my room for a short chat before classes start. She's a tough cookie, a survivor. She loves music, Hannah Montana and teasing and is quick to catch my off-beat humor. Added Baron: "Mary Ann and her husband are saints who have worked hard to help Marsha become as independent as possible. They have fought furiously to get her the services she deserves. She is high functioning, to be sure, but will need support throughout her life." LEARNING JOB SKILLS Among other things, Marsha has been learning important job skills in school. Since she was 16, Marsha has participated in the Continental Project, which allows students from ages 16 to 22 with any disability to spend half of their school day working in three main skill areas: janitorial/maintenance, kitchen/banquet services and maid/housekeeping. Local businesses teach the skills that are critical to job preservation "I try to be as normal as I can while still trying to focus on how to do a job right, like calling in and how to call off when you are not going to be there," Marsha said. "Learning skills on how not to lose a job and how to focus that with how to fit in with the world, it's hard sometimes." Marsha has worked at Continental Country Club and was even hired on the weekends at Jotini's on the Green, the adjoining restaurant, because of her great work ethic. Because of her condition with FASD she has had a few setbacks and was "fired" from the job twice, but was given the chance to try again. THE BATTLE TO GET SUPPORT Marsha and the Conrads are in the process of trying to get support and services from the Arizona Department of Economic Security's Department of Developmental Disabilities. "We had been turned down twice so we applied a third time, thinking surely they would recognize her need now that she is 20 and still has these same basic social problems," Conrad said. "She will always need support." There are only four diagnoses recognized and approved by the state to get support from DDD: autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and mental retardation, which does not fit Marsha because her IQ is too high. But her doctor at the Guidance Center and her school psychiatrist both contend that Marsha exhibits behaviors that could be classified as autistic. "Everybody that knows Marsha sees that she needs support," Conrad said. "We want to see her develop independence from us in a supported living situation through Hozhoni Foundation. If she were accepted, Marsha could live in a group home or an apartment with another individual and receive support in any way that she would need." Continued Conrad: "If we don't put money into upfront programs like this, the cost to society is a lot higher. Many times people with FASD end up in the streets or, worse yet, in the justice system. They start having behavior problems in school. People think they are just bad kids. From there, it's downhill." ABOUT THE AUTHORS: This series has been adapted from a senior capstone project by Northern Arizona University students Amy Joshu and Janna Johnson in a journalism course taught by Prof. Mary Tolan. By AMY JOSHU and JANNA JOHNSON -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090112/7deeef9b/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Jan 21 22:52:37 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Wed Jan 21 22:53:05 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Does Adult Neurogenesis Play a Role in Memory Impairment in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders? Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090121225226.03808b40@ncf.ca> http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2009/dec/udrfgrants122208.html University of Delaware Newark, DE UDaily Dec. 22, 2008----Six UD research teams are the recipients of the University of Delaware Research Foundation's new Strategic Initiative grants. The University of Delaware Research Foundation (UDRF) is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization that was chartered in 1955 primarily to support the University's research mission...... 2008-2009 UDRF Strategic Initiative Grant Award Winners Does Adult Neurogenesis Play a Role in Memory Impairment in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders? -- Anna Klintsova, assistant professor, and Mark Stanton, professor, both in the Department of Psychology, will examine the impact of developmental alcohol exposure on forms of neuroplasticity (neurogenesis) and memory that may suggest practical therapeutic interventions for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). FASD is diagnosed in 1 percent of all live births in the United States. In an animal model of FASD, alcohol exposure during the brain growth spurt, which occurs in the third trimester in humans, produces persistent brain damage and impairs behavior, including performance on learning and memory tasks. The research will explore therapeutic interventions.... -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090121/54eec2cf/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Jan 21 22:56:25 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Wed Jan 21 23:04:11 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Employers and FASD: new Australian book Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090121225254.03802d28@ncf.ca> http://www.ofsubstance.org.au/archive/pdf/ofsubstance_2009_1.pdf Of Substance (link to PDF, 32 pages) The national magazine on alcohol, tobacco and other drugs Australian National Council on Drugs Of Substance: the national magazine of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs January 2009 vol 7 no. 1 Resources page 7 Employers and FASD A new book has been released, aimed at giving employers strategies for staff who suffer from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Strategies for employment services specialists was written by Elizabeth Russell, an established author on FASD. The book may also be of value to employers of individuals who struggle with other disabilities, acquired brain injury, motivational problems, depression or similar conditions. For information, visit www.elizabethrussell.com.au. [Thanks to Peggy Oba] This page is about the book and where to order it. http://www.elizabethrussell.com.au/home/strategies-for-employement-service-specialists/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090121/b41d17b6/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Jan 21 22:58:41 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Wed Jan 21 23:04:15 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Sleepless Canadians boozing themselves to sleep: Study Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090121225757.03813a50@ncf.ca> [not about FASD] www.canada.com The Gazette Montreal Sleepless Canadians boozing themselves to sleep: Study By Sharon Kirkey, Canwest News Service January 1, 2009 Eight per cent of people in the study reported using alcohol as a sleep aid - including 28 per cent of people who met all the diagnostic criteria for insomnia syndrome or had symptoms of the sleep disorder. Photograph by: Julie Oliver/Ottawa Citizen Sleepless Canadians are self-medicating with alcohol on a big scale to get to sleep, a new study on the economic burden of insomnia suggests. And the money spent on the use of booze as a sleep aid far exceeds the costs associated with visits to doctors and the use of prescription pills and over-the-counter products, according to the Quebec study. "We were very surprised to see that so many people use alcohol as a way to promote sleep, particularly because it has more detrimental than beneficial effects on sleep," said Charles Morin, a professor of psychology at Laval University and one of the authors of the study, published this week in the journal Sleep. "Even if alcohol can help a person who is otherwise tense get to sleep faster, when you metabolize the alcohol you have to pay the price. The sleep becomes much more fragmented and disturbed, so we certainly do not recommend that." The study suggests that the economic burden of insomnia to society is "significant," with the total annual costs for the sleep disorder in the province of Quebec alone an estimated $6.5 billion. The biggest indirect cost ? $5 billion ? was lost hours of productivity, Morin's team reports. The highest direct cost ? $339.8 million ? was money spent on alcohol as a sleep aid. That compares to $16.5 million spent on prescription drugs, and $1.8 million for over-the-counter products such as Tylenol, antihistamines and herbal teas. Eight per cent of the sample reported using alcohol as a sleep aid ? including 28 per cent of people who met all the diagnostic criteria for insomnia syndrome or had symptoms of the sleep disorder. The study is based on a randomly selected sample of 948 adults in Quebec. The mean age of the volunteers was about 44; 60 per cent were women and most worked day shifts at full-time jobs. Although the study included Quebec only, Morin says he expects the findings would be applicable across Canada. Participants filled out questionnaires on sleep, their health, doctors' visits, time off work and reduced productivity in the previous three months. Data was also collected from a provincial health insurance board. Of the volunteers, 493 (52 per cent) were classified as "good sleepers," 308 (33 per cent) as having symptoms of insomnia and 147 (15 per cent) as having insomnia syndrome. According to the study: - The total annual cost of "insomnia-motivated" visits to health-care professionals was $191 million. - Insomnia-related job absenteeism cost Quebec $970 million annually. - The total estimated annual cost of alcohol used for promoting sleep was $51.1 million spent by people with insomnia syndrome, $211.2 million by those with symptoms of insomnia and $77.5 million by good sleepers. - Money spent on alcohol represented 60 per cent of all direct costs ? and five per cent of overall insomnia costs. - People with insomnia syndrome reported missing 19.9 hours of work over the previous three months, compared to 5.9 hours in the good sleepers group. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090121/f48781ec/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Jan 21 22:59:17 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Wed Jan 21 23:04:17 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Fetal alcohol exposure affects teenage booze behaviour Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090121225908.03813b98@ncf.ca> http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090114/alcohol_exposure_090114/20090114?hub=Health CTV.ca Health Fetal alcohol exposure affects teenage booze behaviour Updated Wed. Jan. 14 2009 7:19 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff Exposure to alcohol in the womb may make teenagers more attracted to the smell of liquor, suggests a new study, which may leave them vulnerable to pressure from peers who enjoy drinking. Researchers from the State University of New York found that rats exposed to alcohol during gestation found the smell of alcohol on another rat's breath during puberty more attractive than rats that had no fetal exposure to alcohol. In contrast, rats with no fetal exposure to alcohol were significantly less likely to be attracted to an intoxicated peer. According to lead researcher Prof. Steven Youngentob, the findings suggest that fetal alcohol exposure promotes exposure in adolescence by making interaction with intoxicated peers more appealing. "These results highlight an important relationship between fetal and adolescent experiences that appears essential to the progressive development of alcohol abuse," Youngentob said in a statement. He later added: "Within the context of 'at risk' adolescents, prior exposure to ethanol may, among other things, worsen the consequences of alcohol-related social interaction by increasing teenagers' propensity to engage in such settings." The findings are published in the journal Behavioral and Brain Functions. According to the researchers, exposure to alcohol in the womb may train a baby's developing sense of smell to find the scent of booze more attractive. Previous research in both rats and humans has found that fetal exposure can alter how the odour and flavour of alcohol is perceived. This is indicative of an innate survival skill in mammals, which allows them to accept and be more attracted to the food sources that the mother consumes, the authors wrote. The study also found that fetal alcohol exposure did not seem to have effects on behaviour in adulthood, meaning that adolescence is a key time for fetal experiences to emerge. "Such a proposition is clinically relevant since, in humans, adolescence is a key transition point for emergent patterns of alcohol abuse," Youngentob said. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090121/19ff847a/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Jan 21 22:59:51 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Wed Jan 21 23:04:20 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Group Warns Light Drinking By Pregnant Mothers Not Safe For Unborn Child Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090121225942.038137c0@ncf.ca> http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7013530194 AHN global news Wellington, Florida Group Warns Light Drinking By Pregnant Mothers Not Safe For Unborn Child December 26, 2008 7:28 a.m. EST David Goodhue - AHN Reporter Miami, FL (AHN) - A group that researches alcoholism is concerned about the media's interpretation of a recent study out of England that some news outlets interpreted to say children born to mothers who drank moderately during pregnancy had better behavioral and cognitive skills than those born to mothers who abstained from drinking. A press release put out by the Research Society on Alcoholism's Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Study Group said many U.S. and European news organizations wrongly reported that a study by the University College London concluded that light drinking by pregnant mothers was beneficial to their children. "The media reports are alarming for a number of reasons but it is particularly disturbing at this time of year when holiday parties may make alcohol consumption more accessible and appealing to pregnant women who have read the erroneous reports," Feng Zhou, Ph.D., president of the FASD Study Group and a professor of anatomy, cell biology and neurobiology at the Indiana University School of Medicine, said in a statement. The UCL report did say children born to light drinkers were not at an increased risk compared with abstainers, but the media did not report that the women studied were also from high socio-economic backgrounds, and that children born into higher economic environments typically have better neurodevelopment outcomes. Zhou said adverse effects of light drinking during pregnancy are subtle and can go undetected for years. He also said these effects can manifest themselves in children born to moderate drinkers in adolescence and early adulthood. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090121/a386698a/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Jan 21 23:00:11 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Wed Jan 21 23:04:22 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Beneath a sobering portrait of a province's drinking habits: B.C. Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090121230004.03813530@ncf.ca> "...He wants to encourage tougher measures against impaired driving and more frequent demands for proof of age in liquor stores, to reduce harmful alcohol use by youth and enhance resources for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder...." Beneath a sobering portrait of a province's drinking habits Ian Bailey. The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ont.: Dec 27, 2008. pg. A.9 A new report sounds the alert about B.C.'s rising alcohol consumption, up 8 per cent since 2002. The pressing question now is - Will anyone take action? He insists the timing wasn't calculated. Perry Kendall, the provincial health officer, says he was not setting out to play the Grinch by releasing an alarm-bell report on British Columbia's boozy ways just before the Christmas season, which is traditionally awash in alcohol. Still, the province's top health official since 1999 says he can see some accidental benefits to releasing the report on the eve of a year in which he will try to advance measures to deal with the harm done by alcohol. These include a surtax on high-alcohol drinks that, according to Dr. Kendall, could raise $100-million a year to help cover the province's alcohol-related health costs. He wants to encourage tougher measures against impaired driving and more frequent demands for proof of age in liquor stores, to reduce harmful alcohol use by youth and enhance resources for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. He is looking to make sure the government's planned 10-year plan on mental health and addictions includes measures focused on alcohol use. "It is interesting that [the report] did come out at this time," Dr. Kendall said. "It wasn't by intent, but I think it ended up to be a good time because people are thinking of stocking up with alcohol, and people do tend to drink more at Christmas." Don't count the 65-year-old Dr. Kendall among those heavy imbibers. "In the circles I move in, and the age I am now, moderation is more the norm," he said, chuckling. Still, he makes an impact at Christmas parties. "People say, 'Oh, the guy who wrote the report.' Especially this year." The tersely titled Public Health Approach to Alcohol Policy paints an alarming picture on the costs and consequences of an 8-per-cent surge in alcohol consumption in British Columbia since a similar report in 2002. Consumption has risen for reasons that include availability through the 400 new private and public liquor stores that have opened in B.C. since 2002, as well as "the most liberal policies on hours of sale of any jurisdiction in Canada," among other factors, the report says. Most people drink without problems, but the report raises an alarm over a "sizable majority" who regularly drink in ways that increase the risk of health and social harm to themselves and others. The document notes that excessive alcohol consumption is the leading contributing factor in mortality among British Columbians 25 years of age and under, through fatal road crashes, suicides, homicides and poisonings. One of the report's most chilling observations, and one Dr. Kendall says people may have overlooked, is that there is no longer a decline in the numbers of people driving under the influence. "It's plateaued," he said. "It's stabilized, which is not good." On the plus side, Dr. Kendall approves of plans for the province to make ignition interlock devices mandatory for thousands more impaired drivers as of Feb. 1. Tim Stockwell, director of the Centre for Addictions Research of B.C. at the University of Victoria and a principal investigator for the report, says B.C. shares the challenges that other modern societies face with alcohol, but the situation is still disturbing. "It's a significant problem, and one that can be addressed, and [B.C.] has all the means at its disposal through a government retail monopoly to respond effectively," he said. "Consumption is increasing. Availability is increasing, both economically and physically. There's more outlets and the wine and spirits are getting cheaper in real terms. Consumption is going up and harms are going up, so it's time to say ... 'This is a special commodity. Let's do what we can to do a better job of regulating its availability.' " But Dr. Stockwell expects that the B.C. government, jittery over the turmoil caused by its carbon tax, will not go anywhere near a new tax on alcohol. "I wish somebody, instead of reacting nervously to this, would say, 'Hang on a minute. Most people drink. This is only going to cost a few cents. What the heck. We could have a fund here that could fund addiction treatment and prevention programs that are really badly needed. It wouldn't cost much, and if it cost heavy drinkers a bit more, that's going to limit their consumption, it's going to limit the harm to them and to the rest of us.' " Mary Polak, B.C.'s Minister of Healthy Living and Sport, has ruled out tax hikes, although Dr. Kendall has said she was "actively concerned" about his findings in their discussions about the report. Ms. Polak was unavailable for comment. Bruce Ralston, co-chair of the legislature's standing committee on finance and government services, says he is skeptical about the tax proposal. "I don't think people's behaviour will be changed by raising taxes on alcohol. The causes of alcohol addiction are more profound than access to it and price," Mr. Ralston said, recalling his former career as a criminal lawyer when he occasionally dealt with impaired drivers. His committee's report, which was presented last month to Finance Minister Colin Hansen as he prepares February's budget, dealt with the issue by recommending the legislature ask the standing committee on health to look at the economic, health and social costs of alcohol consumption for the province. There was no tax recommendation. Dr. Stockwell said it's up to Dr. Kendall to advance the cause. "It's his job to point out to government where there are problems that exacerbate the public health of British Columbians, and he's doing exactly the right thing in this report and his advocacy," he said. Dr. Kendall doubts the Liberal government will go for the tax proposal, but said he included it anyway because his job is to advance health-policy ideas "whether or not [they're] popular or whether or not [they're] going to be adapted or adopted." He added: "It would have been intellectually dishonest not to include it." Dr. Kendall said it will be a challenge trying to get action on his concerns in the months leading up to the provincial election in May. "I don't know how the pre-election [period] will affect government programming and policies," he said. "I will sort of forge ahead and see how things turn out." When asked where alcohol use ranks among his priorities, he replied: "This was on a back, warm burner. It came forward to be on a front burner. It's still on the front burner at the moment, and I am hoping it will stay there and that there will be other opportunities to be engaged in this and create a positive response to it." BOOZY B.C. The province is awash in alcohol, the provincial health officer is warning, with consumption rising the most in the already hard-drinking interior. Increased access to liquor has pushed rates of consumption in B.C. above the national average. Although rates of drinking at hazardous levels have increased, the health officer's report shows that alcohol-related deaths have remained stable, and alcohol-related hospital stays have increased moderately since 2002. HOW MUCH AND HOW OFTEN? Frequency of Consumption [Table] B.C. CANADA Less than once a month 23.30% 22.70% 1-3 times a month 32.50% 33.30% 1-3 times a week 34.10% 34.10% 4+ times a week 10.30% 9.90% QUANTITY OF CONSUMPTION B.C. [Table] 5 or more 16.8% 3-4 drinks 17.8% 1-2 drinks 65.3% CANADA [Table] 5 or more 16% 3-4 drinks 20.2% 1-2 drinks 63.7% PERCENTAGE OF ALCOHOL SOLD BY SOURCE IN B.C.: 2007 Homemade (Raw Grapes): 5% Restaurants: 7% Bars and clubs: 12% Private stores: 33% U-brew/U-vin: 4% Government stores: 39% Note: Data does not include homemade beer and wine from kits, alcohol from "duty-free" border outlets or illegal alcohol. THE ECONOMIC EQUATION DIRECT ECONOMIC COSTS TO B.C. (2002) (Figures are approximate*) Enforcement costs: $551-million Health costs: $359-million Total: $910.2-million DIRECT BENEFITS (2002/2003) Net income: $660-million Sales tax: $187-million Total: $847.8-million Note: Does not include research and prevention costs or income gained from taxes paid by persons or corporations in the alcohol industry. