From rosse at ncf.ca Mon Apr 5 22:27:13 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Mon Apr 5 21:28:29 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] FASD Forensic psychology expert visits NZ
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100402100724.041018b8@ncf.ca>
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1003/S00122.htm
"Scoop"
New Zealand's Independent News Media
Health
Forensic psychology expert visits NZ
Tuesday, 30 March 2010, 4:03 pm
Press Release: Alcohol Healthwatch
International expert in forensic psychology is visiting NZ to discuss
the link between Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and crime
The negative outcomes of drinking during pregnancy will be the focus
of a seminar in Auckland tomorrow.
The free seminar entitled 'Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and
Justice' will be held on Wednesday 31 March from 9am till 4pm at
Barrycourt Hotel in Parnell. It will explore the link between
individuals affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and
their increased risk of being in trouble with the law.
Here to present the seminar is guest speaker Dr Natalie Novick Brown,
an Assistant Professor of Psychology from the University of
Washington in Seattle USA and a specialist in forensic psychological
assessments for adolescents and adults with FASD.
Dr Novick Brown says that the likelihood of somebody with FASD
getting into trouble with the law is much higher than somebody who is
unaffected.
"Not everyone with a Fetal Alcohol disorder will commit crime.
However the nature of the disability is such, that they are often
very good at getting into trouble and not very good at getting out of it.
"Professionals working with affected individuals are able to make a
difference by identifying the disability and creatively managing it."
The seminar, hosted by Alcohol Healthwatch, aims to provide important
information for those working with at risk individuals her in New Zealand.
Alcohol Healthwatch's Christine Rogan, who coordinates the Fetal
Alcohol Network says it is important that people understand the link
between drinking during pregnancy and the difficulties this can lead
to later in life.
"This harm can easily be prevented, firstly by not drinking alcohol
during pregnancy, and secondly by better understanding and support
for those children born affected."
Further details about the seminar are available on the Alcohol
Healthwatch website, www.ahw.org.nz.
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From rosse at ncf.ca Mon Apr 5 22:27:39 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Mon Apr 5 21:28:32 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] New NWT Drug Awareness Campaign Launched
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100405212730.0436cf60@ncf.ca>
[This press release is about fighting local addictions issues and a
campaign designed to be flexible.
I hope it can include alcohol as well as drugs.]ER
http://www.exec.gov.nt.ca/currentnews/prDetails.asp?varPR_ID=1528
Government of the North West Territories
Current News
New NWT Drug Awareness Campaign Launched Today
R(16)403 - Monday, March 29, 2010
The Government of the Northwest Territories' new anti-drug campaign,
Not Us, launched today in Hay River.
This program provides funding and support for local campaigns that
meet the needs of individual communities. It is designed to be
flexible and to support communities to fight their local addictions issues.
"This campaign is about empowerment," said Minister of Justice
Jackson Lafferty. "It focuses on prevention by promoting healthy
choices and lifestyles, and the role of personal and family
responsibility. I want people to know that they can tell drug dealers
they're not welcome in our communities. I want kids to know they
don't need drugs to feel good. I want elders to know they can be safe
from the crime that comes with drug dealing."
The campaign is expected to be slightly different in each community.
Community groups, schools, even individuals can create their own "Not
Us" materials using the campaign website, www.not-us.ca.
"The NWT-wide campaign reflects community values," said Minister of
Health and Social Services Sandy Lee. "It's designed to work with
local programs and reflect local priorities. This is the beginning of
a new territorial Not Us anti-drug campaign. But for people in Hay
River, it's also the result of many months of planning and it
complements the good work they have already done on the Hay River
Drug Strategy."
The Not Us campaign is funded as a strategic activity under the
GNWT's Building Our Future initiative. It supports the GNWT's goals
of supporting communities to be sustainable, vibrant and safe, and
supporting NWT residents to be healthy and educated. The campaign was
developed through the Healthy Choices Framework with support from the
RCMP and the departments of Justice; Health and Social Services;
Education, Culture and Employment; Municipal and Community Affairs;
and Executive. The launch event is hosted by the departments of
Justice and Health and Social Services and the Hay River Interagency
Committee.
For more information, please contact:
Megan Holsapple
Communications
Department of Justice
920-3130
megan_holsapple@gov.nt.ca
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From rosse at ncf.ca Mon Apr 5 22:27:56 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Mon Apr 5 21:34:13 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] New substance abuse program will help
Saskatchewan youth tackle addiction
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100405212746.04306fc0@ncf.ca>
"...Problems drugs include alcohol, marijuana and
cocaine. 'We see in our region mostly what you'd
see in every other region, but alcohol is
certainly the number one priority,'..."
http://www.leaderpost.com/health/substance+abuse+program+will+help+Saskatchewan+youth+tackle+addiction/2743846/story.html
Leader Post
Regina
Health
New substance abuse program will help Saskatchewan youth tackle addiction
Leader-Post staff March 30, 2010
REGINA ? A new program to tackle substance abuse
among youth is underway in southern Saskatchewan.
Open Connections, an outreach and intervention
project in the Five Hills Health Region (covering
Moose Jaw and south-central Saskatchewan), is
designed to assist youth struggling with a
substance abuse problem or at risk of developing one.
The project is to receive $1.3 million over three
years from Health Canada to help those age 12 to 24 years.
"It is a community-based program to provide
outreach and early intervention services,"
explained Terry Hutchinson, the region's mental
health and addictions services executive
director. "What we're hoping to do is work with
community-based organizations to enhance their
capacity for providing a continuum of treatment
and recovery programs for youths."
A number of community agencies were involved in
developing the program, he added.
"It really is to enhance some capacity to provide
some education and supports to community programs
that are already existing out there."
Open Connections will include an outreach
component to engage youth outside of traditional
school and clinic settings. The goals include
developing meaningful, trusting relationship with
youth and also equipping them with skills, such
as problem-solving, to deal with the issue.
While drugs are often seen as a big city problem,
Hutchinson said there is clearly a need for the
service in their area as well. Problems drugs
include alcohol, marijuana and cocaine. "We see
in our region mostly what you'd see in every
other region, but alcohol is certainly the number
one priority," Hutchinson said.
The project will target youths in Moose Jaw since
it is the largest centre in the health region,
but will look at expanding into other rural areas
within the health region as well.
Although the project was announced on Tuesday,
services have been offered since January.
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From rosse at ncf.ca Mon Apr 5 22:28:26 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Mon Apr 5 21:34:16 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Combating drugs and alcohol: NWT
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100405212817.04de3e38@ncf.ca>
[Alcohol certainly is part of the campaign in Hay River.
The photo shows good looking pamphlets for Ectasy, Meth and Dope...
Does anyone know if these students also have a pamphlet for Alcohol,
and whether is includes a mention of pregnancy?]ER
http://nnsl.com/northern-news-services/stories/papers/mar29_10drgs.html
Northern News Service
Combating drugs and alcohol
Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Published Monday, March 29, 2010
HAY RIVER - In 2008, some students at a Hay River high school
approached administration with concerns that drug and alcohol abuse
had gotten out of control among their friends.
[Photo]
Danielle Gardiner, a student at Diamond Jenness Secondary School,
holds informational bookmarks from the Hay River Drug and Alcohol
Strategy. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo
One felt a couple of his friends had dropped out of school because of it.
That was the spark that led to the creation of the Hay River Drug and
Alcohol Strategy.
The administration of Diamond Jenness Secondary School (DJSS) took
the concerns to Jill Taylor, who has become the driving force of the
strategy involving 32 different organizations in an inter-agency group.
"We had to start from scratch to find out what the problems were and
what we were going to do about it," said Taylor, an inclusive
schooling co-ordinator with the South Slave Divisional Education Council.
Among other things, she initiated a late-2008 survey on drug and
alcohol use by DJSS students.
"The information indicated the youth of Hay River were reaching out
for help," she recalled. "There was no doubt."
Since then, the strategy has made progress, but a second survey of
DJSS students in January found a troubling increase in the use of
cocaine and ecstasy.
In the recent survey, 7.9 per cent of students in Grades 10 to 12
reported using cocaine in the previous 30 days, compared to 0.6 per
cent in 2008. Students in Grades 8 to 9 reported a small increase in
cocaine use in the previous 30 days - 1.4 per cent, compared to one
per cent in 2008.
As for ecstasy, 6.4 per cent of respondents in Grades 10-12 reported
using the drug in the previous 30 days, compared to three per cent in
2008. Among Grade 8-9 students, 1.4 per cent reported using ecstasy
in the previous 30 days, compared to none in 2008.