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090121/0a3bab2d/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Jan 21 23:00:26 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Wed Jan 21 23:04:25 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Grandparents feel financial pinch of raising special needs child Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090121230019.0387bc18@ncf.ca> "...Cunningham...an advocate for grandparents' rights and children with fetal alcohol syndrome. Andrew, who's about to turn 18, was born with full fetal alcohol syndrome..." http://www.mississauganews.com/article/22478 The News Mississauga Grandparents feel financial pinch of raising special needs child By: Torstar Network 2008-12-29 11:52:44.000 When strangers are in the house, Kyle perches on the stairs, tiny fingers wrapped around the thin metal bars supporting the railing, peering at the intruders in his kitchen. When all eyes have turned away, the six-year-old focuses on the landing closet, pulling out coats and shoes and throwing them into the hall. When the supply of clothing is exhausted, he peels off the tiles at the bottom of the closet and throws them on top of the coats. "He's quite a handful," says his grandmother, Cheryle Liliani, 49. But as difficult as things are, they're going to be even tougher if the government funding they depend on is cut back. Liliani and her husband, Sergio, 59, who live in Mississauga, took Kyle in when he was 30 days old. They got full custody at a year. His mother's brain aneurysm as a teen affected her judgment, so she started abusing drugs. His father is out of the picture; a man who believes he is Kyle's father occasionally calls and leaves rambling messages wishing him well. The family uses a form of government support known as Temporary Care Assistance to supplement Sergio's income as a truck driver. They have for about five years. As of October, about 3,900 caregivers in Ontario were using TCA to support 5,400 children. In Toronto, there were 514 TCA recipient households caring for 701 children. The program provides temporary financial support when a child's parents cannot care for them. It's meant to be temporary, not part of a long-term care arrangement. Recipients receive up to $236 each month for a single child and up to $192 for subsequent children. It's not income tested and its duration is determined on a case-by-case basis. The Lilianis are expecting their TCA payments to stop ? and they're not alone. In July, the Ministry of Community and Social Services released a directive that, in part, clarified who's eligible to receive TCA. Minister Madeleine Meilleur says the directive was sent after she learned Hamilton and Ottawa were applying the TCA program more strictly than the rest of the province and that they were keeping arrangements temporary according to ministry guidelines. There has been no change in the TCA program, she says. Grandparents groups argue it puts low-income grandparents reliant on TCA between a rock and a hard place, that by fighting for custody or making efforts to create a stable home they stand to lose a source of funding they need to buy food and pay bills. They're also calling to receive the same support as foster parents. Betty Cornelius is the founder of Cangrands, a non-profit support group for grandparents. She says for a grandparent to qualify as a foster parent, the child in their care must have been removed by the Children's Aid Society from a dangerous situation. A foster parent receives about $930 each month, not including extra funding for children with special needs. Grandparents typically circumvent the court system and take in the children before the situation escalates to that point, she says. "If you get the phone call saying come get your grandchild or we are going to put them with strangers, you are going to come and get them," Cornelius says. Grandparents can apply for a type of kinship funding equivalent to foster care through CAS, but it's based on requirements too stringent for many grandparents to meet, says Cornelius. She got custody of her now 15-year-old granddaughter when she was three, after she found her granddaughter colouring alone, next to a pit bull, with pornography on the television. Her parents failed to see the problem with the video, she says. According to Cangrands, 62,500 children are being raised by grandmothers and grandfathers across the country. Cornelius says many of those children have some sort of special need or developmental disability. Like Kyle. In addition to TCA, the Lilianis receive about $430 per month in government support because Kyle has special needs. Because Kyle has developmental disabilities, he doesn't learn or express himself the same way as other boys his age. Toilet training and speech development came late. He has extreme sensitivity to noise and light. "He will have these meltdowns now where he will try and run away," says Liliani. Kyle can get away, but can't remember the address and phone number needed to get him safely home. When he's angry, he kicks, bites and rips down curtains. "We love him and like I say, I don't see anyone else doing what I would do," says Liliani, who went through the foster care system as a child. "I think it's really important for a child to have some idea of their roots." Wavey Bennett lives outside Ottawa. She has raised her six grandchildren; five are now under the age of 13. She has final custody of the children, she says. She has been receiving TCA since 2002. Now it's about $795 a month. "They told us (in 2002) that we would never want for anything for these kids, that as long as we had the kids we would be getting help for them," says Bennett, 58. A care worker told them the TCA payments will stop in January, but didn't explain why, says Bennett. She works as an educational assistant. Her husband, 60, works in construction. Their gross income for 2007 was $62,000. That is not a lot for five kids, says Bennett. The TCA money helps with groceries and bills and after-school programs for the kids. Most of the kids have a variety of attention deficit or obsessive disorders, says Bennett. For one, burnt or crooked toast can derail the whole day for everyone. The complications of caring for special needs children is why grandparents think TCA should be automatic, despite the status of custody, and why they want the same funding as foster parents. "There really does seem to be this perception that virtue is its own reward," says Lynn Cunningham, who has been raising her grandson, Andrew, since he was 16 months old. Cunningham, 59, is an associate professor with the School of Journalism at Ryerson University and an advocate for grandparents' rights and children with fetal alcohol syndrome. Andrew, who's about to turn 18, was born with full fetal alcohol syndrome, she says. "He has struggled in school for all of his life and while he is chronologically 18, in certain ways he is less mature," says Cunningham. Grandparents are expected to step in regardless of the emotional and monetary cost because "that is what families are for," she says. "All of these kids have been traumatized in one way or another. If they haven't, they would still be living with their parents. "Their medical needs are greater than an average kid who isn't in that kind of circumstance." Cornelius says many grandparents may be forced to relinquish their grandchildren to the care of CAS. "I get that they are in a recession and they have to do budget cuts and they have to cut the fat, but we are not the fat," she says. mississauganews@live.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090121/698039f4/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Jan 21 23:00:52 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Wed Jan 21 23:04:27 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Don't call it ADHD Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090121230043.0387b988@ncf.ca> http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2008/12/29/news/20081229_front_187880.txt azdailysun.com Flagstaff, Arizona Don't call it ADHD Adoptive parents of fetal alcohol children want a more comprehensive approach to a condition often misdiagnosed as simple attention deficit. By AMY JOSHU and JANNA JOHNSON Special to the Daily Sun Monday, December 29, 2008 [part of a series] There are only 13 people in the audience, but Mary Ann Conrad and her foster daughter, Marsha Kenny, have their full attention. "I'd like to start this meeting with a song that means a lot in our household," Conrad says. "It's called 'See Me Beautiful' by Red Grammar." As she steps back to let Marsha hit the play button, a sweet country croon creeps out of the laptop speakers. "See me beautiful/Look for the best in me/It's what I really am/And what I want to be." The speakers barely deliver the guitar and voice across the room. "Can you make it any louder, honey?" Conrad gently asks her daughter. "Mom, this is a library," Marsha replies. "Duh, it can't go louder." It's a typical lighthearted exchange for this mother-daughter duo, who are dead serious about Marsha's condition -- fetal alcohol spectrum disorder -- but not so serious that they can't enjoy a good laugh. On this night, Marsha, now 20, and Conrad were leading just the second meeting of the FASD Awareness Group of Northern Arizona. Most attendees were foster and adoptive parents of FASD children, and the lyrics to the song hit home. Children diagnosed with FASD require patient and special attention; their misbehavior in class and in social settings is often seen as a simple attention deficit or inappropriate social interaction. This is but one obstacle the group hopes to overcome. On the agenda was an FASD awareness quiz, sharing concerns and planning future advocacy initiatives, especially in the schools. The quiz covered the basics of FASD. The condition has a wide range of effects, from mental retardation and physical abnormalities to psychological changes that lead to behavioral problems. Concerns shared were ones almost exclusively from adoptive parents, who found out later in their child's life that they were exposed to alcohol. All asked to be identified in this story by first name out of concern for the privacy of their children. "Even if women come in to Labor and Delivery [at Flagstaff Medical Center] smelling of alcohol, they'll deny drinking, so it's hard to get an accurate diagnosis," said Dr. Cindy Beckett, director of Pediatric and Perinatal Services at FMC. Correct diagnosis difficult The parents nodded their heads in agreement. Each has experienced the difficulty of getting a correct diagnosis for their child. "I think the problem is largely ignored," said Kristen, a foster mother for the last five years. "Ninety percent of foster children are exposed, though." Added Loretta: "We're legal guardians to our ex-daughter-in- law's son, who is suspected of having FASD. One minute he has extreme highs and the next minute he's throwing things at you and calling you names. I just want to understand what he's going through." Loretta and her husband have spent countless hours in school meetings trying to advocate for special education for their son, but currently FASD is not recognized as a developmental disability in the Flagstaff Unified School District. "We've had trouble diagnosing [him] as FASD because they want to diagnose him as ADHD," said Jean of her adopted son. "He's 11 but he looks like he's 8. He plays well with other 7 and 8- year-olds. We have to give his teachers an FASD orientation to help them cope with some of his problems in school." As older adoptive parents, Jean and her husband are worried that their adoption now means a lifetime of caregiving to their son. All these parents agree that a step in the right direction would be hiring qualified FASD screeners who are trained to look specifically for those symptoms common to FASD. Advocating in schools is where these parents want to begin. "I think it's time we become advocates for those with FASD," said Kay, a counselor.. "They need support and services... a real concern is how they're going to be able to hold a job that can sustain them as adults." As part of planning for the future of the group, all members were asked to participate in finding ways to raise awareness. They are planning to create a public service announcement to air on local Flagstaff broadcast channels as well as create a lobbying group to communicate with state legislators. If you go.. FASDAG meets the first Monday of every month at 7 p.m. Due to the holiday season, meetings will resume Jan. 19. For more information, contact Dr. Cindy Beckett at FMC, 779-3366, ext. 12307. Her life's mission: Zero FASD babies Working the evening shift as a labor and delivery charge nurse in California, Dr. Cindy Beckett regularly saw women in the delivery room that had shot up heroin in the parking lot or snorted lines of cocaine to send themselves into early labor. She delivered babies who immediately began seizing from all the drugs their mothers had ingested. Some had such terrible withdrawals from drugs or alcohol that they required medication. "I was so frustrated and so angry at these women, how could they do these things," said Beckett. "I was just starting a master's program at the time, so I decided to specialize in high-risk perinatal." From that program, Beckett was connected to a grant that needed a nurse to teach counselors about pregnancy and the effects of drugs and alcohol on babies. Still very angry, she immersed herself in learning everything she could on the mechanisms of drug and alcohol exposure, mental health counseling and drug and alcohol counseling. "As I got to know the women I found out that some of them lived on the streets, some of them the only way they could cope was to drink or do drugs," said Beckett. "I started realizing that these were human beings who had major problems, and instead of being angry at them I needed to help them, so I have been working to do prevention intervention ever since." Over the last 18 years, Beckett has become an activist for the cause. In Flagstaff, she is the director of Pediatrics and Perinatal Services and Evidence-Based Practice at Flagstaff Medical Center. She is also the co-chair of a state force for the prevention of prenatal exposure to alcohol and other drugs. She has also partnered up with Mary Ann Conrad, a foster mother with a daughter affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), to start an FASD awareness group in Northern Arizona. In September, FMC put on an event called Pregnant Pause, a celebration of alcohol-free pregnancies. Community agencies were brought in to raise awareness about the effects of drinking alcohol during pregnancy. Local restaurants even participated by creating nonalcoholic drink options that could be offered at their restaurants. "We (need to) make it socially acceptable to have a virgin drink and nobody knows it's a virgin drink if you are sitting there looking social and having a great time," said Beckett. "You can be the designated driver and protect yourself and protect your baby." Statewide goals set Over the next year, the FASD Governor's Task Force, which is made up of volunteers, has set several goals n Promote statewide Pregnant Pause events by creating toolkits and resources, as well as step-by-step guides) n Increase statewide awareness of the impact of alcohol in pregnancy to include a resolution to be passed by the state legislature. . n Promote education through PSAs; contacting cable TV companies to see if they will show it. n Work to explore options to raise prevention and treatment dollars through state propositions regarding the alcohol tax. The tax has not been increased in over 25 years. There are different levels of tax on beer, wine, and liquor. If they were equalized to the highest level, the revenue from the tax could potentially be $400,000 to $500,000 that could be used for prevention and intervention for alcohol-related health issues. "This is something that I have been very passionate about," said Beckett. "I think this is my mission in life is to try and get this message out so we have zero babies born with fetal alcohol or drug exposure would be my goal." --Amy Joshu and Janna Johnson About the authors This series has been adapted from a senior capstone project by NAU students Amy Joshu and Janna Johnson in a journalism course taught by Prof. Mary Tolan. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090121/c44d0971/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Jan 21 23:01:08 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Wed Jan 21 23:04:32 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Fetal alcohol kids aren't going away Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090121230100.0387b6f8@ncf.ca> http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2009/01/02/news/opinion/20090102_opini_188084.txt azdailysun.com Flagstaff, Arizona Opinion Fetal alcohol kids aren't going away Prevention should be the main goal, but afflicted children deserve access to services for the developmentally disabled. Friday, January 02, 2009 The tragedy of fetal alcohol syndrome is that it doesn't have to exist. We hate to be so accusatory, but the condition, caused by a mother drinking alcohol while her baby is in the womb, amounts to neglect and abuse. Yes, there are cases when a woman becomes pregnant unknowingly and continues to drink beyond her first trimester. But the main problem appears to be ignorance by not only mothers-to-be but some members of the medical profession that alcohol in any amount at any time during pregnancy kills and damages brain cells of the fetus. That's a hard lesson for many young adults to grasp, so widespread and tolerated is the use of alcohol in our culture. Social occasions without beer or wine are rare, and "holding your liquor" is a badge of honor. But there is no alcohol tolerance of any level for a developing fetus, especially when the brain begins to full develop in the second and third trimesters. Alcohol, although nontoxic in controlled doses for adults, is now known to be toxic to fetal brain cells in any amount. So prevention appears to depend first on education, then self-control. Women who feel they cannot abstain from alcohol during pregnancy need to seek immediate help, if not for their sake then for the sake of their child. Those babies born with fetal alcohol syndrome face of lifetime of physical and behavioral problems. Many will be go through their toddler years without being diagnosed. It's only when the child enters school will families for the first time get an outside opinion on their child's problems. Even then, fetal alcohol syndrome is sometimes confused with attention deficit disorder or autism. That is not necessarily a bad thing -- it means the student will receive a special education plan to addresses learning and behavior problems. But at some point, a fetal alcohol child, because of specific brain damage, will not respond to the same therapies and counseling that work with ADHD and autistic children. That's why a more specific diagnosis early in life is critical to helping these children and their parents adjust their expectations and treatments accordingly. Fortunately, there is a physician at FMC, Dr. Cindy Beckett, who has taken a lead role in educating health workers about fetal alcohol syndrome and reaching out to families with afflicted children. Many of them are foster and adoptive parents - the children have been given up by birth mothers struggling with their own addictions and unable to cope with such difficult childrearing challenges. We urge these parents who are concerned about the possibility of FAS in their children to get in touch with Beckett at FMC and attend the support group meetings that she has organized. Once fetal alcohol children reach legal adulthood, their parents face difficult decisions. The state does not recognize the condition as a developmental disability, although it resembles autism in many ways. Most of these young adults will need some sort of supervision for the rest of their lives, some long after their parents have passed on. Limited independence for many of these adults is a worthy goal, but it will require new state and federal disability definitions. We urge policymakers to make better prevention and treatment of FAS one of their new year's resolutions. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090121/1491e3da/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Jan 21 23:01:22 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Wed Jan 21 23:04:35 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] At Madison's Metro High, a school in the Dane County Jail, teaching is only part of the job Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090121230115.0387b468@ncf.ca> "...Many of the students are bipolar, suffer from fetal alcohol syndrome, Asperger's disorder, or are mentally ill...." http://www.isthmus.com/isthmus/article.php?article=24713 Isthmus Madison, Wisconsin At Madison's Metro High, a school in the Dane County Jail, teaching is only part of the job Jill Carlson on Wednesday 12/31/2008 [Photo] Anderson (right) and Chavez seek to 'ensure that kids leave Metro in a better space than when they arrived.' Credit:Mary Langenfeld Deb Anderson makes an observation about her students: "These kids just aren't very good criminals." She's hoping they decide, with her help, not to seek careers in the field. Anderson is a teacher at Metro High, a little-known school run out of the Dane County jail. Her students, some as young as 14, are serving time for crimes including car theft, driving without a license, shoplifting, robbery, gang activity, sexual assault and even murder. "We get kids who are so low when they come here they feel that they don't count," says Anderson. "We teach them that they are a valuable person, and not to let anyone make them believe differently. They want someone to sit down with them and listen to what they have to say." One of her students, who we'll call Sam, committed a string of felony robberies after a fight with his mother. Anderson recognized that Sam had learning and emotional disabilities; he needed a teacher more than he needed to be locked up. With Anderson's encouragement, Sam became an avid reader, which helped improve his self-confidence as well as to pass the time during the 10 months he spent in jail. And with the credits he earned at Metro High, he was able to graduate from his home school of Monona Grove. Sam, who turned 18 during his incarceration, now works for Operation Fresh Start, a nonprofit that trains at-risk young people to build homes. Anderson helped get Sam in the program. Sam's aunt says Anderson "saw that he had potential and gave him a quiet place to study. She was very accessible to the family and communicated with Sam's mom and me. Sam looked at Deb as a mentor and trusted her." Metro High, part of the Madison Metropolitan School District, began in 1996 with Anderson as its first teacher. Anderson, now 53, had been a special education teacher at La Follette for 14 years. The school usually has between 15 and 20 students at any one time. The school's budget ? $191,195 in 2008-09 ? is covered by local dollars but fully reimbursed by the state. "Metro High provides another opportunity for learning for students," says Nancy Yoder, who oversees alternative education for the Madison school district. "It helps to rekindle the enthusiasm and get the spark of interest back with an eye to future." In Wisconsin, anyone who has reached the age of 17 is considered an adult by the criminal justice system, and kids as young as 14 can be waived into adult court, depending on the severity of the crime. But Wisconsin has compulsory school attendance through age 18 or high school graduation, regardless of where the child lays his or her head at night. And so juveniles in adult jail, like those in juvenile institutions, must go to school. Metro High provides this mandated service for young people in jail here. While Metro High's students may not be clamoring to get in, they usually benefit from the experience. Anderson and fellow teacher Tina Chavez do more than teach reading, writing and arithmetic. They are advocates for their charges, helping them navigate their way through legal and family services systems. Chavez, 37, has been teaching at Metro High since 1998. She was one of Anderson's former student teachers at La Follette. "The academics are important," says Chavez. "But who the kids are and how they are going to function in the world are most important." Anderson and Chavez test each student on his or her first day of class. Then they seek to identify realistic educational goals and vocational options. Many of the students are bipolar, suffer from fetal alcohol syndrome, Asperger's disorder, or are mentally ill. Helping develop the social skills needed to get along with other people is a part of the daily curriculum. "Jail is a temporary holding facility; no one stays here forever," says Anderson. "It is our responsibility to ensure that kids leave Metro in a better space than when they arrived. They make better neighbors that way." Metro High classes consist of four to six students each. Two or three sessions are taught per day. A sheriff's deputy escorts Anderson's students from their cells to the narrow rectangular classroom located on the seventh floor of the City-County Building. The classroom, with a view of Lake Monona, is stocked with computers, books and maps. On the walls are photos taken by Anderson of current and former students wearing the cap and gown from their high school graduation. Anderson worries about possible budget cuts ? especially during the summer months, when school is not mandated. She hopes school officials remember "there is no difference for our captive audience" during these months. Many students are anxious about their legal situations. Anderson and Chavez counsel them on handling stress, including preparing them for going to prison. The caring doesn't end when the kids leave jail. Anderson and Chavez give students their phone numbers in case they need direction and also to provide "Miss Deb" and "Miss Tina" with updates on their progress in the real world. "I believe that each of us is where we're meant to be," says Anderson. "For whatever reason. I am constantly humbled by what I learn from the kids." -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090121/4b3de758/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Jan 21 23:01:42 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Wed Jan 21 23:04:37 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Inquiry judge recommends changes after death of Alberta group home worker Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090121230134.0387b1d8@ncf.ca> "...Malin also noted overwhelming testimony from ``almost all of the professionals'' before the inquiry that awareness of FASD needs to be increased..." Inquiry judge recommends changes after death of Alberta group home worker SHANNON MONTGOMERY. The Canadian Press. Toronto: Jan 19, 2009. CALGARY _ The brutal beating murder of a 20-year-old youth worker in southern Alberta resulted from a ``perfect storm'' of factors, including a sexually obsessed young teen and a lack of training, says a judge who presided over the fatality inquiry into her death. Judge Lloyd Malin released his recommendations Monday after hearing evidence about the death of Sharla Collier. The young woman was killed in November 2002 by a 14-year-old who lived at a group home in Lethbridge, Alta., where she worked. The two were out walking when the boy, who has fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, knocked her unconscious with a large branch then sexually assaulted her. The teen, who can't be named due to a publication ban, pleaded guilt to first-degree murder in June 2005 and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for seven years. Collier's death happened as a result of several factors, wrote Malin. The teen was alone in a secluded area with the ``physically unimposing, unsuspecting and trusting young female'', who had little experience dealing with individuals with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. The boy was preoccupied with sex and as a result of his disorder, was impulsive, easily frustrated and unpredictable. ``It was a `perfect storm' of factors, the risk _ although not the predictability _ of which is somewhat obvious in retrospect,'' Malin wrote. Workers have to be educated and trained in the psychology and behavioural problems of those under their care and be familiar with safety regulations, he said. Youth workers should also be physically capable of handling those in their care, he said. Collier was shorter than the youth, although somewhat heavier. As well, female workers shouldn't be left alone with sexually obsessed young men, Malin said. ``A careworker working along with a resident exhibiting a sexual preoccupation or a propensity for aberrant sexual behaviour should be of the same sex as that resident,'' he wrote. But Dave Adams, executive director of Lethbridge Family Services, which ran the home, says it's a huge challenge for all care facilities to find male workers. ``We're still finding it extremely difficult to find enough male staff to work with male clients,'' he said. ``Probably 80 to 85 per cent of our workforce in human services, not-for-profits, is female.'' His agency stopped running overnight programs after Collier's death, he said, in large part due to the problem finding appropriate workers. Karen Collier, Sharla's mom, said more government funding is needed to meet this recommendation. ``They need to pay them more. Most men are the breadwinners,'' she said. Her young daughter ``had a good heart'' and tried hard, but was entirely unprepared to deal with the teen, Collier said. ``She knew nothing, she'd never worked with any FAS kids before,'' she said. ``Sharla liked to help people with disabilities, thought she could change their lives, but never in a million years would she have thought somebody would want to hurt her.'' Malin acknowledged that during the inquiry he heard that low wages given to caregivers make it very difficult to employ males, but said solutions are outside of the inquiry's scope. He also cautioned that while people with FASD may lack effective behaviour management controls, he had no information to suggest they're more likely to be violent. He noted the teen was not considered violent before the attack, and said there's no guarantee any of the recommendations could have stopped the attack. Adams said Collier's colleagues, some of whom still work for the agency, were happy to see the judge's recommendations. ``It still creates emotional turmoil, even after all these years,'' he said. ``What (the report) does do, it does let the employees know that we do care about them, that people do appreciate the work that they do, and that safety is a concern.'' Malin also noted overwhelming testimony from ``almost all of the professionals'' before the inquiry that awareness of FASD needs to be increased, but said such campaigns don't directly relate to worker safety. Karen Collier said she was disappointed not to see that recommendation. ``They take sex ed in schools now, (there should be) something in there to teach girls what happens if they drink when they're pregnant.'' A spokeswoman for the Alberta Children and Youth Services says the government will look over the recommendations and see if any changes need to be made. Sharon Lopatka said the government has heard the message about low wages. ``We have provided over $102 million over the last four years for agencies to help with their staffing challenges, including wages, and we continue to work with the contracted agencies ... to help them be able to hire the type of staff that they require.'' Malin also recommended the province's occupational health and safety code have rules for people working with unpredictable and potentially violent individuals, as well as group home safety. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090121/618c460e/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Jan 21 23:01:58 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Wed Jan 21 23:04:40 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] How Alcohol Harms Developing Brains Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090121230151.0387ee10@ncf.ca> http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=20529 Medical Breakthroughs Reported by Ivanhoe Reported January 1, 2009 How Alcohol Harms Developing Brains (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- While it's well known drinking alcohol during pregnancy can harm a developing child, new findings show certain parts of the brain may be more susceptible to damage than others. Results of a new study show alcohol consumption during pregnancy can be particularly damaging to the brain's white matter -- nerve fibers through which information is exchanged between different areas of the central nervous system. Abnormalities in white matter in the frontal and occipital lobes can lead to the executive dysfunction and visual processing deficits often seen in children with gestational alcohol exposure. "Among other functions, the frontal lobes are important for planning and regulating behavior at an executive level," Susanna L. Fryer, a researcher at San Diego State University's Center for Behavioral Teratology, was quoted as saying. "Individuals with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) may exhibit problems with executive functioning, which can lead to difficulty inhibiting inappropriate or maladaptive responses, impaired attention regulation, and poor judgment and decision making abilities. The occipital lobes are important for processing visual information, and disrupted white matter coherence in these regions may relate to altered visual-spatial abilities in individuals with FASDs." Researchers say previous studies have shown evidence of white matter abnormalities in the corpus callosum, which connects the two brain hemispheres; however, this was the first study to show abnormalities in the frontal and occipital lobes. SOURCE: Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, March 2009 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090121/e814066f/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Jan 21 23:02:13 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Wed Jan 21 23:04:42 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] =?iso-8859-1?q?Habitual_boat_thief_sent_=91?= =?iso-8859-1?q?up_the_creek=92=3A_?= B.C. Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090121230205.0387eb80@ncf.ca> ",,,Coon was born with fetal alcohol syndrome.." http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_north/campbellrivermirror/news/36952769.html Campbell River Mirror Habitual boat thief sent ?up the creek? By Paul Rudan - Campbell River Mirror Published: January 01, 2009 5:00 PM Darcy Coon?s had a miserable life. But he?s also created misery for others. The 32-year-old North Island man appeared in Campbell River provincial court on Dec. 23, where he was sentenced for stealing an $18,000 boat from a Marine Harvest Canada fish farm in the Broughton Archipelago last summer. ?This was not stealing a pleasure boat...this put people at real risk,? said Crown prosecutor David Fitzsimmons, citing the need of farm workers to use the boat in emergency situations in the isolated region. It was the seventh time Coon has stolen a boat. In November 2006, he took a 35-foot fishing boat from the government dock in Alert Bay. ?He has a history of taking boats...one of his previous victims is still owed $13,000 in compensation,? said Crown prosecutor Leslie Fillingham, during the sentencing hearing in Port Hardy. ?He gets drunk and steals boats ? this is his pattern.? The pattern was repeated on Aug. 17, when Coon?s girlfriend, Linsey McGuire, demanded to go home to Vancouver. At the time they were on an island near Alert Bay and left on a rowboat. It nearly 9 p.m. and getting dark, and family members were concerned for the couple who had been drinking. The report of the missing couple sparked an intensive air and water search which failed to locate them. However, Coon and McGuire ? a woman with a limited mental capacity, the court heard ? had safely made their way to nearby Midsummer Island where Coon stole an 18-foot aluminum work boat from the fish farm. The next day the two motored south to Campbell River where they became involved in a ?horn sounding contest? with the Quadra Island ferry as it approached the dock. The wayward vessel attracted the attention of the Coast Guard who investigated and detained the couple. By this time RCMP had been notified about the stolen boat, as well as Coon. The couple initially provided false names to police, but Const. Dave Dormuth suspected who they really were. McGuire later told him that Coon had told her to use a false name. Coon has been in custody since then and pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property over $5,000 on Oct. 29. Charges against McGuire were dropped. According to defence lawyer Jordan Watt, Coon was born with fetal alcohol syndrome and grew up in an ?abusive and dysfunctional alcoholic setting.? At the age of nine, Coon killed a dog and tortured cats. He also set small fires and was a habitual lier. Coon also claimed he was repeatedly sexually abused by two older men who were never charged. At the age of 11, Coon began sniffing gasoline fumes which led to using cocaine and drinking. ?His biggest demon is with alcohol. Most of his offences stem from alcohol addiction,? Watt told the court. In later years, Coon lived in Vancouver with a sex trade worker who went out one night and never returned. According to Watt, the woman?s mutilated body was found in a dumpster. Another tragic incident occurred in the mid-1990s when Coon witnessed his brother?s suicide. ?They events continue to haunt him,? said Watt, who added that Coon?s past is no excuse for his criminal behaviour. Watt said it is Coon?s intention to seek further residential treatment for his addictions and to return to Guilford Island to work as a commercial fisherman. Watt asked the judge to impose a jail sentence of no more than four months and said the focus should be on Coon?s rehabilitation. However, Fitzsimmons said that protection of the public is more important, given Coon?s pattern of stealing boats. In the end, Judge William Jack handed Coon a six-month jail sentence and no probation. He also declined to make Coon pay restitution to Marine Harvest Canada, given the fact he has no money. ? With files from the North Island Gazette -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090121/5ca3971a/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Jan 21 23:02:32 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Wed Jan 21 23:04:45 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Couple's baby apprehended at birth: B. C. Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090121230224.0387e8f0@ncf.ca> "...Over the years, she has been diagnosed with myriad mental health disorders, including fetal alcohol syndrome..." http://www.bclocalnews.com/surrey_area/surreyleader/community/37106329.html Surrey Leader Surrey, British Columbia Surrey North Delta Leader Couple's baby apprehended at birth By Sheila Reynolds - Surrey North Delta Leader Published: January 05, 2009 1:00 PM Updated: January 06, 2009 8:56 PM [Photo] Nathaniel Postma and Caitlin Herman are fighting to get their daughter returned from government care. Evan Seal / The Leader It was less than an hour after midnight on Nov. 16 when Annaliese Gwendolyn Postma entered the world. She arrived weighing 7 lbs.15 oz. and was 51 cm. long with a full head of brown hair. Parents Caitlin Herman and Nathaniel Postma were thrilled to meet their daughter. "I was actually the one bawling my eyes out when she came out," recalls burly Nathaniel. But less that 12 hours later, confusion, anger and sadness would overshadow their happiness. Before lunchtime, a nurse came in and took Annaliese from her mom's arms. The nurse didn't say anything or answer Caitlin's questions as she wheeled the child out of the room in her bassinet. Nathaniel had been sleeping nearby but awoke to the ensuing chaos as several social workers and RCMP officers entered the maternity room at Surrey Memorial Hospital. The baby was being seized, the parents were told, and taken into the care of the Ministry of Children and Family Development. The dad, according to government documents, was agitated and volatile, even the next day. But his child was being taken, he argued, of course he was stressed. Caitlin and Nathaniel are both 19. They were in foster homes much of their own lives. Both "aged out" of care earlier this year. Caitlin, whose birth mother abused drugs and alcohol, was put in foster care at birth. Over the years, she has been diagnosed with myriad mental health disorders, including fetal alcohol syndrome, neonatal abstinence syndrome, attention deficit disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety and depression. Nathaniel lived mainly with his grandmother until age 14 when he began having anger management and abandonment issues, and she could no longer care for him due to her own health issues. He's since suffered from anxiety, depression and psychosis. He remains close to his grandmother. Both have also been on medications for years, although Caitlin went off them prior to becoming pregnant. She has since followed up with her psychiatrist and a letter written after her Dec. 11 appointment says the new mom "does not require any medication at this time." Nathaniel says he manages his symptoms without the pills but does have a prescription for a low-dose anti-psychosis medication. When the couple met more than a year ago, they fell in love quickly and decided to have a baby together. But six months into the pregnancy, in July 2008, someone placed a child welfare call, expressing concern about the pair's ability to care for a child. Their many diagnoses were cited, as was the fact they'd not been taking their prescribed medications. A social worker didn't meet with Caitlin and Nathaniel until late October. A report provided to The Leader by the couple says the worker was concerned about the sanitary state of the one-bedroom apartment, noting there was cat hair, the carpets were dirty and there was a sour/stale smell. It also outlines Caitlin's admission that she has mood swings and smoked pot during her pregnancy. (Caitlin says she smoked very little, and only to stop nausea to allow her to eat). It also talks about verbal arguments and the teens slapping one another, but they say it's always in fun and never escalates to physical fights. The report references collateral checks with family and professionals indicating concerns about the pair's mental health issues, as well as "the conflictual nature of their relationship and maturity/developmental ability to safely and effectively parent and (sic) infant." A source also told the worker Caitlin drank and used drugs prior to knowing she was pregnant and predicted she'd go back to using in order to cope with the stress of being a new parent. Sitting on a couch in their small but tidy apartment with family and friends, Caitlin and Nathaniel talk openly about their past, their troubles, their mistakes and their plans for the future. Their baby, they vow, would be safe and loved and well-cared for in their home. While they are both on disability assistance and earn a combined $1,500 a month, they've budgeted for their daughter's needs. "I've been around newborns since the age of 10," Caitlin says. "I do feel I'm one of those people that was meant to have a baby." Nathaniel believes he's a "natural" when it comes to fatherhood. They're currently allowed to visit their daughter in her Coquitlam foster home three times a week. Annaliese weighs close to 11 pounds now. Caitlin breastfeeds during her visits and pumps her milk during the week. But the bassinet in the couple's