"This new survey is showing us we need to look in a different
direction," Taylor said. She said the strategy first focused on
alcohol and marijuana, and this year's survey showed a decrease in
the use of those two substances.
Taylor said efforts against cocaine and other hard drugs will begin
with an information campaign after spring break and bookmarks
detailing the dangers of alcohol and drugs.
She also said the GNWT's new anti-drug initiative will be helpful.
The strategy's efforts against alcohol and marijuana will also continue.
Taylor, who doesn't have any title with the strategy other than being
a member, said almost all the ideas from its initial meeting in early
2009 have been reached or are in progress.
Sgt. Scott Buchanan of the Hay River RCMP said it is "definitely"
making a difference.
"The results of the drug strategy are tangible," Buchanan said.
Among the 32 organizations involved in the strategy are schools, the
RCMP, Aurora College, K'atlodeeche First Nation, the Hay River
Ministerial Association, the Hay River District Education Authority,
and numerous departments of the GNWT.
The strategy's activities and accomplishments include drug and
alcohol programs in schools, information sessions for youth and
parents, "drug-free community" posters, and visits by motivational speakers.
In addition, the Jodie Worden Lecture Series - named after the widow
of Hay River RCMP Const. Christopher Worden, who was shot and killed
by a drug trafficker in 2007 - has brought eight speakers to the
community over the past year.
Plus, a five-credit leadership and resiliency program was introduced
for students at DJSS.
"It's one of the first in Canada," said Taylor.
One of the strategy's major initiatives is the Lights On program at
DJSS and Princess Alexandra School.
"That's the one I'm most proud of," said Taylor, who came up with the name.
She said youth were saying there was not enough to do on weekends,
when recreation facilities are largely taken over by adults.
Lights On, which was launched in September, keeps the lights on at
DJSS from 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and at
Princess Alexandra School from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays.
Young people can find a safe and caring environment to enjoy sports,
music, video games, cooking and more.
"Every activity is highly supervised," said Taylor, adding the
program has obtained $98,000 in annual funding over three years from
Health Canada.
Ryan Shank, a 17-year-old student at DJSS, said Lights On is a good idea.
"It gives us something to do, and it's fun," he said.
Shank said he is sometimes asked to go to parties where drugs and
alcohol may be present. "But I say, 'I can't. I'm going to Lights On.'"
Another DJSS student, 18-year-old Ashleigh Haines, also thinks Lights
On is good for young people.
"It's a place to go when there's nothing else to do but go out and
drink," she said.
Sgt. Buchanan believes Lights On is an excellent idea. "That program,
in my opinion, is brilliant," he said.
Overall, Taylor believes the efforts of the strategy are making a difference.
"Absolutely," she said. "I think it's one student at a time and one
family at a time." While the focus is on youth, the strategy is
designed to help everyone, Taylor said. "There are no age boundaries
to addictions."
Every few months, the inter-agency group meets to review the strategy.
Although it is more than a year into its work, the Hay River Drug and
Alcohol Strategy will be officially launched on March 29. The launch
- set for 12 to 4 p.m. at the Hay River Community Hall - will show
people what the strategy has been doing, Taylor said. "I'm sure there
are a few who are unaware of our efforts."
The event will include the launch of Not Us, the GNWT's new anti-drug
initiative.
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From rosse at ncf.ca Mon Apr 5 22:28:53 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Mon Apr 5 21:34:19 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Study: Many Middle-Class White Moms-To-Be Drink
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100405212840.04dbdd90@ncf.ca>
http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/fetal.alcohol.syndrome.2.1606334.html
cbs2chicago.com
Top News
Apr 1, 2010 5:17 pm US/Central
Study: Many Middle-Class White Moms-To-Be Drink
Physician Urges Mothers To Avoid Any Alcohol While Carrying Babies To Term
Reporting
Mike Puccinelli
CHICAGO (CBS)
[Photo]
This is a baby picture of Kristy Botka. Today, she is 26 years old
but has the IQ of an infant because her mother drank while she was
carrying her. CBS
New research shows one in five women drink during pregnancy, and the
rate is even higher among middle-class white women. Yet research that
shows even one drink can harm an unborn baby at any stage in pregnancy.
CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli reports.
Fetal alcohol syndrome is the only preventable cause of brain damage
to an unborn baby. Despite that, each year in this country more than
40,000 babies are born impaired because when their moms drank, they
were forced to drink, too.
Vivian Botka's adoptive daughter reacts to being removed from the
car. Kristy Botka is 26 years old but has the IQ of a baby. And
what's most heartbreaking for her mom is it didn't have to be this way.
"Sometimes I wonder what she would have grown up to be," Vivian said.
"Would she be a doctor, a lawyer, a nurse?"
But Kristy never had a chance.
"Kristy is somebody who should have had a normal life," said Ajeet
Charate of the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
"She's a very, loving, caring person. But she did not have the opportunity."
She didn't have the opportunity because her mother drank during her pregnancy.
"Her words were, 'I didn't know. I would not have ever harmed a
child,'" Vivian said.
That was more than a quarter-century ago, when information about the
effects of alcohol on pregnancy was scant. Now, though, what's most
concerning for researchers is that a large percentage of women are
still drinking.
"We found that middle class Caucasian women have the highest rates of
alcohol use in pregnancy," Dr. Ira Chasnoff, president of Children's
Research Triangle, said.
While a quarter of those women drink during pregnancy, the eight-year
study showed unacceptably high rates across the country.
"The rate of alcohol use during pregnancy is as high as 20 percent to
35 percent in some populations," Chasnoff said.
And even one drink at the beginning of pregnancy can permanently
change the brain. Chasnoff says no amount of alcohol is safe during pregnancy.
"It's like playing roulette," he said. "You just don't know when the
right combination of factors are going to come together to affect
that baby for his entire life."
"Alcohol exposure during pregnancy is the leading cause of mental
retardation in the United States. So why take that chance?" Chasnoff added.
Now it does help dramatically when a mother stops drinking after she
learns she's pregnant. But the bottom line is the experts say if
you're having unprotected sex, you should never drink.
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From rosse at ncf.ca Mon Apr 5 22:35:00 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Mon Apr 5 21:40:09 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Vancouver facility saw spike in use of
seclusion room to calm kids
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100405213452.04daec08@ncf.ca>
"...Children placed at Alderwood generally have a history of acting
out violently, may have mental-health issues, have witnessed or been
the victims of violence, or suffer from conditions such as fetal
alcohol syndrome...."
Vancouver facility saw spike in use of seclusion room to calm kids.
Kim Pemberton. CanWest News. Don Mills, Ont.: Mar 28, 2010.
VANCOUVER - A specialized Vancouver facility for 16 of the most
disruptive elementary students in the school district has seen a
dramatic spike in the use of its seclusion room to control children
acting out violently.
Staff placed students in a segregation or "calm-down" room at
Alderwood Family Development Centre 64 times in 2008, compared to
only eight times the previous year. The increase was so dramatic it
prompted a review of the practice.
Children placed at Alderwood generally have a history of acting out
violently, may have mental-health issues, have witnessed or been the
victims of violence, or suffer from conditions such as fetal alcohol syndrome.
The review concluded that seclusion and restraint are not effective
interventions, and that they "actually increase the likelihood that
it will be used again in the future." (Restraint refers to physically
holding children to prevent them from acting out.)
The Vancouver Sun was denied access to the review report last October
after reporting that the Alderwood centre, an inter-agency facility,
used a "safe" room when any of the 16 children placed in the centre
were deemed to be a danger to themselves or others. The report was
obtained recently under the Freedom of Information Act.
The review found 45 per cent of Alderwood staff felt many of the
seclusions and restraints applied to children in the program could
probably have been avoided.
The report recommended putting more emphasis during crisis prevention
training on de-escalating and prevention techniques. It also
suggested refresher courses on de-escalation and prevention skills.
It said that the school would work toward trying to defuse situations
before children become violent and to reduce or eliminate the use of
restraint and seclusion.
The facility is run by the Children's Foundation in conjunction with
the Vancouver school district and the ministries of health and
children and families, and provides a day program for children
suffering from emotional, social, behavioural and mental-health challenges.
Children's Foundation executive director Jim McLaughlin said although
the facility had policies governing the use of the segregation rooms,
the review was undertaken to find out why the sudden increase had
occurred and to try to reduce the numbers.
McLaughlin said every instance of seclusion and restraint was closely
examined.
"Some people think restraint and segregation is a choice that is
always taken (when a child has a violent outburst), but wherever
possible, people have attempted to de-escalate the violent
behaviour," he said.