bedroom remains empty at night, except for a blanket bearing their daughter's photo. No overnights with the baby are allowed. On the change table beside the bed is a pale pink Christmas stocking they filled during their supervised holiday visit. They await the day Annaliese can come home to stay. Kids only apprehended when 'immediate' threat: Ministry Decisions to seize children are always a last resort, according to the Ministry of Children and Family Development. Only when a child protection concern is raised ? be it through a hospital, a family member or a neighbour ? does the provincial body step in. Caitlin Herman and Nathaniel Postma wonder why, if they were viewed as such risky parents, they weren't offered supports ? such as parenting or anger management classes ? prior to the baby's birth and apprehension. While a complaint was made in July, a social worker didn't come to their home until October, just weeks before the baby was born. A spokesperson from the ministry could not speak about Annaliese's case specifically, but said the ministry often works with parents and parents-to-be on self-help skills and specific tasks such as meal preparation and money management. "Our first goal would always be to try to put those supports in place where that's a possibility, but in some cases, there are immediate child protection concerns which outweigh those goals," he said, noting the approach is the same whether the child is born yet or not. "Children are only removed when there's an immediate threat to the child. Unless that threat is apparent, we would not act to remove the child." Nathaniel and Caitlin can't understand how their newborn would be in any danger, but say they weren't offered any assistance prior to the baby's birth. Having been in foster care her whole life, the young mom says she would have attended any courses or counselling to assure her daughter would come home from the hospital with her. "I know what it's like and I never wanted that for my daughter. Had they given me the choice ? I would have done anything." The couple has since registered for a parenting class that begins this month and they are looking for a relationship counselling course that doesn't have a waiting list. Last month in court, the province applied for a three-month extension to the temporary custody order for Annaliese, but the couple's lawyer contested it. Both sides are now scheduled to sit down and discuss the case during a conference scheduled for Feb. 19. sreynolds@surreyleader.com 59 Comments -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090121/63a77de6/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Jan 21 23:02:51 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Wed Jan 21 23:10:09 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] 'No one told me about the risks' : New Zealand Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090121230244.0387e660@ncf.ca> "...'The Government has a lot to answer for because they don't have labels on bottles,'..." http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10550916 The New Zealand Herald National 'No one told me about the risks' 4:00AM Thursday Jan 08, 2009 By Simon Collins [Photo] Karyn Tunnicliff says Jaymee, now 15, is "a beautiful girl, well behaved, a good role model for her little sister". Photo / Sarah Ivey In the first 9 weeks of her pregnancy before she knew she was pregnant, Karyn Tunnicliff celebrated her own and a friend's 21st birthdays. "We did nothing but drink for five days," she says. "I found out a week after I was 21 that I was pregnant. It scared the bejesus out of me." Ms Tunnicliff is happy to be an object lesson to young women about the dangers of drinking because she's angry that no one told her of the risks. At the time, 15 years ago in New Plymouth, her doctor told her: "One drink a week isn't going to harm your child." "I drank right through my pregnancy," she says. "I didn't know. There had been no warnings whatsoever." When her daughter Jaymee was born, she realised almost immediately that something was wrong. "She was a screamer till six or eight weeks," she says. "We put her on solids at three weeks, the more we fed her the better. By eight weeks she was having soup in a bottle, it was great because she slept. That was alcohol withdrawal." She was a super-advanced toddler. By six months she was saying proper words, by 10 months she was walking. "I started asking for help when she was 18 months old because she was really advanced. They said she's just an intelligent child developing normally, but I knew she was different." She was hyperactive. Ms Tunnicliff "couldn't keep her occupied". By age 7 she would be up at 5am and still going at midnight. At 8 or 9 she was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and prescribed Ritalin and Rubifen. They just made the sleeplessness worse. Ms Tunnicliff, who has brought up Jaymee and a younger daughter on her own - "her father didn't want to know" - took her off Ritalin and Rubifen and put her on to melatonin supplements, which finally helped her to sleep normally. Removing extra sugar also helped. She had long suspected that Jaymee might be suffering from fetal alcohol syndrome, but her local doctors scoffed at the idea. Finally, three years ago, she found a paediatrician at Waikato Hospital, Dr John Goldsmith, who confirmed that Jaymee had mild physical markers of the syndrome based on the gap between the eyes, the width of the eyes and an indistinct or lacking indentation in the skin above the top lip. The diagnosis was too late to make much difference, as Ms Tunnicliff had already found ways to set rules for Jaymee which have helped her do well. She's still poorly co-ordinated and accident-prone, but she is now "a beautiful girl, well behaved, a good role model for her little sister". But she wants something done for others. "The Government has a lot to answer for because they don't have labels on bottles," she says. All alcoholic drinks in the United States have carried warnings since 1989 that "women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects". The Alcohol Advisory Council wants similar warning labels here but they need to be agreed on by Food Standards Australia NZ. * Alcohol and Drug Helpline, 0800 787 797. Fetal Alcohol Support Trust: fast@xtra.co.nz -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090121/6146ab41/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Jan 21 23:03:08 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Wed Jan 21 23:10:12 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Fetal alchohol syndrome in children: U.K. Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090121230301.0387e3d0@ncf.ca> Includes: 'What schools can do' and 'Campaigning for change'....Susan Fleisher of NOFAS-UK http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/fetal-alchohol-syndrome-3973 Teaching Expertise Optimus Education London, U.K. Fetal alchohol syndrome in children This Special Children article is from August 2008. Fetal alcohol syndrome disorders (FASD) are regarded as the leading known cause of non-genetic intellectual disability in the Western world. Special Children gives some useful information about FASD and interviews the adoptive mother of a child with fetal alcohol sydrome So-called ?lifestyle illnesses? are fast becoming the number one concern of politicians and health professionals. Professor Ian Gilmore, of the Royal College of Physicians, recently warned of ?a tsunami of health-related harm? if the government failed to take action on issues such as obesity and alcohol-related disease. Information released by the Department of Health in July, based on a new approach to counting alcohol-related hospital admissions, produced a figure of 811,000 in 2006 (accounting for 6% of all admissions) compared with 473,500 in 2002. Previously, researchers only counted the three most common types of alcohol-related diseases ? alcoholic liver disease, alcohol poisoning and mental and behavioural disorders. This new approach counts 44 conditions caused by, or strongly associated with, alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Buried in these figures are trends among the young that are also worrying policy makers. Cheap alcohol targeted at the youth market and the irresponsible selling of alcohol to under-age drinkers are partly to blame. So too is the way in which popular culture, from advertising to TV soaps, glamourises excess drinking. According to the recently launched Youth Alcohol Action Plan, while there has been an overall decrease in the proportion of young people drinking alcohol, there has been sharp increase in the amount consumed by those who do drink. The average weekly consumption of alcohol for 11- to 15-year-olds increased from five units in 1990 to more than 11 units in 2006. In April of this year, the Home Office announced that in a half-term clampdown it had confiscated 20,945 litres of alcoholic drinks (44,265 pints) from underage drinkers in an operation involving 39 forces in England and Wales. Twenty-five per cent of the 5,143 youngsters who surrendered alcohol to the police said they were aged 15 or under. Much media coverage of under-age drinking inevitably focuses on the anti-social behaviour of youngsters fuelled by alcohol ? a link explored in the Youth Alcohol Action Plan. But alcohol impacts at both ends of the education system in other ways. While there is now new evidence that drinking too much alcohol can impair adolescent brain development, there is also increasing evidence that children are being born with physical and neurological damage as a consequence of their birth mothers drinking during pregnancy. Children in this category suffer from a range of conditions grouped under the umbrella-term fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), at the centre of which is fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) itself. What is FASD? In June 2007 the British Medical Association (BMA) published a guide to FASD for healthcare professionals. While the authors note that there has been a significant amount of research into FASD in Canada and the USA over the last 30 years, the situation in the UK, where the existence of FAS is still debated, is less encouraging. This lack of UK research is especially surprising in that although FAS ? the most clinically recognisable form of ASD ? is not considered a common condition; it is regarded as the leading known cause of non-genetic intellectual disability in the Western world. The reported worldwide incidence of FAS is 0.97 cases per 1,000, while a 2002 study estimated that in Western countries as many as nine per 1,000 live births involve children affected by a range of alcohol-related disorders. The cause of these conditions is straightforward: alcohol readily crosses the placenta and as the embryo/fetus does not have a fully developed blood filtration system it can easily interfere with normal prenatal development. This disruption of normal developmental processes is thought to occur via multiple mechanisms activated at different stages of pregnancy. Hence, the quantity of alcohol consumed, how it is consumed (ie, over an extended period of time or via ?binge drinking?) and at what stage of pregnancy, can all affect the embryo/fetus differently. While alcohol can affect prenatal development at any time, the embryo/fetus is especially vulnerable during the first and third trimesters. Other factors can also play a part in determining whether, and how, fetal damage occurs, including genetic makeup, the general health of the mother and environmental factors such as diet and stress. Particularly inconclusive is whether low-to-moderate levels of drinking have adverse effects on the embryo/fetus. However, the BMA guide states that current evidence is not robust enough to exclude any risk from low-to-moderate levels, and that evidence is continuing to emerge as to the possible effects of prenatal alcohol exposure at these levels. Among the parts of the embryo/fetus that can be affected by alcohol are the brain and the central nervous system (CNS). Damage can be both intellectual and physical. However, it is the central nervous system that is at greatest risk as CNS cells have a lower toxicity threshold for alcohol. According to the BMA, ?Damage to the brain is often, though not always, accompanied by distinctive facial abnormalities, physical and emotional developmental problems, memory and attention deficits, and a variety of cognitive and behavioural problems.? Prevention FASD is obviously 100% preventable if pregnant women do not drink alcohol. However, the BMA guide notes that: ?In the UK, there have been no universal strategies focused specifically on preventing these disorders.? It is unclear whether this is because FASD are perceived to be a minor problem or because it is felt such strategies are ineffective. Having surveyed the available evidence, the BMA guide questions the effectiveness of alcohol education and health promotion campaigns outside of an overall strategy that has proved effective: making alcohol more expensive and limiting its availability. But, as the guide points out, such policies ?have proved unpopular politically in the UK, and have not been used as part of the strategy to reduce alcohol-related harm.? Available evidence also indicates low levels of understanding and knowledge of FASD among healthcare professionals, who are obviously the first point of contact for pregnant women. Matters are made worse by the vague and conflicting official advice pregnant women are given. Until recently, they were advised not to drink more than one or two units of alcohol once or twice a week. However, a recent YouGov survey of 1,429 drinkers in England carried out for the Department of Health found three-quarters of those surveyed did not know that a typical glass of wine contains three units of alcohol. In May 2007, the Department of Health revised its advice when it said that pregnant women or women trying to conceive should avoid drinking alcohol. Announcing the decision, deputy chief medical officer Dr Fiona Adshead said: ?We have strengthened our advice to women to help ensure that no one underestimates the risk to the developing fetus of drinking above the recommended safe levels.? Identification While there are well-established diagnostic criteria for FAS, this is not the case for other pre-natal alcohol-related conditions. In the case of FAS, the diagnosis is based on the presence of a characteristic set of facial features combined with growth and neurocognitive deficits. The National Organisation for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome UK publishes a useful A5 booklet with a section on FASD characteristics, including an illustration showing the facial features that form part of the diagnosis. hese include a small head circumference, an upturned nose, a flat nasal bridge, a thin upper lip and a smooth philtrum (the vertical groove between the nose and upper lip). Extensive diagnostic guidelines can also be downloaded from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, USA. These guidelines were initially drawn up in 2003 because of a widespread failure by primary care providers and others who care for children to routinely or consistently identify individuals with FAS. The guidelines attribute this failure to four major factors: the absence of sufficiently specific and uniformly accepted diagnostic criteria; the fact that each of the symptoms has a broad range of differential diagnoses, making diagnosis more difficult; lack of knowledge and misconceptions among primary care providers; and a lack of diagnostic criteria to distinguish FAS from other alcohol-related conditions. Not surprisingly, then, the BMA guide stresses that diagnosis requires skilled clinical differentiation and a good understanding of the nature of FASD and the diagnostic techniques involved in identifying the range of conditions. What schools can do Despite these difficulties, formal diagnosis of FAS at the earliest possible stage is crucial as it permits the implementation of early intervention and treatment programmes. While educational professionals are not in a position to make a diagnosis, they are well placed to make the initial identification. As the BMA guide explains: ?The characteristic facial features, growth deficiencies and CNS manifestations associated with FAS commonly become evident during infancy. Infants affected by FAS may exhibit hyperactivity, poor fine-motor control, social naivety, and/or intellectual disabilities, and they may be irritable and fail to meet developmental milestones. Initial recognition can be made by the child?s parents, school teachers, social service professionals and healthcare professionals.? Where a child is suspected of having FAS, an initial evaluation by a healthcare professional is necessary, followed by a full and thorough diagnosis where referral criteria are met. The BMA guide states that this should include ?physical examination, intelligence tests, occupational and physical therapy, and psychological, speech and neurological evaluations.? This requires that the necessary expertise in diagnosing and managing neurodevelopmental conditions exists at a national or regional level. Where it doesn?t exist, it clearly needs to be developed. The special educational needs of children with FAS will differ depending on the severity of their condition. Hence they will need individually tailored learning programmes. According to NOFAS-UK, most children with FASD have developmental delays, although their IQ can cover the normal range (70?130). At primary school, children may exhibit short attention spans, poor coordination, have difficulty with both fine and gross motor skills and require a lot of one-to-one attention. Older children may have low self-esteem and show poor impulse control. Because of their developmental delay, seemingly normal teenagers may exhibit the behaviour of children half their age. School staff can also play a part in informing older children and the local community about the risk inherent in drinking alcohol during pregnancy. In the case of secondary school children, issues to do with alcohol abuse should form part of the PSHE curriculum. In the case of the local community, use can be made of school events such as open days to display relevant literature and schools can participate in health awareness initiatives in their catchment areas. For those wishing to find out more about FASD, regular training events are organised by NOFAS-UK. * The Youth Alcohol Action Plan is a joint initiative of the Department for Children, Schools and Families, The Home Office and the Department of Health. It was launched in June 2008. * Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: A Guide for Healthcare Professionals, British Medical Association, June 2007. This can be downloaded from the NOFAS-UK website (see above). * Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Guidelines for Referral and Diagnosis * ---------- Campaigning for change Susan Fleisher is just off the train from London and on her way into a meeting at Sunfield School in Clent. An American by birth, she still has an East Coast accent and a can-do manner, as you would expect of someone who has been both a teacher and a TV producer. It was the latter role that brought her to the UK 20 years ago, as the person responsible for packaging the Oprah Winfrey and Ricki Lake shows for Channel 4. It was while she was here that she adopted her daughter Addie, whose birth mother she knew was an alcoholic. What she wasn?t prepared for was the impact the mother?s drinking would have on Addie?s future. ?She had learning difficulties, but she had tutors, all the best things. But nothing was working,? Susan explains. ?Then nine years ago I was at conference about adopted children and when they started talking about FAS, bells went off. She had seven of the eight traits mentioned and then they mentioned having a small head circumference I had been to about eight bicycle shops and none of them had a children?s bicycle helmet small enough for my daughter.? Diagnosing and dealing with FAS Faced at long last with the possible cause of Addie?s learning difficulties, Susan took her to Great Ormond Street Hospital where they diagnosed FAS. ?I went into a deep depression, thinking my daughter?s life outcome would be completely different, because she was this cute, bright toddler but delayed in everything,? Susan confides. ?Then I realised there were much bigger ramifications.? Following Addie?s diagnosis, Susan moved her into special education. ?I have to rave about the quality of people I have met in this country,? she says. ?I find better services here than my friends in America. The problem is funding, and resources are so stretched.? Despite this, she says her daughter has received wonderful support, and as a result avoided many of the problems experienced by less fortunate FAS sufferers. ?Everything turned around in our lives when I got the correct diagnosis. A lot of people say ?Don?t give them a diagnosis; it has an alcohol label?. That?s true; it?s a terrible label. But these children need the right diagnosis, then they?ll get the right support and their lives will turn out much better.? Improving awareness Two further events changed Susan?s life forever. Because of her job in television, the Avent bottle company approached her with an offer to fund an educational film on FAS. The end product ? A Child For Life ? is a 20-minute film that combines expert medical testimony with the moving stories of young people and their mothers whose lives have been changed irrevocably by pre-natal alcohol damage. At the same time, the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome in the USA (www.nofas.org) asked Susan to establish a sister organisation in the UK. NOFAS-UK (www.nofas-uk.org) was launched in September 2003. Today the charity occupies most of Susan?s available time and the TV career is a fond, if distant, memory. Since its inception, NOFAS-UK has campaigned to raise awareness of the dangers of FASD through publications, educational events and lobbying. In September 2004, with Avent?s support, it distributed A Child For Life and an associated teaching pack to more than 4,600 secondary schools in the UK. Rights to the film have since been sold to a number of other countries including Australia, the Netherlands and Poland. Through its contacts, NOFAS-UK has also succeeded in raising the profile of FAS with key policy makers. A meeting with Sir Liam Donaldson, chief medical officer for England, resulted in changes to Department of Health advice given to pregnant women. In the House of Lords, Lord Mitchell has battled successfully for the adoption of an Alcohol Labelling Bill that requires the drinks industry to display warning notices to pregnant women on bottles of alcoholic drinks. Susan hopes to continue these successes in September when she meets the secretary of state for children, schools and families, Ed Balls. So what does she hope to achieve? ?Basically I feel the government should do what the Avent bottle company did ? offer A Child For Life to every single school. And it should be part of their PSHE curriculum. That would be a huge step in the right direction.? NOFAS-UK is also running a pilot project called ZAP (Zero Alcohol in Pregnancy) with a school in the East End of London in which they train teen tutors to teach other teenagers about FAS. This she feels could be extended to other schools. She also thinks there is scope to work with parents through organisations such as PTAs. With the increased focus on young people?s drinking habits, the time is right for the dangers of FASD to be taken more seriously. But Susan Fleisher knows that after five years of campaigning, moving FAS up the political agenda will require a concerted effort by all concerned. Comments -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090121/5a8011f4/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Jan 21 23:03:25 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Wed Jan 21 23:10:14 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Not impressed with the booze business: B.C. Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090121230318.038800c0@ncf.ca> www.canada.com Abbotsford Mission Times Abbotsford, British Columbia Not impressed with the booze business The Times Friday, January 09, 2009 EDITOR, THE TIMES: Re: Rising from ashes of arson, Page 1, Tuesday Times: These pubs, being built by Paul Esposito and others, are "death institutions" that kill more than a million people each year worldwide - mostly innocent people and ruin the lives of wives and families. Why don't the Espositos throw out the booze and use their buildings to help the fetal alcohol syndrome kids whose lives are destroyed by alcohol through no fault of their own? But in Esposito's word "wow," to describe his business. This booze business in reality makes lots of money for the lawyers. "Wow," this booze business destroys innocent people. "Wow," the booze business gives the police an overwhelming extra workload. "Wow," that booze business creates an astronomical burden on our medical system. Gilbert Gerbrandt Abbotsford www.canada.com Abbotsford Mission Times Rising from ashes of arson Christina Toth The Times Tuesday, January 06, 2009 Four years ago today, on a blustery, snowy morning, Abbotsford businessman Paul Esposito watched his dreams disappear in flames and black smoke. With fire crews working feverishly around them, Esposito, his family and staff stood in disbelief outside Finnegan's Pub as it burned, the jewel of his King's Crossing hotel and conference centre. Despite attempts to save it, the pub was gutted in the blaze. The loss was valued at about $8.1 million. It was the third arson targeting one of Esposito's properties in just over a month. On Dec. 11, 2004, Wild Bill's Country Pub on Industrial Way was burned to a charred wreck, a loss of $1.38 million. Another fire at Esposito's downtown Abbotsford liquor store on Dec. 2, 2004, resulted in $21,000 damage to a loading area. More than 100 people lost their jobs due to those fires. Six people were eventually arrested and pleaded guilty to their roles in the arsons. Another party who allegedly ordered the destruction has not yet been identified or brought to justice. Those events shook the usually optimistic Esposito to the core. Despite a long process of healing, yesterday Esposito admitted the anniversary was difficult. "Today is just a bad day. And tomorrow, it's going to be worse. I think today, I'll just go for a walk," said Esposito, usually busy at one of his business properties. But while he was down, he was hardly out. Taking a cue from the mythical Phoenix, the immortal firebird that recreates itself out of its own ashes, the tenacious entrepreneur has rebuilt his destroyed dreams over the past few years. By this March or early April, Esposito will open a new version of his Finnegan's Pub, and a brand new Phoenix lounge and restaurant. Both venues will be under one roof and just metres away from the former King's Crossing site, but this time with an address on King Road and a choice location. They will face the future 7,500-seat Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre, also scheduled for completion in late March. Each bar/restaurant will hold 240 seats and have its own unique characteristics. The old Irish pub-style Finnegan's "with a contemporary twist" will feature a broad welcoming bar, lots of screens to view sports events and live Celtic tunes. Finished in warm mahogany woods and yellow onyx, The Phoenix draws inspiration from global sources, a little ethnic, a little mystical, he said. The menu will offer fusion fare, such as rice bowls and Thai dishes, accompanied by a little jazz or piano music. "It's a classy place. With the Phoenix you'll want to dress up a bit," said Esposito. The complex will also house a retail liquor outlet, and contain 220 above-ground and underground parking spots. He wouldn't put a number on the cost of the project, but Esposito did say he's spending some "big money" to create a premier venue with "the best innovations in hospitality." "We want a 'wow' when you come in. Our washrooms are a 'wow,' our kitchen is a 'wow,' our chairs are a 'wow,' because the people of Abbotsford are worth it," he said. Esposito unabashedly attributes his resurrection to people who have supported him and his family over the past few years. "We're forever grateful. If it weren't for their encouraging words, we would have never stood up and completed this," he said, give extra thanks to police and the Crown. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090121/30de0a84/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Jan 21 23:03:41 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Wed Jan 21 23:10:17 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Testimony Living with FASD Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090121230333.0387fe30@ncf.ca> [Many of us have met Jonathan Coote. On his website he four videos of himself talking about FASD Jonathan is from Owen Sound, Ontario and is involved with the FASD support group there.] ER http://jcoote.net/about/ JC Place Colophon "...I first found out i had Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder via Margaret Sprenger, A lady who is a pioneer in the field of speaking out and raising awareness of the dangers of Alcohol while pregnant. Through her and my willingness to admit there is a problem i have been able to speak at different conferences and appear on television a few times sharing my battle with FASD...." http://jcoote.net/living-fasd/ JC Place 11 Jan, 2009 Testimony Living with FASD Posted by: Jonathan In: Fetal Alcohol| Health| Media| News| Personal| Series| Video I was invited by Crossroads ministry a number of years ago to speak about my life and battle with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. A story of suffering and crime and a story of hope. Hope because of my faith in Christ and my open willingness to listen to advice of those around me and make changes in my life for my betterment. The best way to describe my life is when you wake up from a nightmare you wash your face and go back to sleep but with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder life is the exact opposite, when you go to sleep the nightmare stops and when i wake up the nightmare continues. * Special Series: My Life With FASD * Discussing FASD * Prisoners Of/With FASD * Testimony Living with FASD * Shadows Of FASD http://jcoote.net/special-series/ 15 Jan, 2009 Special Series: My Life With FASD Posted by: Jonathan In: Fetal Alcohol| Health| News| Personal| Series I have written a number of articles accompanied by videos about my life struggle living with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder over the last little while. This four part series looked at different aspects of my life with FASD as well as how society views those whom are incarcerated and suffer from FASD as well as my spiritual journey and how that ties in to my struggle day in day out. List of Series Articles: 1. Shadows Of FASD 2. Testimony Living with FASD 3. Prisoners Of/With FASD 4. Discussing FASD -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090121/2654b604/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Jan 21 23:03:59 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Wed Jan 21 23:10:20 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Scott Dumas headlining fundraiser: for FASD for a camp facility: Alberta Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090121230351.0387fba0@ncf.ca> "...This is the only summer camp in Alberta designed specifically for kids with FASD...." http://bonnyvillenouvelle.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=287&Itemid=1 Bonnyville Nouvelle Bonnyville, Alberta Scott Dumas headlining fundraiser Written by Dan Brisebois Tuesday, 13 January 2009 In many ways the Lakeland Centre for FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) fundraiser on Feb. 5 in Bonnyville will be exactly what people have come to expect - great entertainment, great food, great silent and live auction items ? all for a good cause. Scott Dumas, a renowned Canadian comedian, has been featured on Just For Laughs several times, as well as the Yuk Yuk?s circuit and Comedy Central numerous times. Audrey McFarlane, the centre?s executive director, said she doesn?t want to let the cat out of the bag about what items will be included in the auctions, but said along with some Oilers and other hockey paraphernalia, the community will come through with some other great items, the same as it always has. What will make this year?s fundraiser different is that the money raised will be earmarked to build a new summer camp facility. Each summer, the centre hosts a series of one-week camps for children affected with FASD. ?We?ve averaged the last few years just over $20,000 each year with the dinner, which has been great because it?s helped us offset the costs of running the summer camp,? McFarlane noted. She said because of the camp?s popularity, she?s expecting it to be self-sustaining this year. ?With the help of the community we?ve been able to build it to that level. But the unfortunate part is because of the popularity, the facility?s getting to be too small,? she said. The centre is currently looking at a couple of possible new locations, and McFarlane estimates a new facility will cost in the neighbourhood of $200,000, including grants and in-kind donations from the community. ?It?s going to take a bit of work to raise that kind of money, but there are some matching funds out there, too, as well,? she said. It?s hoped that a model or architect?s drawing of the facility will be ready to be unveiled during the fundraiser. McFarlane said several companies and groups have expressed interest in partnership options, and ideally she hopes to be able to rent out the facility for seminars or retreats when the centre isn?t using it. This is the only summer camp in Alberta designed specifically for kids with FASD. It includes six one-week sessions designed to address issues for that clientele. Over 40 kids were serviced last year, including the first ever camp for teens. ?The oldest we?d taken until last year was 13. But we included that 14- to 17-year-old boys and girls camp. It was great because it was full, and it takes different programming for teens than young children. But everyone had a good time and we might have a couple of them who are now adults that want to work in the camp as mentors. I think that will be really good thing for everyone involved,? she added. Another highlight during the fundraiser is the fact it will be the group?s first opportunity to celebrate its Bonnyville office, which opened earlier this year. ?We?ve expanded our programming to Bonnyville, specifically mentoring for women who are struggling with addictions and are pregnant. So we work with them on an outreach capacity, quite intensively, to help them get their lives back on track,? McFarlane said. For information on tickets, contact the Lakeland Centre for FASD at 780-815-4824 in Bonnyville or 780-594-9905 in Cold Lake. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090121/4f0a3aec/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Thu Jan 22 16:47:50 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Thu Jan 22 16:53:05 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] JOBS in FASD in Ontario Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090122162541.039b0218@ncf.ca> There are 3 new jobs for short term contract positions related to FASD that are available to people in ONTARIO. IMMEDIATELY Posted Jan. 20, 2009 Deadline for applications is Feb. 2, 2009 PLEASE go to charity village or check out these links. One parent wrote "Its a lot of money, and A LOT of opportunity for assistance for our kids." http://www.charityvillage.com/applicant/jobs.asp?fn=view&g_varID=128320 FASD Respite Service Consultant http://www.charityvillage.com/applicant/jobs.asp?fn=view&g_varID=128322 FASD Effective Practices Consultant http://www.charityvillage.com/applicant/jobs.asp?fn=view&g_varID=128277 FASD Education Consultant -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090122/fbdb2c9a/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Mon Jan 26 14:13:21 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Mon Jan 26 14:16:14 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Binge-drinking mothers-to-be double the risk of having a premature baby: Australia Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090126141254.039e4bc0@ncf.ca> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1124962/Binge-drinking-mothers-double-risk-having-premature-baby.html MailOnline Daily Mail London, U.K. Health "...But mothers who drank lightly while pregnant, consuming no more than six drinks a week, were at no greater risk than women who abstained throughout..." Binge-drinking mothers-to-be double the risk of having a premature baby By Jenny Hope Last updated at 1:38 AM on 21st January 2009 Binge-drinking in early pregnancy doubles the risk of having a premature baby, researchers have warned. But mothers who drank lightly while pregnant, consuming no more than six drinks a week, were at no greater risk than women who abstained throughout, they said. A study found heavy drinking in the three months after conception led to a rise of up to 2.3 times in the chances of having the baby early, even if the mother abstained for the last six months. The study collected data on drinking habits of 4,719 women who gave birth in Western Australia between 1995 and 1997. The rate of premature birth among women who binged or drank heavily during pregnancy was almost 10 per cent. For those who stopped drinking after three months of pregnancy, the rate of premature birth was 13.6 per cent. Researchers are unable to explain the higher risk if the woman stops in early pregnancy, but say there may be medical reasons that caused them to give up drinking which also made a premature birth more likely. Smoking was also linked to pre-term birth. Among women who drank nothing or lightly during pregnancy the premature birth rate is 6 per cent, reported the BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. They believe the alcohol may trigger a metabolic or inflammatory response resulting in premature delivery. Binge-drinking was defined as consuming more than seven standard drinks a week or more than five drinks on any one occasion - with one drink meaning around one unit of alcohol or a small glass of wine. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090126/ae1957b5/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Mon Jan 26 14:14:09 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Mon Jan 26 14:16:19 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Pregnant drinking risks: U.K. Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090126141355.039e3bd8@ncf.ca> "...Women choosing to drink alcohol during pregnancy should drink no more than one to two UK units once or twice a week.Although there is uncertainty regarding a safe level of alcohol consumption in pregnancy, at this low level there is no evidence of harm to the unborn baby...." http://living.scotsman.com/nhshealth/Pregnant-drinking-risks.4901911.jp Scotsman.com Health Info Source: NHS Choices Jan. 21, 2009 Pregnant drinking risks Published Date: 22 January 2009 "Women who binge drink for the first three months of pregnancy have probably left it too late to benefit from giving up", claims The Independent. The newspaper says a study shows that "the damaging effect of alcohol on pregnancy occurs during the first trimester, and cannot be reversed by stopping at that point". The Daily Mail says that drinking in early pregnancy made an early birth 2.3 times more likely. These stories are based on a study that questioned 4,700 new mothers on their drinking habits in pregnancy, and looked for links to prematurity and low birth weight. While the study did suggest drinking alcohol increased risk of prematurity, there are several limitations to the study. Almost all of the results were non-significant, including the 2.3-fold risk increase quoted above. The study also found that links were weakened after taking into account smoking and other known medical and pregnancy-related risk factors. Expectant mothers should never consider it too late to reduce their alcohol, as suggested by media coverage. Instead, they should stick to NICE recommendations for drinking during pregnancy, regardless of prior drinking alcohol intake. NICE recommends that women avoid drinking during the first three months of pregnancy. Beyond that, they should drink no more than one or two units once or twice a week, and they should avoid binge drinking. Where did the story come from?This research was carried out by Colleen O?Leary and colleagues of the Centre for Child Health Research, the University of Western Australia, the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit and the University of Oxford. The study was funded by Healthway (a Western Australian Health Promotion Foundation), the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council. It was published in the peer-reviewed medical journal the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. What kind of scientific study was this? This was a retrospective cohort study investigating the relationship between alcohol consumption during pregnancy and foetal growth/premature birth. This study used data from a population-based cohort of women in Western Australia (WA), assessing the effects of quantity of alcohol, frequency of consumption and overall consumption during each trimester on foetal growth and preterm birth. While there has been a lot of research on alcohol consumption and pregnancy, evidence on the effects of alcohol on growth and birth is considered by some to be inconclusive, particularly evidence on binge drinking. Ten per cent of all women who gave birth in Western Australia between 1995 and 1997 were invited to complete a survey on their health habits during and after pregnancy. This was a postal survey, given when their baby was 12 weeks old. Mothers who had stillbirths or had adopted their baby adopted here excluded. A total of 4,861 women completed the questionnaires (81% response rate), and all but one were linked with their corresponding birth information on the WA Midwives? Notification Scheme. After excluding multiple births and mothers from Australia?s indigenous people, 4,719 were available for analysis. Women were asked about frequency of alcohol intake and quantity of various types of drink consumed during each three-month trimester of pregnancy. Frequency of alcohol intake was grouped as either five or more days per week; three to four days per week; one to two days per week; once or twice per month; less than once per month; or never). Levels of alcohol consumption were grouped as: None.Low (Moderate (Binge (classified as ?less than weekly up to twice per week? 50+g per occasion, =5g per week).Heavy (2+ days per week >10-50g per week, =68g per week, including binge drinkers). The researchers defined one standard drink as containing the equivalent of 10g of pure alcohol. The ?low? category is said to be in line with the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council alcohol guidelines, which recommend no more than seven standard drinks in one week, and no more than two standard drinks in any one day. The main outcome of this study was the effect of reported drinking on foetal growth and premature birth. The researchers calculated proportion of optimal birthweight (POBW), a measure of a baby?s actual weight compared to their ideal birthweight. In their calculations, the researchers took into account infant sex, duration of pregnancy, maternal height, and number of children mothers already had already. Premature birth was defined as infants born at less than 37 weeks of pregnancy. Researchers assessed effects of drinking during each trimester on foetal growth and premature birth using the maximum alcohol consumed during that period. The analysis adjusted for some potential confounders, including: smoking, recreational drug use, maternal age, number of prior children, ethnicity, marital status, income, maternal medical complications, pregnancy complications, and procedures. What were the results of the study?Overall, about 57% of women in the sample abstained from alcohol in both the first and second trimesters, and 53% abstained in the third. Across trimesters, 28-35% of the sample drank low quantities of alcohol; 8-10% moderate quantities; 1-3% binged; and 1-2% were heavy drinkers. The researchers found that higher levels of alcohol consumed during pregnancy were associated with both increased percentage of premature births and babies that were small for the length of time pregnancy lasted. However, adjustment for smoking weakened this association. There were no significant associations between any level of drinking in any trimester of pregnancy and reduced birth weight.There was only one significant association between alcohol consumption and preterm birth: that was found when researchers combined the categories of moderate, binge and heavy drinking levels during the first trimester with later abstinence. This resulted in a borderline significant increased risk of premature birth compared with women who abstained throughout pregnancy (adjusted odds ratio 1.73; 95% confidence interval 1.01 to 3.14). What interpretations did the researchers draw from these results?The authors conclude that high levels of alcohol intake ? particularly heavy and binge drinking ? are associated with increased risk of premature birth even when confined to only the first trimester. However, they say that this finding requires further investigation into the quantity and timing of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, and any potential link to premature birth. What does the NHS Knowledge Service make of this study?The researchers? conclusions may be overstated given that results were not statistically significant and that evidence of a trend towards increasing risk is questionable (given the small sample size used and the resultingly imprecise estimates). However, as the authors acknowledge, their study was small, and more research is needed. The main limitation of this study was the reliance on the women?s self-reporting of alcohol consumption. There are a number of potential biases associated with this: Women having to recall alcohol consumption from up to a year before.Possible difficulty in estimating the size of a measure of alcohol.Possible intentional underestimation of alcohol intake.The possibility that women with a particular birth outcome may report their consumption differently from women with other birth outcomes.The researchers having to estimate grams of alcohol content in drinks and place them into a particular classification group. There are other points to keep in mind when interpreting these results: The findings have also been over-interpreted by the news, as all but one of the adjusted results were not statistically significant. These results had been adjusted to account for the effects of smoking and other known medical and pregnancy-related issues that can affect prematurity.The authors say that although their sample was representative of mothers in Western Australia, there was under-representation of mothers with low birth weight infants (overall estimate 5.3% vs. 4.7% prevalence among study respondents), and mothers aged under 20 years (6.0% overall vs. 2.5% representation in this sample). This may have affected the results if women with lower-birth-weight infants and younger mothers had different drinking habits. Messages to expectant mothers on how much alcohol they can consume may seem mixed and confusing. For now, current NICE recommendations should be followed: Avoid drinking alcohol in the first three months of pregnancy because it may be associated with an increased risk of miscarriage.Women choosing to drink alcohol during pregnancy should drink no more than one to two UK units once or twice a week.Although there is uncertainty regarding a safe level of alcohol consumption in pregnancy, at this low level there is no evidence of harm to the unborn baby.Getting drunk or binge drinking during pregnancy (defined as more than five standard drinks or 7.5 UK units on a single occasion) may be harmful to the unborn baby.]]