McLaughlin said the review identified "a myriad of issues" and
corrective action was taken, including limiting the use of restraint
to no more than six times a year, and the segregation room to no more
than 26 times.
Since January 2009, restraints have been used six times and the
segregation room 17 times. McLaughlin said it would be best if they
never had to be used, but that hasn't been possible.
"Our kids can very easily go off the rails, and there are situations
when you end up having to use these methods if the child is so unsafe
and dangerous that no other method to stop the behaviour is
acceptable," he said.
"One way or another, they are children who are extremely difficult to
parent and to control behaviour."
The Vancouver Sun's story last fall showed Alderwood was not the only
school using such methods. Three east-side Vancouver elementary
schools also isolated students in "safe" or "timeout" rooms, and
while school board officials were aware it was happening, there were
no protocols or reporting procedures in place.
Following the story and a complaint by child advocate and retired
teacher Barb Laird, the school board voted to keep the "safe rooms"
but brought in clearer rules and mandatory reporting. Schools now
need written approval from the district principal for special
education to use isolation rooms.
Only three elementary schools that have special classes for
disruptive students have received approval to set up and use a
segregation room, Vancouver school board communications manager David
Weir said. They use the rooms only with students in the special
classes and not with the mainstream student population, he added.
Weir would not identify the schools, but said they are used as a
"last resort" and with the parents' permission.
Vancouver Sun
kpemberton@vancouversun.com
Credit: Kim Pemberton; Canwest News Service
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From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Apr 7 22:55:27 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Wed Apr 7 22:04:48 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Booze sales endanger Kotzebue & surrounding
villages: Alaska
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100407215516.04c1d4b0@ncf.ca>
"...Sadly, FAS is all too common in this region, and legalizing
alcohol isn't going to reduce the consequences of it...."
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/voices/tundra-talk/4706-booze-sales-endanger-kotzebue-and-surrounding-villages
Alaska Dispatch
Voices
Talk of the Tundra
Booze sales endanger Kotzebue and surrounding villages
Jared MIller
Apr 4, 2010
Our small rural town, located 26 miles inside the Arctic Circle in
Northwest Alaska, is in for some big changes this summer. Last fall
in the local municipal elections, Kotzebue voters legalized the local
sale and distribution of alcohol. Kotzebue is now officially and
legally "wet." This change comes after more than 20 years of
Kotzebue's "damp" status, which banned the local sale but not the
importation of alcohol. Before last fall's vote, Kotzebue had not
been wet since 1987.
Some townspeople thought that establishing a liquor distribution
center and city-owned liquor store, scheduled to open in June, would
decrease a currently thriving local bootlegging industry as well as
alcohol abuse in local households.
Last fall's alcohol vote was controversial. Some say that legal
alcohol sales will increase alcohol abuse, including among underage
drinkers, and also in the villages surrounding Kotzebue. Others
believe it is a good idea to create a local tax revenue stream from
local alcohol sales, but those selling booze locally also might
expect to make some handsome personal profits. I believe Kotzebue
should stop importing alcohol completely. I have witnessed first-hand
the effects of alcohol abuse on people. Alcohol wastes money while it
tears families apart with its abuse.
Whether in Anchorage, Nome, or Kotzebue, you will almost always run
into worn-out people begging for money, supposedly to buy food. In
fact, these unfortunate folks too often use that panhandled money to
buy alcohol instead of what the money was given for. For example, one
year Kotzebue's high school cross-country running team traveled to
Anchorage and bought too much food for the runners to finish. We
couldn't bring all the food back to Kotzebue, but we also couldn't
just throw it away. We decided to offer it to a seemingly homeless
person on the street. He approached our van to see what we were
giving out. When he realized it was just oranges, yogurt, bananas,
and bagels, he said he would pass. He still asked us for money,
though, likely for buying booze.
[]
In rural Alaska, alcohol affects most everyone in some way. Children
especially fall victim to alcohol abuse and can be scarred for life.
Some children must be taken away from parents who cannot control
their drinking. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, which is a common result from
women drinking during pregnancy, "is one of the most common causes of
mental retardation, and is the only cause that is entirely
preventable," according to Alaska's Office of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
Sadly, FAS is all too common in this region, and legalizing alcohol
isn't going to reduce the consequences of it.
Child abuse happens worldwide, but local young children are facing
even more appalling circumstances with this recent change in
Kotzebue's alcohol laws. People who support the local sale of alcohol
should realize it does not make sense to try to solve serious local
problems that already existed without the legal distribution and sale
of alcohol. Do stories of young teens being raped and beaten while
someone is drinking fall on deaf ears? I believe more, not fewer
problems are bound to befall us with local alcohol sales.
Some people seem naive, thinking that legalization of the sale and
distribution of alcohol in Kotzebue can have a lot of good effects.
Are people just looking out for themselves? Do they want to make a
living on the backs of others' suffering?
Kotzebue Middle/High School senior Jared Miller is a two-time state
wrestling champion and also was named the 2009-10 Outstanding
Wrestler for Alaska's 1A-2A-3A schools. He plans to wrestle in
college. This piece is distributed by Chukchi News and Information
Service, an award-winning cultural journalism project of Chukchi
College, a University of Alaska branch in Kotzebue.
This essay originally appeared on Tundra
Telegraph.
Talk
of the Tundra features commentary by Alaskans from across the state.
The views expressed are the writer's own and are not endorsed by
Alaska Dispatch.
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From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Apr 7 22:55:59 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Wed Apr 7 22:04:53 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] April marks Alcohol Awareness Month : U.S.
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100407215544.04c92348@ncf.ca>
"...Alcohol abuse can affect anyone at any age - from babies born
with a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) due to prenatal
exposure to alcohol, to youth to adults...."
http://www.peoplesdefender.com/main.asp?SectionID=13&SubSectionID=83&ArticleID=131204
The People's Defender
Columbus, Ohio
News
Monday April 05, 2010
April marks Alcohol Awareness Month
COLUMBUS - Each day, millions of individuals and families struggle to
cope with the harsh realities of alcohol abuse and alcoholism. To
highlight the prevalence and seriousness of alcohol abuse in the
U.S., the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services
(ODADAS) is calling upon all Ohioans to recognize April as National
Alcohol Awareness Month.
Founded in 1987 by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug
Dependence (NCADD), Alcohol Awareness Month aims to raise community
awareness about the gravity of alcohol abuse and addiction, and to
educate the public that alcoholism is a disease from which a person
can recover.
ODADAS Director Angela Cornelius Dawson said awareness is the first
step on the road to treatment and recovery.
"Untreated alcohol abuse and addiction can have a devastating impact
on individuals, families and communities," Dawson said. "By
heightening awareness around this disease, and encouraging
individuals to seek help we are working to eliminate the stigma of
addiction, and to ensure all Ohioans have access to the best-quality
treatment services to help them live alcohol and other drug free."
In Ohio, 19 percent of the 10,350 adolescent clients served by
state-funded treatment programs during fiscal year 2009 received
services resulting from an addiction to alcohol. Meanwhile, 38.6
percent of the 93,119 adult clients in the state received services
for an addiction to alcohol, representing the largest percentage of
the state's addicted population.
Alcohol abuse can affect anyone at any age - from babies born with a
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) due to prenatal exposure to
alcohol, to youth to adults.
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration's 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 10.6
percent of pregnant women aged 15 to 44 stated they drank alcohol. In
addition, 4.5 percent of pregnant women reported binge drinking and
0.8 percent of pregnant women reported heavy drinking.
Among the youth population, alcohol continues to be a heavily abused
drug. According to the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which is
conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 45
percent of high school students in the U.S. reported consumption of
some amount of alcohol. In this same survey group, about 26 percent
reported episodes of binge drinking, which is defined for women as
four or more drinks during a single occasion and for men as five or
more drinks during a single occasion. Underage alcohol consumption
can have many undesirable consequences such as lowered academic
performance, engaging in unwanted or unplanned sexual activity, an
increased risk for suicide and homicide, abuse of other drugs, and
death from alcohol poisoning.
Youth who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to
develop alcohol dependence, and are two-and-a-half times more likely
to become abusers of alcohol than individuals who began drinking at
age 21, according to data collected by the Underage Drinking
Enforcement Training Center in 2007.