> The full article contains 1445 words and appears in NHS Choices newspaper.Page 1 of 1 Last Updated: 21 January 2009 11:48 AM Source: NHS Choices Location: National News Related Topics: Food/diet , Pregnancy/child -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090126/d721b0fb/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Mon Jan 26 14:14:37 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Mon Jan 26 14:22:12 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] NDP allege gov't spending needlessly: Sask. Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090126141427.039e3258@ncf.ca> "...First Nations and Metis Relations Minister June Draude... She'll also take in a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder conference in Vancouver..." NDP allege gov't spending needlessly Angela Hall. Leader Post. Regina, Sask.: Jan 20, 2009. pg. A.2 The NDP is accusing government cabinet ministers of jet-setting without telling the public why. But the Saskatchewan Party says the Opposition is playing petty politics over important government travel. Five ministers are scheduled to be at out-of-province events this week -- including Agriculture Minister Bob Bjornerud's trip to San Diego for a conference -- but not enough detail about the nature of the outings is made public, said NDP House Leader Len Taylor. "I do think that the people of Saskatchewan should be aware of what ministers are doing when they're travelling on government business," Taylor said. He pointed specifically to First Nations and Metis Relations Minister June Draude's travel to Prince George for a northern economic summit, saying details he found online about the event suggest it is focused on B.C.'s future. However, Draude blasted the NDP depiction of the event, and said the conference she's attending in Prince George is focused on wider northern issues. She'll also take in a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder conference in Vancouver. "I've attended a number of conferences over the last number of years about the issue and I'm really excited about being able to make a difference now that we're government," she said. Draude also defended costs of overall ministerial travel Monday, saying the dollar amount is down by about $149,000 -- or 25 per cent -- in the first six months of the fiscal year, compared to the same time frame under the NDP in 2007. Draude, who also called her trip last month to Australia for the Indigenous Peoples' Conference on Education very valuable, criticized the Opposition for complaining without knowing all the facts. Taylor said the conference Down Under did fit within Draude's mandate, but he argued it's up to the government to make clearer the objectives and accomplishments of trips when there's travel on the taxpayer dime. "It's not the direct cost that I'm questioning, although cost is a factor in all of this, it's the value of and the accountability of the government in response to this travel." Credit: Angela Hall; The Leader-Post -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090126/6662c451/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Mon Jan 26 21:34:12 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Mon Jan 26 21:40:11 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Sask. First Nations & Metis relations minister attends FASD ministers' meeting Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090126213403.03c40168@ncf.ca> http://www.gov.sk.ca/news?newsId=6bea89ce-c1a1-49d1-b32d-bd3b1034e63c Government of Saskatchewan News release January 23, 2009 FIRST NATIONS AND M?TIS RELATIONS MINISTER ATTENDS FASD MINISTERS? MEETING IN VANCOUVER First Nations and M?tis Relations Minister and Minister responsible for Northern Affairs June Draude is attending the Canada Northwest Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Partnership (CNFASDP) Ministers' meeting in Vancouver on January 23. "The strategies we use to address FASD prevention and awareness have been of great interest to me ever since I was elected in 1995," Draude said. "It is my hope that we can help prevent innocent children being born burdened with the harsh realities of FASD. When our Health Minister asked me to attend this meeting, I was honoured to represent our province." While in Opposition, Draude introduced a Private Member's Bill that was passed unanimously to mark September 9 as FASD Awareness Day in Saskatchewan. The day marks the ninth day of the ninth month as a time to remind mothers and families how critical it is to avoid consuming alcohol during pregnancy. It is important that everyone knows that FASD is 100 per cent preventable. As long as a women does not consume alcohol during her pregnancy, there is no risk of FASD. The CNFASDP was created in 1998 when the governments of Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan pooled their resources and expertise to develop strategies to raise the profile of this disorder and the damage it causes. The partnership later welcomed the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon and British Columbia. CNFASDP also launched a research network in 2005. The meeting in Vancouver this week will bring together ministers who are responsible for areas such as health, childcare and healthy living from the north and the west to discuss issues including the economic impact of children with FASD in care, and a report from the CNFASDP research network. -30- For more information, contact: Jennifer Johnson Executive Council Regina Phone: 306-787-4829 Email: jennifer.johnson@gov.sk.ca Cell: 306-529-5350 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090126/c2c1065d/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Jan 28 21:49:51 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Wed Jan 28 21:53:04 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Dual diagnosis...developmental disabilities...mental health issues Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090128214940.03f9c608@ncf.ca> "...The term refers to people with a permanent developmental disability such as autism, Down syndrome or fetal alcohol syndrome who develop a mental-health problem such as depression, anxiety or psychosis..." "...A new Canadian coalition of families and health-care providers,... has been formed to increase awareness of dual diagnosis...." www.theglobeandmail.com Globe & Mail Globe Life Family & relationships Dual diagnosis Experts believe as many as 50 per cent of children with developmental disabilities may also have mental health issues. But the second condition often goes undiagnosed and untreated, Tralee Pearce reports TRALEE PEARCE From Tuesday's Globe and Mail January 27, 2009 at 8:54 AM EST For Tammy Kliewer, learning that her two-year-old son Tavish had autism felt like solving a major puzzle. He had been non-verbal and "very much in a world of his own" his whole young life. Yet the diagnosis didn't explain his other behaviour: complete meltdowns, violently banging his head and biting his arms. "We could do nothing but restrain him when he went into a meltdown," said Ms. Kliewer from her home in Barrie, Ont. At about 4, he was diagnosed with a string of mental illnesses: anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and self-injurious behaviour. But not before a number of health-care workers had chalked up his behaviours to autism. "It was a cop-out to say it's all part of the autism," Ms. Kliewer says. "There's a significant portion of autistic children who never bang their heads or bite themselves." [Photo] Seven-year-old Tavish Kliewer plays in his bedroom with his sister Macie. He was diagnosed as autistic at age 2, but it took another two years before he was found to also have a string of mental illnesses: anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and self-injurious behaviour. (JENNIFER ROBERTS FOR THE GLOBE) Now, Ms. Kliewer knows that Tavish is one of many Canadians with a "dual diagnosis." The term refers to people with a permanent developmental disability such as autism, Down syndrome or fetal alcohol syndrome who develop a mental-health problem such as depression, anxiety or psychosis. Some estimates put the developmental disabilities rate at about 3 per cent of the population. Experts believe 38 to 50 per cent of this group go on to develop a mental-health problem. But just getting the diagnosis - let alone treating its tangle of challenges - is a huge hurdle. Those with developmental disabilities may be non-verbal or have trouble communicating, so answering a doctor's questions is nearly impossible. In some cases, what may look like a symptom of mental illness is the result of an untreated medical condition, such as an impacted tooth or a gastrointestinal problem. Symptoms are often chalked up to the disability by both doctors and loved ones. "They'll say it's because of his developmental disability that he's not interested in the world around him and prefers to sit and watch television all day," says social worker Susan Morris, clinical director of the dual diagnosis program at Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Even doctors who work closely with people with autism or Down syndrome find it challenging to refract possible symptoms through the lens of mental disability. "You have to do a great deal of interpretation and extrapolation," says Vancouver child psychiatrist Vikram Dua, who specializes in treating young people with autism and mental illness. When the clues don't click, negative behaviours may increase, and doctors may prescribe sedatives, anti-psychotic drugs and tranquillizers without any clear diagnosis. Parents and doctors think, "Well, at least he's not hitting people. We'll deal with this later," Dr. Dua says. "But it doesn't get dealt with later." A new Canadian coalition of families and health-care providers, including Ms. Morris, has been formed to increase awareness of dual diagnosis. Since November, it's been lobbying the Mental Health Commission of Canada to address this particular intersection of mental health and disability. "Certainly, for a long time, developmental disabilities and mental-health problems were seen to be mutually exclusive," says Krista Flint, executive director of the Canadian Down Syndrome Society. She has personally stepped in to help people with Down syndrome who struggled to receive mental health care. Still, she says that since mental illness remains stigmatized, she urges caution. For instance, as more becomes known about the high rates of Alzheimer's in those with Down syndrome, society is starting to look at every person with Down syndrome and assuming they'll get Alzheimer's, Ms. Flint says. In the meantime, there has been some progress in finessing the medical approach to potential dual diagnosis cases. A new diagnostic tool, Diagnostic Manual - Intellectual Disability, was created in 2007 by the U.S. National Association for the Dually Diagnosed in association with the American Psychiatric Association. The text translates symptoms as they appear in the general population into what they might look like in people with developmental delays. Ms. Morris says there has been some early success with the commission, especially when dual diagnosis is framed as co-morbidity, the term for having two or more simultaneous medical problems. At CAMH's dual diagnosis clinic, which serves up to 300 patients a year, the hope is to rehabilitate patients so they can return to their families or community living. Some provinces have created policies centred on how a dually diagnosed person should move through the system. A new version of Ontario's 1997 guidelines, co-written by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Community and Social Services, is set to come out possibly as early as this week to further clarify this framework. There are many cautionary tales that highlight the risks of incomplete diagnoses. Jill Hepburn's 28-year-old daughter has been living at CAMH for nine years (the average stay is about four months). She was 13 when she was diagnosed with her developmental disability, Prader Willi syndrome - a genetic disorder characterized by small hands and feet, abnormal growth, insatiable hunger, extreme obesity and intellectual impairment. By then, she was into a pattern of reckless behaviour that repeatedly landed her in jail and in court. She was charged with arson after an incident while making popcorn at a group home. She was finally given a diagnosis of bipolar disorder with psychotic symptoms when she was 16, Ms. Hepburn says. Although her daughter has had success in treatment, because of her record she has yet to find a spot in another group home. "I don't know where people like my daughter should go," Ms. Hepburn says. In Tavish's case, he will be living with autism all his life, but his anxiety, OCD and self-harm have been brought under control with a low dose of Zoloft, an antidepressant. Without it, many of the sensory features his parents have built into their home to help him cope with his autism, including swings and a wet room where Tavish, now 7, can play with running water, might be useless. "There is no way he'd be where he is today because it would constantly be something that we were battling as opposed to something we were treating," Ms. Kliewer says. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090128/fea20f5c/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Jan 28 21:50:20 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Wed Jan 28 21:53:10 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] [Canadian] National Coalition on Dual Diagnosis Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090128215005.03f9cb88@ncf.ca> http://care-id.com/index.php/publisher/articleview/frmArticleID/22/staticId/37/ CARE-ID Dual Diagnosis [The four organizations are CARE-ID Canadian Association for Research and Education in Intellectual Disabilities, CAMH Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Dual Diagnosis Program, Developmental Disabilities Section of the Canadian Psychiatric Association, NADD Ontario National Association for the Dually Diagnosed Ontario Chapter] National Coalition on Dual Diagnosis In November 2008, four organizations launched the National Coalition on Dual Diagnosis. The objective of the National Coalition on Dual Diagnosis is to support Canadians with both a developmental disability and a mental health problem, and their families. CARE-ID/ACREDI is one of the founding partners in the National Coalition and provides the home website to access the Advocacy Toolkit and related documents. Advocacy Toolkit documents These materials were developed so that advocates for people with dual diagnosis have the ?tools? to help them make their case as effectively as possible. They are based on simple straightforward, plain language that the dual diagnosis field can use uniformly to make our case to decision-makers. They are easy to understand, put a human face on dual diagnosis, and outline clearly defined solutions. They are for anyone?s use locally, regionally, provincially or federally. The toolkit documents include the following Position Statement (PDF) written by families and professionals from across Canada and presented to the Mental Health Commission of Canada Factsheet ? summary information of data available FAQ Sheet ? brief answers to frequently asked questions about dual diagnosis Real life Stories (PDF) to bring the day to day experiences to life Glossary ? of terms most often used Media Release Backgrounder ? back ground document as to why individuals with a dual diagnosis and their families experience service and system challenges Plain language pamphlet ? a 4 page document that explains what dual diagnosis is, what is needed, and the Coalition. It can be used to design your own pamphlet with your local information. Recommended uses of the toolkit materials In preparation for the Spring of 2009 consultation process in relation to the national strategy ? here are some suggestions: * Post on your websites. * Publish selections in your organization newsletters. * Customize the material for your local situation - everything in the materials will not pertain to every situation. Cut and paste, and use what works locally ? while adding your own spin. * Use portions of the materials to compose letters to politicians or letters to the editor. * Use the materials as ?leave-behinds? when visiting politicians or government people * Use as a basis for letters to candidates and political parties during elections. * Use some of the materials to formulate clear ?asks? from decision-makers so they are not confused about what you want changed. * Engage local media to write stories regarding dual diagnosis ? offer these materials as background for their stories. * Take the materials to conferences, consultations, and planning meetings to ensure fellow attendees are fully briefed on the issues you care most about. * Circulate to relevant government Task Forces * Take relevant materials to your family physician, professionals, para-professionals and other service providers to assist with individual advocacy. * Circulate to family members and friends so that they can understand and be more supportive. To join the growing membership of the National Coalition and receive updates of events or developments: send your name, e-mail address, note your organization and profession (if applicable) or ?family? affiliation, and province of residence to: Susan_Morris@camh.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090128/e496dbfd/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Jan 28 21:51:39 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Wed Jan 28 21:53:13 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Dual Diagnosis Position Paper Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090128215124.04001a20@ncf.ca> [The Appendix only has one name that seems to be recognizable from FASD. Family members are included, but not related to particular disabities. There are many people from Ottawa] http://care-id.com/images/File/Position%20statement.pdf Dual Diagnosis Position Paper Prepared by National Coalition on Dual Diagnosis page 3 Purpose of this document People with dual diagnosis have many champions throughout Canada but they have not previously come together to develop a clear set of agreed upon national recommendations on what would most effectively help the dually diagnosed and their families. This document was developed through the expertise of broad group of experts who formed a National Coalition for Dual Diagnosis. This paper states: The needs of persons with dual diagnosis page 5 Explanations for why these needs are not met page 5 The problems we must solve page 7 Recommendations for change page 7 Recommendations for change page 7-9 1. Enabling government policies 2. Professional and para-professional preparedness through training and education 3. Help for families, friends, and caregivers 4. The need for accurate and best practice research Making these recommendations a reality page 9-10 1. The formation of a national coalition that supports these recommendations 2. Inter-professional education, collaborative mental health care and shared care 3. Family advocacy 4. The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) Appendix 1 page 11 National Coalition Membership Panel to develop policy statement Members Manitoba Albert Chudley, MD, Medical Director, WRHA Program in Genetics and Metabolism University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba Names of Board Members of the four member organizations -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090128/e21e7f83/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Jan 28 21:51:16 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Wed Jan 28 21:53:16 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Dual Diagnosis Factsheet [includes FASD] Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090128215029.03faaea0@ncf.ca> http://care-id.com/images/File/Factsheet.pdf Dual Diagnosis Factsheet Prepared by National Coalition on Dual Diagnosis Dual Diagnosis The facts about Dual Diagnosis: Coping with mental health problems when you have a developmental disability...... page 2 Developmental Disability Definition: Children, youth and adults who have significantly greater difficulty than most people with intellectual and adaptive functioning and have had such difficulties from a very early age (or the developmental period prior to age 18). ?Adaptive functioning? means carrying out everyday activities such as communicating and interacting with others, managing money, doing household activities and attending to personal care. This definition of developmental disability also includes children, youth and adults with developmental disorders such as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders or Autism Spectrum Disorders........ Prevalence Rates for Developmental Disabilities..... page 4 The leading cause of preventable birth defects in North America: Drinking alcohol during pregnancy.9 ? Number of babies born in Canada annually with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: 365 one per day.10 ...... -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090128/97920312/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Jan 28 23:25:47 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Wed Jan 28 23:28:11 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] A new level of care provides B.C.'s most troubled citizens with refuge Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090128232539.03de83a0@ncf.ca> "... intended to provide care for the most acute cases of people who aren't just mentally ill, addicted, physically debilitated or whose behaviour is so difficult that no one wants to deal with them, but all of the above..." http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090126.BCMENTAL26/TPStory/National Globe & Mail National A FIRST LOOK INSIDE: 'THEY'VE ALLOWED ME TO BE MYSELF' A new level of care provides B.C.'s most troubled citizens with refuge FRANCES BULA Special to The Globe and Mail January 26, 2009 VANCOUVER -- Six months ago, Ron Soltys was fairly certain his life in the Downtown Eastside would soon come to a bad end. "My buddy, he told me, 'Ron, get out of here before you die,' " the 59-year-old recalls. The former butcher was a heroin user with a nearly two-decade-old habit, living in one of the many bug-ridden hotels on Hastings Street. He'd tried a half-dozen treatment programs and none had worked. His back problems, the result of having his spine crushed 18 years before in a car crash, kept getting worse. And he was angry all the time at everyone, lashing out at those who crossed him. That was before he became one of the first people to be accepted into B.C.'s new residential treatment centre in Burnaby, which has allowed The Globe and Mail in for the first look since it opened last June. It is geared toward providing an unprecedented level of intensive care for the province's most troubled citizens. As a result, life is a little different now for Mr. Soltys, who moved in on Aug. 13. He spends his days going to yoga classes and paints in his art therapy sessions. He plays soccer outside the residence or works out in the on-site gym as part of his recreation therapy. He goes to group meetings and works with a private counsellor, learning how not to turn every frustration into a blow-up. He gets acupuncture and whatever pain medication he needs for his back problems. And he has a clean room of his own, where he keeps a little radio tuned to a classical music station and maintains a windowsill full of plants. "They've allowed me to be myself," says Mr. Soltys, as he tells the story of his life slowly, his sentences filled with pauses where he closes his eyes and stops to gather his thoughts briefly before continuing. Premier Gordon Campbell announced the creation of the Burnaby Centre for Mental Health and Addiction last February. It was in response to an increasingly loud drumbeat of public concern about the way the health system didn't seem able to grapple with the city's worst cases in the Downtown Eastside. The centre, which sits near the corner of two busy roads across from the B.C. Institute of Technology, is intended to be a provincial resource, like the G. F. Strong Rehabilitation Centre. But instead of providing intensive care for brain or spine injuries, the Burnaby centre is intended to provide care for the most acute cases of people who aren't just mentally ill, addicted, physically debilitated or whose behaviour is so difficult that no one wants to deal with them, but all of the above. That has resulted in a treatment centre unlike anything else in the province - or that anyone knows of in North America. There are 140 staff, including psychiatrists, doctors, nurses, occupational therapists and physiotherapists. The planned 100 residents live in a building that feels like a large college residence, and there are about 70 residents there now. That's about 10 times the richest staffing level usually provided for the many non-profits in the city that take care of thousands with similar problems. It costs $1.2-million a month to run. Along with that, residents are expected to stay an average of nine months. Some are likely to be there a year. That's because current research shows it takes at least that long for brain chemistry to reset itself after years of chaotic life under the influence of drugs and untreated mental illness. "With drugs like crystal meth, you start shutting down the frontal lobes of your brain so you actually have to start recovering the circuitry. That takes several months," says Steven Holliday, the centre's director. And finally, the centre is guided by the philosophy that both staff and residents should focus on what they have been able to accomplish, rather than what they've failed at in the past. "It's a much gentler approach. It's strength-based, rather than looking at problems all the time," Dr. Holliday says. That approach also includes a lot of tolerance for relapses and for people who haven't been able to fit in anywhere else. Antonette Rea, a transsexual who worked the streets for 10 years before coming to the centre, testifies to that. "When you've got tattoos and a criminal record and you wear high heels, it's difficult to get assistance," says Ms. Rea, 55, a father of two who found herself unable to get out of her cycle of drugs and sex work for the past 10 years in the Downtown Eastside. "Here, they made an effort, especially for a tranny like myself, to give you a safe place." -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090128/4d661ac5/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Jan 28 23:30:45 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Wed Jan 28 23:34:09 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Sporadic binge drinking in pregnancy can harm fetus Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090128233038.03de8778@ncf.ca> [Here the effects are not called FASD] http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/01/26/eline/links/20090126elin023.html Sporadic binge drinking in pregnancy can harm fetus Last Updated: 2009-01-26 16:01:45 -0400 (Reuters Health) NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A few episodes of drinking four or more alcoholic beverages a day during pregnancy may increase the risk of childhood mental health problems in the offspring, according to a report in the journal Pediatrics. "Patterns of alcohol consumption during pregnancy such as episodes of binge drinking may be as important as average levels of consumption in conferring risk for later childhood mental health and learning problems," Dr. Kapil Sayal, from the University of Nottingham, UK, and co-researchers note. Using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, the researchers examined the effects of binge drinking during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy on childhood mental health. Included were 6355 children followed through 47 months of age and 5599 followed through 81 months. Binge consumption of four or more alcoholic drinks in a day increased the risk of mental health problems, especially hyperactivity, for girls at both 47 and 81 months and for boys at 81 months. These associations persisted, even in the absence of regular daily consumption of alcohol during pregnancy. Binge drinking did not seem to affect IQ after accounting for the possible effects of other risk factors. "Taken together with our earlier findings on the effects of occasional drinking in the first trimester, there seem to be consistent effects on child mental health from both background low level alcohol consumption and occasional episodes of heavier drinking," the authors conclude. SOURCE: Pediatrics, February 2009. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090128/cd8e3ca4/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Jan 28 23:42:44 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Wed Jan 28 23:46:09 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] =?iso-8859-1?q?Run_to_ease_alcohol=92s_toll?= =?iso-8859-1?q?=3A_Research_shows_?= fetal damage from drinking may be reduced Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090128234237.03f17530@ncf.ca> www.canada.com Times Colonist Victoria, British Columbia 26 Jan 2009 Times Colonist KATHERINE DEDYNA Times Colonist kdedyna@tc.canwest.com Run to ease alcohol?s toll Research shows fetal damage from drinking may be reduced When PhD candidate Andrea Titterness was growing up in Lake Stevens, Wash., she wanted to be a Grade 4 teacher. [Photo] DARREN STONE, TIMES COLONIST University of Victoria PhD candidate Andrea Titterness is using rats to research the effectiveness of physical activitiy as a way to improve cognition following damage from fetal alcohol exposure. The thought of spending five years of her 20s ? and possibly the rest of her career ? putting lab rats through their paces to study the effect of exercise on fetal alcohol spectrum disorder never crossed her mind. ?It is kind of amazing,? she says, with no one perhaps more amazed than she is. So far, she has tested exercise theory on hundreds of white rodents and found that mother rats given alcohol will have baby rats that are smaller than normal and have more trouble finding their way through a water maze to a submerged platform than other rats. ?It takes them longer to find the platform, which means they?re unable to use spatial (clues) as effectively or they?re just unable to learn what the task is as well as the control group,? she says. The human toll taken by FASD is huge. It affects one in 100 people, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada, with difficulties learning and remembering, and problems controlling their behaviour, impulses and risktaking. In severe cases, people are small, with malformed facial features and vision or hearing problems. Over a yogurt lunch in the security-enhanced Medical Sciences Building, Titterness explains that she?s now looking at the mechanisms for the impaired cognition and the difference between males and females. ?Learning and memory in these animals is totally impaired,? asserts her supervisor, University of Victoria neuroscientist Brian Christie, adding the rats born to mothers given alcohol are less than half as likely to complete the tasks. But adult rats affected by FASD who have access to a running wheel for 10 days are able to enhance their brain activity to the level of rats not exposed to alcohol who have no exercise. ?Exercise makes you smarter, period and can increase recovery from early exposure to alcohol during pregnancy that can impair neonatal development,? Christie says. ?That?s in rats.? Testing in humans is hoped to be on the horizon. ?The first proposals are being written for funding,? he says. In the meantime, if one of Christie?s three young children had FASD, he would ensure they ran around outdoors every day. There are lots of anecdotal reports from FASD moms that if their kids run before they study, it seems to help them do better, he says. It?s not what running does for leg muscles but the cardiovascular benefit of getting blood to the brain. Christie?s personal hypothesis is that baby boomers whose mothers drank during pregnancy were able to compensate for any brain impairment through the ?go outside and play? standards of the day. Until there is more research extending Christie?s ?intriguing? studies on rats to humans, experts won?t know what effect it might have on kids with FASD, says psychologist Kelly Price, who practises at the FASD clinic at the Queen Alexandra Centre for Children. ?We are keen to do that research, and Brian has worked hard on getting that research funded, but it has not yet worked out,? he says in an e-mail. ?We try to encourage physical activity in kids with FASD, though we can?t ethically make any claims as to its efficacy in improving cognition.? As far as he?s concerned, kids would not have to exercise right before doing homework ? ?I think any effect would relate more to general physical fitness.? Exercise is also great for improving mood, self-esteem and stress levels for people with FASD. Meanwhile, labs all over North America are interested in luring Titterness away from UVic, so Christie has taken to telling them he won?t let her graduate. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090128/34ec572f/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Thu Jan 29 09:06:25 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Thu Jan 29 09:12:32 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] =?iso-8859-1?q?The_Epidemic_That_Wasn=92t_?= Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090129083405.0494afa8@ncf.ca> "...admits that she used cocaine (along with heroin and alcohol) while she was pregnant with each girl...." "...Cocaine....its effects are less severe than those of alcohol and are comparable to those of tobacco..." http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/health/27coca.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1 New York Times Health The Epidemic That Wasn?t By SUSAN OKIE Published: January 26, 2009 [Photo] Jose Azel/Aurora In a 1988 photo, testing a baby addicted to cocaine. BALTIMORE ? One sister is 14; the other is 9. They are a vibrant pair: the older girl is high-spirited but responsible, a solid student and a devoted helper at home; her sister loves to read and watch cooking shows, and she recently scored well above average on citywide standardized tests. There would be nothing remarkable about these two happy, normal girls if it were not for their mother?s history. Yvette H., now 38, admits that she used cocaine (along with heroin and alcohol) while she was pregnant with each girl. ?A drug addict,? she now says ruefully, ?isn?t really concerned about the baby she?s carrying.? When the use of crack cocaine became a nationwide epidemic in the 1980s and ?90s, there were widespread fears that prenatal exposure to the drug would produce a generation of severely damaged children. Newspapers carried headlines like ?Cocaine: A Vicious Assault on a Child,? ?Crack?s Toll Among Babies: A Joyless View? and ?Studies: Future Bleak for Crack Babies.? But now researchers are systematically following children who were exposed to cocaine before birth, and their findings suggest that the encouraging stories of Ms. H.?s daughters are anything but unusual. So far, these scientists say, the long-term effects of such exposure on children?s brain development and behavior appear relatively small. ?Are there differences? Yes,? said Barry M. Lester, a professor of psychiatry at Brown University who directs the Maternal Lifestyle Study, a large federally financed study of children exposed to cocaine in the womb. ?Are they reliable and persistent? Yes. Are they big? No.? Cocaine is undoubtedly bad for the fetus. But experts say its effects are less severe than those of alcohol and are comparable to those of tobacco ? two legal substances that are used much more often by pregnant women, despite health warnings. Surveys by the Department of Health and Human Services in 2006 and 2007 found that 5.2 percent of pregnant women reported using any illicit drug, compared with 11.6 percent for alcohol and 16.4 percent for tobacco. ?The argument is not that it?s O.K. to use cocaine in pregnancy, any more than it?s O.K. to smoke cigarettes in pregnancy,? said Dr. Deborah A. Frank, a pediatrician at Boston University. ?Neither drug is good for anybody.? But cocaine use in pregnancy has been treated as a moral issue rather than a health problem, Dr. Frank said. Pregnant women who use illegal drugs commonly lose custody of their children, and during the 1990s many were prosecuted and jailed. Cocaine slows fetal growth, and exposed infants tend to be born smaller than unexposed ones, with smaller heads. But as these children grow, brain and body size catch up. At a scientific conference in November, Dr. Lester presented an analysis of a pool of studies of 14 groups of cocaine-exposed children ? 4,419 in all, ranging in age from 4 to 13. The analysis failed to show a statistically significant effect on I.Q. or language development. In the largest of the studies, I.Q. scores of exposed children averaged about 4 points lower at age 7 than those of unexposed children. In tests that measure specific brain functions, there is evidence that cocaine-exposed children are more likely than others to have difficulty with tasks that require visual attention and ?executive function? ? the brain?s ability to set priorities and pay selective attention, enabling the child to focus on the task at hand. Cocaine exposure may also increase the frequency of defiant behavior and poor conduct, according to Dr. Lester?s analysis. There is also some evidence that boys may be more vulnerable than girls to behavior problems. But experts say these findings are quite subtle and hard to generalize. ?Just because it is statistically significant doesn?t mean that it is a huge public health impact,? said Dr. Harolyn M. Belcher, a neurodevelopmental pediatrician who is director of research at the Kennedy Krieger Institute?s Family Center in Baltimore. And Michael Lewis, a professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, N.J., said that in a doctor?s office or a classroom, ?you cannot tell? which children were exposed to cocaine before birth. He added that factors like poor parenting, poverty and stresses like exposure to violence were far more likely to damage a child?s intellectual and emotional development ? and by the same token, growing up in a stable household, with parents who do not abuse alcohol or drugs, can do much to ease any harmful effects of prenatal drug exposure. Possession of crack cocaine, the form of the drug that was widely sold in inner-city, predominantly black neighborhoods, has long been punished with tougher sentences than possession of powdered cocaine, although both forms are identically metabolized by the body and have the same pharmacological effects. Dr. Frank, the pediatrician in Boston, says cocaine-exposed children are often teased or stigmatized if others are aware of their exposure. If they develop physical symptoms or behavioral problems, doctors or teachers are sometimes too quick to blame the drug exposure and miss the real cause, like illness or abuse. ?Society?s expectations of the children,? she said, ?and reaction to the mothers are completely guided not by the toxicity, but by the social meaning? of the drug. Research on the health effects of illegal drugs, especially on unborn children, is politically loaded. Researchers studying children exposed to cocaine say they struggle to interpret their findings for the public without exaggerating their significance ? or minimizing it, either. Dr. Lester, the leader of the Maternal Lifestyle Study, noted that the evidence for behavioral problems strengthened as the children in his study and others approached adolescence. Researchers in the study are collecting data on 14-year-olds, he said, adding: ?Absolutely, we need to continue to follow these kids. For the M.L.S., the main thing we?re interested in is whether or not prenatal cocaine exposure predisposes you to early-onset drug use in adolescence? or other mental health problems. Researchers have long theorized that prenatal exposure to a drug may make it more likely that the child will go on to use it. But so far, such a link has been scientifically reported only in the case of tobacco exposure. Teasing out the effects of cocaine exposure is complicated by the fact that like Yvette H., almost all of the women in the studies who used cocaine while pregnant were also using other substances. Moreover, most of the children in the studies are poor, and many have other risk factors known to affect cognitive development and behavior ? inadequate health care, substandard schools, unstable family situations and exposure to high levels of lead. Dr. Lester said his group?s study was large enough to take such factors into account. Ms. H., who agreed to be interviewed only on the condition that her last name and her children?s first names not be used, said she entered a drug and alcohol treatment program about six years ago, after losing custody of her children. Another daughter, born after Ms. H. recovered from drug and alcohol abuse, is thriving now at 3. Her oldest, a 17-year-old boy, is the only one with developmental problems: he is autistic. But Ms. H. said she did not use cocaine, alcohol or other substances while pregnant with him. After 15 months without using drugs or alcohol, Ms. H. regained custody and moved into Dayspring House, a residential program in Baltimore for women recovering from drug abuse, and their children. There she received psychological counseling, parenting classes, job training and coaching on how to manage her finances. Her youngest attended Head Start, the older children went to local schools and were assigned household chores, and the family learned how to talk about their problems. Now Ms. H. works at a local grocery, has paid off her debts, has her own house and is actively involved in her children?s schooling and health care. She said regaining her children?s trust took a long time. ?It?s something you have to constantly keep working on,? she said. Dr. Belcher, who is president of Dayspring?s board of directors, said such programs offered evidence-based interventions for the children of drug abusers that can help minimize the chances of harm from past exposure to cocaine or other drugs. ?I think we can say this is an at-risk group,? Dr. Belcher said. ?But they have great potential to do well if we can mobilize resources around the family.? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090129/b9b3ace4/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Thu Jan 29 09:07:22 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Thu Jan 29 09:12:56 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] After a Troubled Start, a Child Blossoms Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090129090715.040e99a0@ncf.ca> [no mention of FASD] "...born 12 weeks premature to a woman who used alcohol and cocaine during her pregnancy..." "...'it?s plausible and likely that the intrauterine drug exposure to alcohol and cocaine had a lot to do with what we see,'...? http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/health/27cside.html?ref=health New York Times Health January 27, 2009 After a Troubled Start, a Child Blossoms By SUSAN OKIE BALTIMORE ? Not every child exposed to cocaine in the womb grows up unscathed. Cornell Wright, born 12 weeks premature to a woman who used alcohol and cocaine during her pregnancy, spent his first five months in a hospital, suffering complications that included a brain hemorrhage, hepatitis B infection and lung deficits. [Photo] Brendan Smialowski for The New York Times Cornell Wright and his mother. His adoptive mother, Sarah Wright of Glendale, Md., said that when she took him home, doctors told her he might be blind, might never walk and might even die. ?He did absolutely nothing, not even smiling,? Ms. Wright recalled. ?He just lay there like a blank piece of paper.? Now 14 years old, Cornell is mildly retarded and has attention deficit disorder, as well as behavior problems. In his case, as with many children with such conditions, the specific causes are unknown; ?it?s plausible and likely that the intrauterine drug exposure to alcohol and cocaine had a lot to do with what we see,? said Dr. Harolyn M. Belcher, a neurodevelopmental pediatrician who works with Cornell and other at-risk children here. But Ms. Wright marshaled all the medical and social services she could find. She arranged for occupational, speech and physical therapy, enrolling Cornell in a state-financed Infants and Toddlers program and a therapeutic nursery. He finally learned to walk at 17 months and ate his first solid food when he was 2. He started school in the special education program of a local elementary school, but could not keep up with the work and grew depressed when other children teased him. So Ms. Wright fought successfully to have him transferred as a second grader to a special school at the Kennedy Krieger Institute, where Dr. Belcher is director of research at the Family Center.. Since then, Cornell has blossomed. Now in ninth grade, he plays the drums, participates in a Young Marines program and recently made the varsity basketball team. He is taking classes in woodworking, horticulture and retail sales, and he wants to be a mechanic. ?He?s my child that never gets sick,? Ms. Wright said, ?and he eats everything that?s not nailed down.? From what Dr. Belcher sees, ?He?s feeling good about himself.? Ms. Wright agreed. ?Cornell is very successful,? she said. ?Somebody may look at him and think, ?He?s 14 and not able to do this, that or the other? ? but you don?t know his story. To me, he is a miracle.? Correction: Because of an editing error, Dr. Harolyn Belcher's title was given imprecisely. She is director of research at the Family Center of the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, not director of research at the institute. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090129/b4b4b729/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Thu Jan 29 20:34:59 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Thu Jan 29 20:40:10 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Social skills workshop for children with autism, ADHD & FASD Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090129203447.03b28580@ncf.ca> [What can be done to get more Centers where Developmental Disabilities are together with Autism? Here FASD is included with autism, Asperger's & FASD for the workshop. An example of what we need to get happening in our communities.] http://www.knpr.org/psa/detailNEW.cfm?EventID=10585 News 88.9 KNPR Nevada Public Radio Las Vegas Upcoming Events Social skills workshop for children with autism, ADHD Jan 14, 2010 Touro University Nevada's Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities offers the "Children's Friendship Training" program. starting January 14. The 12-week group workshop is for children ages 6-12 diagnosed with high-functioning autism, Asperger's disorder, ADHD, or fetal alcohol exposure. It will offer social skill workshops for children and concurrent sessions for parents to ensure the lessons are carried home. The groups will be run by specially trained, highly skilled professionals in neuropsychology, behavioral therapy, and occupational therapy. Meetings are on Wednesdays from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on the campus in Henderson. The cost is $75 per week. Free on-site child care will be available for siblings. Contact the Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities at 777-4808 for more information. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090129/a3623fed/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Thu Jan 29 20:45:25 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Thu Jan 29 20:53:02 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Sign of Hope exceeds expectations and raises $2.42 million Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090129204513.03d2cd58@ncf.ca> "...Some of the funds raised in the 2008 Sign of Hope campaign will go to support the McDaniel Youth Program that aids youth aged 14 to 19 who have Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder...." http://www.wcr.ab.ca/news/2009/0119/css011909.shtml Western Catholic Reporter Edmonton, Alberta January 19, 2009 Sign of Hope exceeds expectations and raises $2.42 million SPECIAL TO THE WCR Edmonton ? Despite the difficulties other charities are having raising money, Catholic Social Services? Sign of Hope campaign continues to soar to new heights. For the 25th consecutive year, the Sign of Hope has exceeded its campaign goal in funding new and existing programs for CSS. GLOBAL RECESSION ?The news of a global recession hit us hard in the early days of the campaign,? said Maureen Cush, campaign chair. ?We weren?t sure what to expect.? Again, the campaign exceeded expectations, raising $2.42 million to support the programs CSS provides to more than 60,000 Albertans. That surpasses the campaign goal by four per cent. ?The generosity of our donors allows Catholic Social Services to move from strength to strength in fulfilling its mission of reaching out to society?s most vulnerable,? said Chris Leung, CSS? chief executive officer. The Sign of Hope campaign began in 1984 with a target of $400,000. It raised $418,000 and has risen to higher levels every year since then. Some of the funds raised in the 2008 Sign of Hope campaign will go to support the McDaniel Youth Program that aids youth aged 14 to 19 who have Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. FASD SUPPORT ?FASD refers to the many mental, physical and emotional birth defects caused by alcohol consumption during pregnancy,? said program manager Dorothy Heneveld. ?These kids are vulnerable and may require extra support transitioning into adulthood, learning basic survival skills like money management and social skills.? Over the years, the Sign of Hope has seeded groundbreaking undertakings such as Kairos House, a residential program for people affected by HIV/AIDS; residential and outreach programs for children affected by sexual exploitation; and the Elder Abuse Resource Centre (EARS) for seniors affected by abuse. CSS offers programs throughout central and northeast Alberta with offices in Edmonton, Bonnyville, Lloydminster, Red Deer, Wainwright and Wetaskiwin. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090129/b771450b/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Thu Jan 29 21:11:41 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Thu Jan 29 21:16:09 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Project Lifesaver Expanding in W.Va. Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090129211133.03d1d4c0@ncf.ca> [Another example of FASD being included] "..'Down syndrome, mental retardation, fetal alcohol syndrome, traumatic brain injury anyone with a cognitive disability,'.." http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/37685904.html WSAZ3 News Channel Charleston, Huntington, West Virginia Project Lifesaver Expanding in W.Va. Posted: 9:17 PM Jan 15, 2009 Last Updated: 8:51 AM Jan 16, 2009 Reporter: Amanda Barren Email Address: Amanda.Barren@wsaz.com PUTNAM COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Rescue crews and emergency officials will tell you when they're on the search for a missing person it's all about quickly finding your target. That is why Project Lifesaver is growing to make sure more searches end in success. Right now, 20 counties in West Virginia have the technology and the people to track those who need it most. Project Lifesaver Coordinator Sue Patalano says a family from Morgantown has committed personal funds to help bring Project Lifesaver to every county in West Virginia. The program is used to track people with special needs who may have wandered off. "Down syndrome, mental retardation, fetal alcohol syndrome, traumatic brain injury anyone with a cognitive disability," Patalano said. The device can be tracked underwater and under ground to help find the person quickly. The cost of a Project Lifesaver bracelet depends on which county you live. To find out if it's available in your area, call your sheriff's department. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090129/e82fbb1e/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Thu Jan 29 21:18:57 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Thu Jan 29 21:22:09 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Coalition message could become model for state, nation Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090129211848.03c106b0@ncf.ca> "...Class Action Curriculum, a six-part classroom series that takes students through different court cases, dealing with topics such as underage drinking, violence/date rape and fetal alcohol syndrome...." http://www.herald-citizen.com/index.cfm?event=news.view&id=E0881176-19B9-E2E2-67F9BC2400796D26 Herald-Citizen Cookeville, Tennessee NEWS Coalition message could become model for state, nation Liz Engel Herald-Citizen Staff Friday, Jan 16, 2009 [Photo] Herald-Citizen Photo/Camille Fliss-Mayberry Power of Putnam Coalition Coordinator Kristi Allen, left, and President Paula King look over some marketing materials for the coalition's new "KnowPower" campaign to fight underage drinking. The campaign was unveiled Tuesday to educators, community and civic leaders. COOKEVILLE -- A new campaign to fight underage drinking has been launched in Putnam County by Power of Putnam, a group devoted to fighting substance abuse in this area. The first phase of that campaign, entitled "Be A Know Body" was unveiled during a presentation Tuesday at MMA Creative. The local marketing and advertising firm helped create an interactive Web Site for the campaign that is expected to launch next month. That site, www.beAKnowbody .com, will allow students to ask questions about underage drinking, share their own personal experiences about why they chose not to drink as well as review some of the myths and facts about underage drinking. Paula King, president of the Power of Putnam coalition, said she hopes teachers will be able to incorporate the program into their classrooms and go through the Web site with their students. "I wouldn't have thought about doing a Web site, but that's where the kids are today," she said. "They know a whole lot. Now we need to empower them, and we're excited about that." The KnowPower campaign is a grassroots program developed to give teens tools to say no to drinking and abuse of other substances. It will be marketed through an array of brochures, posters and billboards, and will also include the continuation of Power of Putnam's Developmental Assets Campaign. The assets, 40 experiences and qualities essential for children to develop, geared for adults, will be posted as single flyers soon throughout the community. "This is fabulous," Pam White, executive director of the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions Across Tennessee, said after the presentation. "I see this as a national model, potentially. So many people want to help, but they don't know what to do. These (ideas) are so practical." Power of Putnam, which was formed in 2003, has already initiated several programs in local schools. Through grant projects it has implemented the Faith/Kids Connections and the Class Action Curriculum, a six-part classroom series that takes students through different court cases, dealing with topics such as underage drinking, violence/date rape and fetal alcohol syndrome. In April of last year, Power of Putnam put the class action curriculum to the test, during a mock trial where students acted out a scenario dealing with underage drinking. "We feel at Power of Putnam that underage drinking and drug abuse by even one of our youth is too great a price to pay," said Kristi Allen, coalition coordinator. For more information about Power of Putnam, call 520-7531. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090129/42982302/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Fri Jan 30 13:48:16 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Fri Jan 30 13:53:04 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Ottawa children's hospital gets $4.6M to monitor Ontario newborns Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090130134809.03802ea8@ncf.ca> [We hope this database will include whether the mother drinks alcohol? The Canadian Perinatal Health Report from the Public Health Agency of Canada includes "Rate of Maternal Alcohol Consumption during Pregnancy"] http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2009/01/30/ot-090130-cheo.html?ref=rss CBC News Canada Ottawa children's hospital gets $4.6M to monitor Ontario newborns Last Updated: Friday, January 30, 2009 | 12:36 PM ET CBC News An Ottawa hospital has received $4.6 million from the province to create an Ontario-wide database of information on pregnancies and births that can be used by health officials, hospitals and midwives to improve infants' health and provide better care. The Ontario government announced Friday that the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario will use the money to set up the Ontario Perinatal Surveillance System. Premier Dalton McGuinty said in a statement that the database will provide "important information to ensure timely and high-quality care." Liberal MPP Madeleine Meilleur, who represents Ottawa-Vanier, said it will also ensure the quality of care is consistent across the province. The database will include information about: * Risk factors such as the mother's age and whether she smokes. * The type of interventions used during the birth, such as induction and epidurals. * Use of health services such as prenatal classes and hospital stays. * The infant's birth outcome, including weight and whether he or she required resuscitation. * The infant's health after birth. The province says the database will be used to develop policies, improve accountability, promote healthy behaviour and prevent diseases among mothers and newborns. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090130/c425147e/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Fri Jan 30 19:33:45 2009 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Fri Jan 30 19:40:12 2009 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Where's the Mother Hale for kids with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder? Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20090130192708.03b06cc8@ncf.ca> http://www.twincities.com/ci_11522462?nclick_check=1 TwinCities.com Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota Rub?n Rosario: Where's the Mother Hale for kids with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder? By Rub?n Rosario Posted: 01/22/2009 12:01:00 AM CST There used to be a figure in New York City affectionately nicknamed Mother Hale. She was a Harlem woman who set up a home to care for crack-addicted babies. Her largesse during the 1980s made national and international news. The jarring video images of the infants she tended angered as well as melted hearts: wailing and squirming tiny bodies going through painful withdrawal in an incubator or crib. They indelibly put a hard-to-ignore face on the most vulnerable victims of a drug epidemic then sweeping that city, as well as other distressed inner-city neighborhoods throughout the nation. It may be time for a Mother Hale of Minnesota ? not for crack or meth but for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, or FASD. It will surely be a tough go. See, drinking alcohol is legal, unlike most other vices, whether you are pregnant or not. Our society largely looks the other way because of this. And there are no such disturbing baby images that make the prime-time news before the cute puppy story to balance things before we head off to sleep or Jay Leno. It doesn't matter that prenatal alcohol exposure is lifelong and irreversible and causes far more permanent brain damage to fetuses than cocaine, heroin, marijuana or other drugs, according to studies over the past 20 years. Basically, if you are pregnant, don't drink. Can't say it any simpler. But try as we might, we cannot legislate away all self-destructive behavior or stupidity. So, it was not surprising that not one local television camera was in sight Wednesday at a small public-awareness rally at the state Capitol. Oh, there would have been a "good shoot" had 833 school buses, as one speaker pointed out, shown up, crammed with the estimated 50,000 Minnesotans born with FASD. The folks were forced to settle for one rumpled columnist who nearly skipped the event for something else. Glad he showed up. This is what he learned: An estimated 8,500 babies are born each year in Minnesota with FASD. Each has a lifetime price tag ? from special education, health care, criminal justice and other societal expenses ? of an estimated $2.9 million cost to taxpayers. 58 percent of women ages 18 to 44 in Minnesota use alcohol (one or more drinks in the past 30 days). 17 percent of women ages 18 to 44 in Minnesota binge drink (four or more drinks on one occasion in the past 30 days). This prenatal poison causes massive damage to the brain's frontal lobe, which governs impulse, decision making and considering the consequences of one's actions. So it was no great surprise to learn that 60 percent of youths ages 12 to 21 with FASD ran afoul of the law and that slightly more than half are incarcerated. Another national study concluded that other such afflicted youths with what was described as "disrupted school experiences" were twice as likely to get into trouble with the law. And this is what is known. A relatively small percentage of these kids are diagnosed with FASD only after they come in contact with the juvenile justice system. But locking up such afflicted kids seems to be the only and largely uninformed response from the corrections system. "The juvenile justice system is not equipped to recognize, understand or effectively work with this population of kids," Wade Lennox, a juvenile probation officer in Kanabec County, informed a joint committee of House public safety policy and finance legislators Tuesday. He underlined that traditional methods of dealing with such offenders don't work because of systemwide ignorance about FASD. TWO SHINING LIGHTS The good news here is that I identified two potential Mother Hales. One is Linda Walinski, a psychologist and registered nurse from Isanti and mother of adopted FASD kids. "They don't understand cause and effect," Walinski told the legislators. She drew a parallel between physically disabled kids and those dealing with FASD. "We don't expect them to walk, and we don't punish them for not walking," Walinski said. That is exactly what we do with those damaged by prenatal alcohol exposure, she noted. We dismiss and deal with them as "bad" kids. The other is Kari Fletcher, 43, of Mankato, a mother of six, including two adopted kids with FASD. Fletcher, who works as a southern regional representative for the Minnesota Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, is a walking textbook on the prenatal disorder. She introduced me to Ben, 11, and Anna, 6. Both look like average kids. Fletcher and her husband were foster parents for 16 years before they brought Ben and Anna into their extended family. "Ben has alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder," Fletcher said after Wednesday's event. "He has central nervous system and brain damage. ... If he gets frustrated at school, he will blow. He's learning a lot about his own disability and the way his brain works." An 11-year-old trying to comprehend his brain-damaged lot in life. Digest that, please, for a moment. Anna displays some notable features of FASD, "but she does not have the growth deficiency," Fletcher explained. Fletcher painfully understands the lack of awareness, if not concern. "It's a legal drug," she said of alcohol. "I hear it all the time: 'That's just for women who are alcoholics. They are the only ones who have kids like this.' " A 2004 state study found that middle-class, college-educated pregnant women were the most ignorant about the dangers. Why the compassion amid the frustrations? I ask Fletcher. "My kids are more intense than others, but then so are the fun and the joy," Fletcher said. "I would not trade them for the world. I would do this (adopt) again in a heartbeat." Mother Hales indeed. Rub?n Rosario can be reached at rrosario@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5454. ONLINE To learn more about fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, go to mofas.org. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20090130/9f550ee2/attachment.html