Progress has been made in Ohio to combat alcohol abuse. To address
high-risk drinking on college campuses, the Ohio College Initiative
to Reduce High-Risk Drinking was created in 1996 by the Drug-Free
Action Alliance. The program currently has more than 45 participating
colleges and universities. The goal of the Initiative is to reduce
high-risk drinking on college campuses by restricting the marketing
and promotion of alcohol; improving social, recreational and academic
options; limiting the availability of alcohol; increasing enforcement
of laws and policies; and promoting a healthy environment.
Ohio's adult population also struggles with alcohol abuse. Among the
more than 93,000 adult Ohioans who received treatment services for
substance abuse during fiscal year 2009, alcohol was the drug of
choice accounting for nearly 39 percent of the total number of
clients, according to the Multi-Agency Community Services Information
System. The majority of the adult clients who received treatment
services for an addiction to alcohol - more than 63 percent - were
male and nearly 37 percent were female.
Substance abuse not only takes a physical toll on individuals and
their families, but a financial one as well. According to Shoveling
Up II: The Impact of Substance Abuse on Federal, State and Local
Budgets, which was conducted by the National Center on Addiction and
Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA), Ohio spent more than
$5.3 billion in 2005 on services pertaining to substance abuse, such
as research, education, prevention, treatment and mental health
services. This equates to nearly $469 per Ohio resident.
As part of Alcohol Awareness Month, NCADD invites individuals to
abstain from drinking alcohol for three days. This Alcohol-Free
Weekend, planned for the first weekend in April, is intended to help
individuals identify whether they might have a possible addiction to
alcohol. If a person finds it difficult to abstain from alcohol
during this three-day period, it is possible that he or she might
have an addiction to alcohol. By recognizing this, the individual may
seek treatment.
Anyone seeking services to help break free of an addiction to alcohol
and or other drugs may visit the ODADAS Web site at
www.odadas.ohio.gov to access Ohio's list of treatment providers.
Ohioans also are encouraged to contact their county Alcohol Drug
Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS)/Alcohol and Drug
Addiction Services (ADAS) Board to learn more about local treatment
options and alcohol screening events.
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From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Apr 7 22:56:24 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Wed Apr 7 22:04:56 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Ont. Select Committee on Mental Health &
Addictions Interim Report
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100407215614.04b4a6a0@ncf.ca>
April 7, 2010
In hearings before the Ontario Select Committee
on Mental Health & Addictions last fall several of us spoke about FASD.
On March 31, 2010 this committee released its
Interim Report and is now writing its Recommendations.
You can read the report on the Ontario
Legislative Assembly website at the weblink below.
It is gratifying to see that FASD is included.
FASD is mentioned on page 10 in the section
"First Nation, Inuit and Metis Peoples" under "Southern Communities":
"...Providers of mental health services also
expresses an interest in improved diagnosis of
fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), a
condition which is taking a huge toll on First
Nations communities across the country..."
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder is discussed on
page 31 in the section "Specific Illnesses" with
Anxiety Depression & Other Mood Disorders, Autism
Spectrum Disorders, Dual Diagnosis (Developmental
Disabilities and Mental Illness), Eating
Disorders, FASD, Perinatal Mood Disorders,
Schizophrenia and Other Forms of Psychosis, Suicide.
"The Committee received testimony from witnesses
across the province about fetal alcohol spectrum
disorder (FASD), which affects at least 1% of
live births in Canada. Children with FASD
generally have mental health and addictions
issues and require complex care through their
lifespan. Untreated, they suffer considerably and
are at increased risk of conflict with the law
and suicide. FASD is particularly devastating for
First Nations, as discussed above.
"Witnesses noted that early diagnosis is key, as
is the case with most conditions. However, FASD
diagnoses are complex and typically require a
multi-disciplinary team. Thus, FASD is frequently
misdiagnosed as attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD) or autism, and treated
incorrectly, if at all, or simply dismissed as bad behaviour.
"Witnesses advocated for proper diagnostic
services, case management, special education and
developmental programs, addictions counselling,
assisted living options, skills training, the
provision of structured environments, and respite care for families.
"It was also recommended that a single ministry
take the lead for this condition and provide a
targeted pool of resources. At present, FASD has
"orphan" status, as no ministry assumes
responsibility for it, and it lacks as OHIP
billing code. Finally, care for individuals with
FASD should be incorporated into a strategy for
those with concurrent disorders, and a prevention
campaign sensitive to the needs of particular communities should be developed."
On page 22 under the heading "Integration" it says:
"Almost every witness appearing before the
Committee has made a plea for some form of
service integration. Presenters had strong,
sometimes diverging, opinions on this topic.
Regardless, words like "silos" and "navigation"
have become part of our vocabulary. The CMHA,
Ontario Division noted that Ontario has one of
the most comprehensive baskets of services in the
country. However, there are quite literally
hundreds of organizations offering mental health
and addictions programs, and at least 10
ministries addressing some aspect of the system.
Ontarians may not know where to turn when they
are facing a mental illness or addiction.
"The Committee has been particularly saddened to
hear of the many children and youths who fall
through the cracks as they transition to the
adult system. Families spoke of their frustration
at having to repeat their stories over and over
again to a multitude of service providers when
they do obtain treatment. Many people simply drop
out of the system because it is too complex and exhausting to manage...."
>
>----------
>From: Jonathan_Brickwood@ontla.ola.org
>[mailto:Jonathan_Brickwood@ontla.ola.org]
>Sent: March 31, 2010 3:52 PM
>To: susan_sourial@ontla.ola.org
>Cc: Jonathan_Brickwood@ontla.ola.org
>Subject: Select Committee on Mental Health and
>Addictions, Interim Report / Comit? sp?cial de
>la sant? mental et des d?pendances, rapport provisoire
>
>Thank you for your interest in the work of the
>Select Committee on Mental Health and
>Addictions. The Committee has completed its
>Interim Report. This report is available on the
>Legislative Assembly web site at:
>http://www.ontla.on.ca/committee-proceedings/committee-reports/files_pdf/SCMHA-InterimReport-March2010.pdf
>
>Merci de votre int?r?t sur les travaux du Comit?
>sp?cial de la sant? mental et des
>d?pendances. Le Comit? a termin? son rapport
>provisoire. Ce rapport est disponible sur le
>site web de l?Assembl?e l?gislative
>:
>http://www.ontla.on.ca/committee-proceedings/committee-reports/files_pdf/CSSMD-RapportProvisoire-Mars2010.pdf
>
>Susan Sourial
>Committee Clerk/Greffi?re de comit?
>Select Committee on Mental Health and
>Addictions/Comit? sp?cial de la sant? mental et des d?pendances
>Legislative Assembly of Ontario/Assembl?e l?gislative de l'Ontario
>(416) 325-7352
>
>
>Jonathan Brickwood
>Assistant to Susan Sourial, Clerk to the Select
>Committee on Mental Health and Addictions
>Main: 416-325-3500; Direct: 416-325-7352; Fax: 416-325-3505
>Email: Jonathan_Brickwood@ontla.ola.org
>
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From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Apr 7 22:56:40 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Wed Apr 7 22:04:58 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Cleverest women are the heaviest drinkers:
U.K.
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100407215631.04b4a7e8@ncf.ca>
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/women_shealth/7549959/Cleverest-women-are-the-heaviest-drinkers.html
The Telegraph, U.K.
Health - Women's Health
Cleverest women are the heaviest drinkers
Women who went to university consume more alcohol than their
less-highly-educated counterparts, a major study has found.
By Roger Dobson
Published: 10:15AM BST 04 Apr 2010
Those with degrees are almost twice as likely to drink daily, and
they are also more likely to admit to having a drinking problem.
A similar link between educational attainment and alcohol consumption
is seen among men, but the correlation is less strong.
The findings come from a comprehensive study carried out at the
London School of Economics in which researchers tracked the lives of
thousands of 39-year-old women and men, all born in the UK during the
same week in 1970.
The report concludes: "The more educated women are, the more likely
they are to drink alcohol on most days and to report having problems
due to their drinking patterns.
"The better-educated appear to be the ones who engage the most in
problematic patterns of alcohol consumption."
Women's alcohol consumption can even be predicted from their scores
in school tests taken when they are as as young as five.
Women who achieved "medium" or "high" test marks as schoolgirls are
up to 2.1 times more likely to drink daily as adults.
The authors of the report, Francesca Borgonovi and Maria Huerta,
suggest several possible explanations as to why better-educated women
drink more.
They tend to have children later, postponing the responsibilities of
parenthood. They may have more active social lives or work in
male-dominated workplaces with a drinking culture.
As girls, they may have grown up in middle-class families and seen
their parents drink regularly.
In the long-term study, the LSE team followed all the people born in
Britain during one week in 1970, asking them questions about their
lifestyle at regular periods throughout their lives.
The number of people for whom information was available has varied
over the course of the research between 9,665 and 17,287.
The researchers took account of each individual's school test results
and level of academic attainment, as well as their answers to
regularly-administered surveys in which they were asked questions
such as "Have you ever felt you should cut down on your drinking?"
and "Have you ever had a drink first thing in the morning to steady
your nerves or get rid of a hangover?"
Women with some educational qualifications were 71 per cent more
likely to drink on most days compared to women with no
qualifications. Women with degree-level qualifications were 86 per
cent more likely to do so.
Higher educated women were 1.7 times more likely to have a drinking
problem, as assessed through their questionnaire answers, than their
less-well-educated counterparts.
Women who scored highly in tests while at school were also at greater
risk of having drinking problems.
Whereas women with medium or high childhood test scores were up to
2.1 times more likely to have a drink most days, men who scored
similarly-high scores were only 49 per cent more likely to do so.
"Both males and females who achieved high-level performance in test
scores administered at ages five and 10 are significantly more likely
to abuse alcohol than individuals who performed poorly on those
tests," says the report, in the journal Social Science and Medicine.
According to the study, a substantial part of the educational effect
is likely to be due to better-educated women having more
opportunities and tending to have middle-class lifestyles, exposing
them to circumstances that favour alcohol consumption.
"Reasons for the positive association of education and drinking
behaviours may include: a more intensive social life that encourages
alcohol intake; a greater engagement into traditionally male spheres
of life, a greater social acceptability of alcohol use and abuse;
more exposure to alcohol use during formative years; and greater
postponement of childbearing and its responsibilities among the
better educated," says the report.
Commenting on the findings, a spokesman for the Alcohol Concern
charity said: "This raises concerns which need to be addressed.
"People with higher qualifications have more disposable income, and
we have seen a trend where there has been an increase in the
marketing of wine, particularly aimed at working women.
"People who abuse alcohol face a higher risk of suffering from health
problems incluidng cancer, liver cirrhosis, lung and cardiovascular
disease, and mental and behavioural issues."
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From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Apr 7 22:56:57 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Wed Apr 7 22:05:01 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder linked to high
prevalence of epilepsy, Queen's study
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100407215648.04b4aa78@ncf.ca>
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2010/04/06/fetal.alcohol.spectrum.disorder.linked.high.prevalence.epilepsy.queens.study
E! Science News
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder linked to high
prevalence of epilepsy, Queen's study
Published: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 - 14:12 in Health & Medicine
Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
(FASD) show a very high prevalence of developing
epilepsy and having seizures, according to a
national study by Queen's University researchers.
Six per cent of study participants had epilepsy
and 12 percent had one or more seizures in their
lifetimes. By comparison, less than one percent
of the general population is expected to develop
epilepsy. The study results also showed that
individuals were more likely to have epilepsy, or
a history of seizures, if exposure to alcohol had
occurred in the first trimester or throughout the entire pregnancy.
"There are very few studies that have examined
the relationship between seizures and epilepsy
among individuals with FASD," says study
co-author James Reynolds, a pharmacology,
toxicology and neuroscience researcher at Queen's
University. "The consensus recommendation of
scientists, clinicians, and public health
officials around the world is very clear?a woman
should abstain from drinking during pregnancy as
part of an overall program of good prenatal
health care that includes good nutrition,
adequate exercise, and sufficient rest."
Researchers examined the histories of 425
individuals between the ages of two and 49 years
from two FASD clinics. They compared risk factors
such as the level of exposure to alcohol or other
drugs, type of birth, and trauma with the
co-occurrence of epilepsy or a history of
seizures in participants with confirmed FASD
diagnoses. The report builds on a growing body of
evidence that maternal drinking during pregnancy
may put a child at greater risk for an even wider
variety of neurologic and behavioral health problems than thought before.
Source: Queen's University
[Kingston, Ontario, Canada]
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From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Apr 7 23:02:19 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Wed Apr 7 22:05:10 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] High prevalence of epilepsy associated with
fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100407220210.04b4b0e0@ncf.ca>
http://news.oneindia.in/2010/04/06/highprevalence-of-epilepsy-associated-with-fetal-alcoholsp.html
One India
Health
High prevalence of epilepsy associated with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
Tuesday, April 6, 2010,6:22 [IST]
Washington, Apr 6 (ANI): A new study has discovered a very high
prevalence of epilepsy/seizures in kids with a fetal alcohol spectrum
disorder (FASD).
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) refers to a range of negative
developmental outcomes that result from maternal drinking during
pregnancy. Children with FASD can suffer from many problems,
including epilepsy, a disorder characterized by spontaneous
recurrence of unprovoked seizures.
The study will be published in the June 2010 issue of Alcoholism:
Clinical and Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.
"There are very few studies that have examined the relationship
between seizures and epilepsy among individuals with FASD," noted
James Reynolds, a senior scientist with the department of
pharmacology and toxicology and the Centre for Neuroscience Studies,
at Queens University. Reynolds is one of the study's authors.
"Many patients with epilepsy have a history of exposure to a prenatal
insult, so we reasoned that prenatal exposure to alcohol could be
such an epileptogenic insult," added Peter Carlen, a neurologist and
senior scientist for the division of fundamental neurobiology at the
Toronto Western Hospital, another of the study's authors.
"Secondly, there is a significant overlap in brain structures that
suffer from deficits as a result of chronic prenatal alcohol exposure
and those that are associated with seizures, specifically in the
brain's hippocampus. Thirdly, previous studies had failed to examine
other complications that occur in mothers who drink alcohol during
pregnancy, such as the effects of drinking on seizure activity.
Finally, previous studies used small sample sizes and failed to
clearly define seizures and FASD."
"Recently, scientists have begun investigating whether fetal alcohol
exposure increases the risk for developing other behavioral health
and neurological problems," added Dan Savage, Regents' Professor and
chair of neurosciences at the University of New Mexico. "Indeed,
evidence has begun to suggest that children with FASD are at greater
risk for alcoholism, substance abuse or depression later in life.
While it is too soon in the relatively young history of this research
field to assess whether maternal drinking during pregnancy increases
the risk of aging-related neurologic disorders, such as stroke or
Parkinson's disease, several recent large-scale retrospective studies
have examined whether fetal alcohol exposure increases the risk of
developing epilepsy."
For the study, researchers examined the histories of 425 individuals
(254 males, 171 females), between the ages of two and 49 years, from
two FASD clinics. Relationships between a confirmed FASD diagnosis
and other risk factors - such as exposure to alcohol or other drugs,
type of birth, and trauma - were examined for the co-occurrence of
epilepsy or a history of seizures.
"This study revealed a much higher prevalence of epilepsy and seizure
history in individuals with a diagnosis of FASD," said Stephanie H.
Bell, a researcher with the Centre for Neuroscience Studies at Queens
University and corresponding author for the study. "In the general
population, less than one percent are expected to develop epilepsy;
of those with FASD, six percent had epilepsy and 12 percent had one
or more seizures in their life. Subjects were more likely to have
epilepsy, or a history of seizures, if exposure to alcohol had
occurred in the first trimester or throughout the entire pregnancy."
"While this report supports a growing impression that fetal alcohol
exposure may predispose the immature brain to the development of
epilepsy, the results do not establish a direct cause-effect
relationship between FASD and epilepsy," cautioned Savage.
"Establishing a direct link between these clinical conditions will be
a difficult challenge given our incomplete understanding of how
ethanol damages the developing brain and what neuropathological
changes in brain tissue lead to the development of different types of
epilepsy." (ANI)
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From rosse at ncf.ca Fri Apr 9 17:11:33 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Fri Apr 9 16:16:10 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Toronto April 13 - Intro to FASD & Service
Implications for Affected Adults & Parents
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100409161122.03ebb220@ncf.ca>
Intro to FASD & Service Implications for Affected Adults & Parents
by Toronto FASD Leadership Team
This one-day workshop is designed to provide an overview of FASD for Child
Welfare/Allied service providers and assist them in understanding how to
work effectively with individuals who have this disability, with a specific
focus on supporting parents with FASD.
This form of organic brain damage is often not identified; misdiagnosed and
misunderstood resulting in service responses that can contribute to
increased risks and serious problems. FASD seriously affects functioning
throughout the lifespan, having tremendous implications for all types of
service delivery including parenting supports. Understanding when, why and
how a person with FASD can parent their child/ren is a question that
service providers are now trying to answer.
This presentation will provide an overview of FASD and explore some of the
key issues related to offering effective services to affected adults and
parents.
The day will also include a presenation of two related programs offered by
Surrey Place Centre.
April 13, 2010 / 9:30am - 4:30pm
Children's Aid Society of Toronto
30 Isabella Street, Auditorium
$50.00 per person
Please mail in the attached reigstration form with payment ASAP to avoid
disappointment.
Registration is first come first serve and will be confirmed via email upon
receipt of payment.
(See attached file: FASD Intro & Service Implications 13.04.10 Flyer.pdf)
For futher inquiries, please feel free to contact Anne at 416-924-4640 x
1-2780 or 1-866-527-0833 x 1-2780.
Anne Kwok
Sr. Administrative Assistant
Children's Aid Society of Toronto | Child Welfare Institute
30 Isabella Street | 7th Floor | Toronto | Ontario | M4Y 1N1
T: 416-924-4640 / 1-866-527-0833 x 2780 | F: 416-324-2324
www.childwelfareinstitute.torontocas.ca | www.cwitraining.torontocas.ca
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From rosse at ncf.ca Sat Apr 10 12:53:35 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Sat Apr 10 11:52:06 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Grandmother: Adopted boy sent back to Russia
was violent
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100410115327.0494fc80@ncf.ca>
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/04/09/us.russian.adoption.return/index.html
CNN U.S.
Grandmother: Adopted boy sent back to Russia was violent
By Alan Duke, CNN
April 10, 2010 5:05 a.m. EDT
[Photo]
Justin Hansen was adopted from a Russian orphanage last year,
according to his grandmother.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* NEW: Future adoptions to U.S. are banned pending new treaty,
foreign minister says
* NEW: Russian official says grandmother's claim about child's
treatment is "a lie"
* 7-year-old's adoptive family in U.S. sends him back to Russia
* Child exhibited violent and psychotic behavior, according to grandmother
(CNN) -- A 7-year-old Russian boy adopted by an American family last
year was put on a return flight to Moscow this week because of
violent and psychotic behavior, according to a Tennessee grandmother.
The child showed up unannounced at Russia's child protection ministry
Thursday, triggering an international investigation.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a Russian TV channel on
Friday that his country has banned future adoptions by Americans
until the United States signs a new agreement to regulate them.
U.S. diplomats have avoided such an agreement to set responsibilities
for the adopting parents, Lavrov said, "but this latest incident has
exhausted our patience."
"We are now investigating the circumstances of the boy's return to
see if any crimes were committed," said U.S. Ambassador to Russia
John Beyrle. "We are also in close contact with the Russian
government on all aspects of the case, and we know that he is being
well cared for."
Video: Adopted Boy Sent Packing
[Note: there is a 20 second ad. for batteries before this video]
Nancy Hansen, the Tennessee woman who put Justin Hansen on the plane
in Washington, insisted she did not abandon the child, but was
following instructions from a lawyer she found online.
Hansen told CNN that she was concerned about her family's safety
after a series of violent incidents and threats.
"I still have energy and I love children," Hansen said. "It wasn't
that he was just energetic and wearing us down. It was the violent
tendencies and he had to be watched at all time."
When her daughter, Torry Hansen, adopted the boy from a Russian
orphanage last year, she asked the doctor there if he had any
physical or mental problems, Nancy Hansen said.
The doctor answered "'He's healthy,' and turned and left," she said.
Once the child learned enough English, he told his new family about
the horrors of his previous life, including being beaten at the
orphanage after his mother abandoned him, she said.
He also told of an incident in which he burned down a building near
the orphanage, she said.
Russian Children's Rights Commissioner Pavel Astakhov said the child
was "completely healthy, physically and mentally" before the adoption.
"Nobody withheld anything from her [Torry Hansen]," he said. "It's a lie."
Justin told Russian officials he was abused by the American family,
Astakhov said.
"There was a grandmother who was at home with the boys," he said.
"She used to shout at [Justin] a lot. When I asked how the mother
treated him he burst into tears and said she used to pull his hair."
Hansen said the child had a "hit list" of people he was targeting,
including her daughter, who he said he "wanted to kill for the
house." He threatened to kill her grandson for a videogame, she said.
The final incident that convinced Hansen she should send the boy back
to Russia was when she caught him starting a fire with papers in his
bedroom last Monday, she said. She feared the child might burn down
the house and kill her family, she said.
Hansen and her family were set to meet with Bedford County,
Tennessee, Sheriff Randall Boyce on Friday afternoon but their lawyer
asked to reschedule the session for next week, a sheriff's spokeswoman said.
"I'm not sure there's been a crime committed," Boyce said earlier. He
was asked by the U.S. State Department to investigate.
A State Department spokesman said the U.S. government was "very
troubled" by the incident.
"As parents, my wife and I were deeply shocked by the news of Justin
Hansen, and very angry that any family would act so callously toward
a child that they had legally adopted," Ambassador Beyrle said.
Nancy Hansen outlined for CNN the process she followed after she
decided Justin must go back to Russia.
When the lawyer she found online advised her the adoption could be
reversed, Hansen booked the flight and paid the fee for a steward to
escort Justin through the airport, she said.
She hired a driver in Moscow she found online to pick the child up
from the Moscow airport, she said. She found "safe references" for
the driver online, she said.
She then prepared a letter for Justin to present to Russian
officials, which included a photo of the driver, whom she identified
as "Arthur," she said.
Justin "had never been happier" than when he boarded the plane for
Moscow, she said.
Russian child protection officials were not happy when the child
arrived unannounced at their ministry Wednesday. Nancy Hansen said
when they called her there was "a lot of yelling going on."
But Hansen said after the call she believed the matter was settled
and the boy was safe, until she also got a call from the U.S.
Embassy. They told her she had set off an "international incident."
The U.S. State Department spokesman on Friday said it was up to the
Russian government to decide whether it will suspend adoptions by
Americans because of the incident.
Ambassador Beyrle said cases of neglect are rare among the "tens of
thousands of adopted Russian children who are living happily and
lovingly with their American families."
"But even one incident like this is too many, and we will get to the
bottom of what went wrong," he said.
The Seattle-based agency which Hansen said her daughter used to
coordinate the adoption said it found out about Justin's return only Friday.
"We were alerted to this situation by our branch office in Moscow,
Russia, and are shocked and saddened by this turn of events," said a
spokeswoman for the World Association for Children and Parents.
In the 1 percent of the cases where the dissolution of an adoption
has been needed, the agency "has always supported and worked closely
with [adoptive] parents to assist the child in moving into a new
adoptive family," she said.
CNN's Carolina Sanchez, Dave Alsup and Elise Labott contributed to this report.
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From rosse at ncf.ca Sat Apr 10 12:53:51 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Sat Apr 10 11:52:11 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] US Mother Ships Adopted Boy, 7, Back to Russia
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100410115342.04971f48@ncf.ca>
"...The Daily Mail reported that he was the biological son of an
alcoholic mother and was taken from her when he was 6 because of her
drinking problem...."
http://www.aolnews.com
AolNews
World
US Mother Ships Adopted Boy, 7, Back to Russia
Updated: 14 hours 36 minutes ago
Dana Kennedy Contributor
AOL News
(April 9) -- Russia's foreign minister said the country should freeze
adoptions with U.S. families after a 7-year-old Russian boy was
shipped back to Moscow on a one-way flight by his adoptive mother in Tennessee.
"I no longer want to parent this child," read a note that his
adoptive mother, Torry Ann Hansen, had given the blond boy for his
United Airlines flight from Washington, D.C., to Moscow, along with
some cookies and a coloring pen in his backpack. "He is violent and
has severe psychopathic issues/behaviors."
Artyom Savelyev, who was adopted last year from a Siberian orphanage,
was met by an unidentified man, whom his adoptive grandmother told
The Associated Press she had hired for $200. The man brought him to
the Russian Science and Education Ministry building.
[Photo]
Rossia 1 Television Channel / AP
Artyom Savelyev, 7, gets into a minivan in Moscow on Thursday. He had
been put on a flight to Russia after his adopted American mother
balked at keeping him.
Russian officials said the boy is now undergoing a routine check-up
in a Moscow hospital and would be placed in another orphanage. The
Daily Mail reported that he was the biological son of an alcoholic
mother and was taken from her when he was 6 because of her drinking problem.
On Russian television, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the
boy's return "the last straw" after a series of Russian orphans
abused or mistreated by their adoptive American parents.
Russia has already become wary of U.S. adoptions after several highly
publicized criminal cases. Peggy Sue Hilt of Manassas, Va., was
sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2006 after being convicted of
fatally beating a 2-year-old girl she adopted from Siberia. In 2008,
Kimberly Emelyantsev of Tooele, Utah, was sentenced to 15 years after
pleading guilty to killing a Russian infant in her care.
Lavrov said an agreement regarding new terms and conditions must be
drawn up between the two countries before any more adoptions take place.
"We have taken the decision ... to suggest a freeze on any adoptions
to American families until Russia and the USA sign an international
agreement," Lavrov said.
John Beyrle, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, said he was "deeply
shocked" and "very angry that any family would act so callously
toward a child they had legally adopted."
The Daily Mail quoted
a
Russian official saying the U.S. consul could not have access to the
child, adding, "If his American parent kicked out him from the
country on a plane like a sack of potatoes, then we will look after the boy."
The child, whose adoptive name was Justin, was carrying a letter from
his adoptive mother, Hansen, reportedly a single, 34-year-old nurse
who also has a biological son.
The letter -- addressed "to whom it may concern" at the Russian
Ministry of Education in Moscow -- said: "After giving my best to
this child, I am sorry to say that for the sake of my family, friends
and myself, I no longer wish to parent this child.
"As he is a Russian national, I am returning him to your guardianship
and would like the adoption disannulled," the letter said.
In the letter, Hansen accused officials at the Russian orphanage
where the boy lived of not telling her the truth about him. "The
child is mentally unstable," she said. "I was lied to and misled by
the Russian orphanage workers and director regarding his mental
stability and other issues. The orphanage employees were definitely
aware of the major problems that this child has. Yet they chose to
grossly misrepresent those problems, in order to get him out of their
orphanage."
Russian social service officials told the Daily Mail that the boy was
only a "little stubborn" and his only disability was that he has flat
feet. They also reported that the child claimed his mother was "bad"
and "didn't love him" and used to pull his hair.
"It's an unfortunate situation for both Russia and the U.S.," Zamir
Gotta, a Moscow-based media consultant, told AOL News today.
"Every day you hear on the news in Russia about some very young
mother leaving her baby in the garbage or something. There is a real
need for adoptive families. At the same time, there is something that
doesn't work right with the adoption system here. You can't just
blame the U.S. There need to be more checks and balances put in place
in Russia so adoptive parents get a clearer picture of the kind of
child they are adopting."
Joyce Sterkel, director of the Ranch for Kids, a Montana facility
that caters to troubled Russian adoptees, says she has taken in
hundreds of Russian adoptees with severe fetal alcohol syndrome and
attachment disorders. "Let's stop demonizing this mother," she said.
"These kids are really sick, and there's no magic number you can call
for cases like this."
A spokesperson of the Bedford County, Tenn., Sheriff's Department
said that while no charges have been filed against Hansen, an
investigation is under way and she has agreed to meet with law
enforcement officials next week.
Filed under: Nation, World
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From rosse at ncf.ca Sat Apr 10 15:30:05 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Sat Apr 10 14:34:09 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] FASD Training With Dan Dubovsky London April 29
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100410142957.049b4420@ncf.ca>
Please register and pay by April 9, 2010.
http://www.oarty.net/events_&_sponsorships
Ontario Association of Residences Treating Youth
Upcoming Events
THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2010
FASD TRAINING
HOSTED BY: EAGLE'S NEST: A PLACE TO SOAR INC.
Time: 8:00 am to 4:00 pm
Location: Four Points by Sheraton, 1150 Wellington Road, London
Presenter: Dan Dubovsky, M.S.W., L.S.W., FASD Centre for Excellence
Cost: $100.00
[]
Download FASD Training Flyer (PDF)
[]
Download
FASD Training Registration (PDF)
For More Information: Call 519-518-2037 or email
Management@eaglesnestfc.ca.
FASD Training
With
Dan Dubovsky M.S.W., L.S.W.
April 29, 2010
Four Points by Sheraton
1150 Wellington Rd. London, ON N6E 1M3
Goals for the training:
To develop an understanding of Fetal Alcohol
Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and how to manage
and support a child and/or youth with FASD
Dan has worked for over 35 years in the fields of mental
health and developmental disabilities. Dan is currently
the FASD Specialist for the U.S. Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) FASD
Centre for Excellence. Dan has a keen interest in the
provision of quality services to those with fetal alcohol
syndrome, mental illness and/or developmental
disabilities and their families. His teacher and mentor for
FASD over the years has been his son Bill.
Presented by:
Eagle?s Nest: A Place to
Soar, Inc
For more information call
519-518-2037
Or e-mail at
Management@eaglesnestfc.ca
FASD Training
With
Dan Dubovsky, M.S.W., L.S.W.
Registration Form
Hosted by: Eagle?s Nest: A Place to Soar Inc.
When? Thursday April 29, 2010 from 8:00am-4:30pm
Where? Four Points by Sheraton, 1150 Wellington Road, London, Ontario
Cost? $100.00 (continental breakfast, lunch and refreshments included)
Please register and pay by April 9, 2010.
What are the goals for the day?
?h Develop an understanding of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).
?h Learn how to manage and support a child and/or youth with FASD.
8:00 am Continental breakfast and registration
9:00 am Welcome, introduction
Dan Dubovsky M.S.W., L.S.W FASD Centre for Excellence
10:15- 10:30 am Break
12:00- 1:00 pm Lunch
2:15- 2:30 pm Break
4:00-4:30 pm Wrap up and Evaluation
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NAME: _____________________________________________________
AGENCY: ______________________________________________________
CASH CHEQUE
**Please make cheques out to: Eagle?s Nest: A Place to Soar Inc.
Mail to: 536 Queens Avenue, London, Ontario N6B 1Y8
Phone #: 519-518-2037 Fax #: 519-518-2034 E-mail:Management@eaglesnestfc.ca
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From rosse at ncf.ca Sat Apr 10 16:03:08 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Sat Apr 10 15:04:10 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] FASD training with Donna Debolt: Hamilton May 5
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100410150259.03d59780@ncf.ca>
http://www.hamiltonfasdtaskforce.com/events.html
Hamilton Task Force on FASD
Upcoming Conference
Join us for A conference on Wednesday May 5, 2010- 'Help us Do Our
Job'. Click
here to see the brochure and more
information.
FASD:
Help Us Do Our Job
Wednesday May 5, 2010
Presented By: The Hamilton Task Force on FASD Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
Location Information
Michelangelo's Event Venue and Conference Centre
1555 Upper Ottawa Street
Hamilton, Ontario
Tel: (905) 575-9955
Email: info@michelangelos.com
About the Hamilton Task Force on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)
The Hamilton Task Force on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is
a group of volunteers, from more than 30 agencies, who are committed
to improving the status of those affected by FASD in the region and
in the province of Ontario. This group includes social service
workers, medical professionals, educators and parents. The three main
goals of the Task Force are;
-To increase education and awareness of FASD
-To develop diagnostic capacity and diagnostic services in the
Hamilton-Wentworth region
-To increase knowledge of effective intervention strategies for
people affected by FASD.
Introduction of FASD Leadership Team
We are excited to announce the official introduction and launching of
our FASD Leadership Team at the conference. The FASD Leadership Team
is a group of 9 members of the Hamilton Task Force on FASD who
applied and were accepted to attend the training of a certificate
program in this area. The team is trained to provide consultations to
families and others who are living with or working with those
affected by FASD. They will also provide information sessions and
education on FASD for you and your organization. You will have the
opportunity at the conference to learn about the role of the FASD
Leadership Team and how to access these services in the Hamilton area.
What's in it For Me?
The training is appropriate for agencies including but not limited
to: social service agencies educators, probation and justice,
residential care, foster care, and family care. The training will be
useful for all levels of involvement from decision makers,
supervisors to support staff and those who care for individuals day to day.
This session will facilitate an effective, realistic necessary
intervention process. Participants will learn to:
1) Create a framework for their practice through case planning
strategies specific to FASD.
2) Shift their thinking from a behavioral to a brain based focus for
intervention.
3) Recognize the importance of collaboration influencing systems change.
4) Increase short term effectiveness of intervention through reduced
frustration, decrease professional burnout and improve outcomes for
children, adolescents, adults and families.
To learn more about the Hamilton Task Force on FASD please visit:
www.hamiltonfasdtaskforce.com
Donna Debolt
Debolt Consulting
Donna Debolt is a social worker in private practice who translated
her 30 years with Child Protection into working as an outspoken
advocate for children and adults who have life long risks for health,
development, learning and behavioral difficulties associated with
prenatal exposure to alcohol. In her role as an FASD Specialist,
Donna challenges communities through case management, advocacy and
training to develop and implement prevention, intervention and
management strategies so that families and communities can
successfully cope and plan for useful futures for these high needs
individuals. Donna developed curriculum for and taught in a unique
program at the Lethbridge College specifically geared to preparing
professionals to work in this field. She is also providing clinical
support to a nationally recognized justice project that does case
management work for individuals with FASD who interface with the
justice system. She has also been asked by Alberta Child and Youth
Services to oversee an innovative program targeting practice
standards that is hoped will create expertise in Child Welfare
practice, improve outcomes for children and youth diagnosed or
suspected as having FASD, test new ideas and act on the new knowledge
created. It is Donna's belief that most innovative programs are
created through collaboration and through sharing experiences and
skills we will create improved outcomes for individuals and their families.
_
Registration Form
May 5, 2010
Name_________________________________________
Phone #:_______________________________
Organization: ___________________________
______________________________________
Job Title: _______________________________
Email: _________________________________
You will be registered upon receipt of a cheque.
Early Bird registration prior to March 29, 2010 is $75 after this
date it is $100 Make cheques payable to: ASCY
Mail/deliver to:
ASCY: 526 Upper Paradise Rd.,
Hamilton, ON
L9C 5E3
For more information call: 905-574-6876 Jan Smith, ext 222 and Angelo
Curta ext 229.
Registration between 8:15 to 8:45, sessions start at 8:45 with two
breaks and a lunch provided (continental breakfast and snacks).
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From rosse at ncf.ca Sat Apr 10 16:28:34 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Sat Apr 10 15:34:09 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Durham FASD Conference May 12 [2 Attachments]
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100410150805.03d73dd8@ncf.ca>
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From rosse at ncf.ca Sat Apr 10 16:46:26 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Sat Apr 10 15:52:07 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Workshop - Motivational Interviewing - Toronto
May 18
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100410153859.03d5f810@ncf.ca>
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From rosse at ncf.ca Sat Apr 10 16:58:35 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Sat Apr 10 16:04:09 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Motherisk Update May 19 Toronto
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100410155825.03d5e8e8@ncf.ca>
http://www.motherisk.org/prof/commonDetail.jsp?content_id=921
Sick Kids
Motherisk
Toronto, Ontario
Motherisk News: Motherisk Update 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
SickKids Hospital - Hollywood Theatre, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario
Things you must know if you treat pregnant and breastfeeding women
Join us on May 19th 2010 as Motherisk celebrates 25 years of
counseling and groundbreaking research!
Since 1985, Motherisk has counseled over a half-million women, their
families and physicians. Canada's expert on the safety of
medications, infections, chemicals, and everyday exposures during
pregnancy and lactation, Motherisk has become one of the biggest and
most accomplished teratogen research, counseling and training
programs in the world.
The Motherisk Update 2010 will share the latest, evidence-based
information on a broad range of topics in maternal-fetal health, and
teratogen information and counseling. Delegates can expect to take
away new knowledge that will help them provide the best care to their
pregnant and breastfeeding patients.
Accreditation
This program meets the accreditation criteria of The College of
Family Physicians of Canada and has been accredited for up to 6.5
Mainpro-M1 credits.
This event is an Accredited Group Learning Activity (Section 1) as
defined by the Maintenance of Certification program of The Royal
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, approved by the
University of Toronto (6.5 credits).
This year's learning objectives:
* identify important milestones of human teratogenicity and
determinants of risk-benefit assessments;
* define fetal risks of subclinical maternal hypothyroidism;
* weigh the risks and benefits of managing depression in pregnancy;
* take away clinical findings about H1N1 influenza and influenza
vaccination during pregnancy;
* list options for detecting drug and alcohol consumption,
prenatally and perinatally;
* recognize barriers to effective identification and intervention
of addiction in pregnancy;
* apply evidence-based principles in clinical setting to advise
women who need to take medications while breastfeeding;
* recognize the need for evidence for alternative methods in
pregnancy, using reiki as an example;
* weigh evidence for appropriate folic acid supplementation by
women who are pregnant or planning pregnancy.
Seating is limited. Download and print the
Motherisk
Update 2010 Registration Form and register today.
----------
MOTHERISK UPDATE 2010
May 19, 2010
AGENDA
TIME EVENT
8:00 a.m. Delegate Check-in
9:00 a.m. Welcome
9:10 a.m. Andre Boivin Professorship Lecture & Paediatric Grand Rounds
"Treating the mother - protecting the unborn: 25 years of Motherisk"
Gideon Koren, MD, FRCPC, Director, Motherisk Program, Hospital for
Sick Children
10:00 a.m. Question & Answer
10:15 a.m. Nutrition Break
10:30 a.m. Maternal hypothyroidism and child development
Joanne Rovet, PhD, Senior Scientist, Department of Psychology,
Hospital for Sick Children
11:00 a.m. Question & Answer
11:15 a.m. Postpartum Depression: "We've come a long way baby"
Bev Young M.D., FRCP(C), Educational Coordinator, Perinatal Mental
Health Program, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto
11:45 a.m. Question & Answer
12:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00 p.m. Influenza or influenza vaccine in pregnancy: What we
learned from the H1N1 pandemic
Allison McGeer, MD, FRCPC, Microbiologist, Infectious, Mount Sinai Hospital
1:30 p.m. Question & Answer
1:45 p.m. Addiction in pregnancy: What we know, what we can do, and
what we must learn
Joey Gareri, MSc, Director, Motherisk Laboratory, Hospital for Sick Children
2:15 p.m. Question & Answer
2:30 p.m. Nutrition Break
2:45 p.m. Can I breastfeed while on medications?
Shinya Ito, MD, Professor and Head, Division of Clinical Pharmacology
& Toxicology and Senior Scientist at the Research Institute, Hospital
for Sick Children
3:15 p.m. Question & Answer
3:30 p.m. The effect of Reiki on pain in women after elective cesarean section
Sondra VanderVaart, PhD candidate, University of Toronto
4:00 p.m. Question & Answer
4:15 p.m. Perinatal folic acid supplementation: Shedding more light
Deborah Kennedy, MBA, ND; PhD candidate, University of Toronto
4:45 p.m. Question & Answer
5:00 p.m. Wrap up
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From rosse at ncf.ca Mon Apr 12 00:22:33 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Sun Apr 11 23:28:10 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] U.S. Senator Johnson Introduces Fetal Alcohol
Spectrum Disorders Bill
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100411081235.05023748@ncf.ca>
http://johnson.senate.gov/public/?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=747cadf2-5076-4cc2-b0e7-e1c0783e88da&ContentType_id=c3d73cfe-c14b-4676-96ed-43a65aea57c0&Group_id=6ae28060-e7a2-46ba-bbab-cce51bb5cb91
Tim Johnson, United States Senator from South Dakota
Recent Press Releases
Mar 24 2010
Johnson Introduces Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Bill
Washington, DC?U.S. Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD)
has introduced The Advancing FASD Research,
Prevention, and Services Act to improve research,
prevention, and services for Fetal Alcohol
Spectrum Disorders (FASD). Senator Lisa
Murkowski (R-AK) joined Johnson and others in
introducing the bill, which has the support of
many South Dakota groups and advocates, including
the University of South Dakota Center for
Disabilities in Sioux Falls and the Cheisman Foundation in Rapid City.
?This disease is entirely preventable, and yet it
is estimated that nearly 8,000 South Dakotans are
living with FASD,? said Johnson. ?While there is
no known cure, the bill I introduced today seeks
a balance between directing federal resources to
prevention activities and to services for
individuals living with FASD and their families.?
FASD is an umbrella term that describes a range
of physical and mental birth defects that can
occur in a fetus when a pregnant woman drinks
alcohol. Alcohol exposure during pregnancy is a
leading cause of non-hereditary cognitive disability.
The legislation contains provisions to require
the National Institutes of Health to develop a
research agenda, improve the ability to screen
and identify disorders, and facilitate the
development of statewide systems and community
partnerships. The bill would also provide federal
grants for pilot projects to determine and
implement the best practices for educating
children with FASD within the school system, as
well as educating professionals about services
for children. Federal grants would also be made
available to states, tribes, tribal organizations
and other non-profit organizations to develop
support services such as vocational training,
housing assistance, and medication monitoring
services for adults with the disease.
?The bill introduced by Senator Johnson is truly
landmark legislation. This act provides a strong
foundation from which a comprehensive approach to
addressing the staggering current issues of FASD,
as well as preventing future issues from prenatal
alcohol consumption, can develop,? said Judy
Struck, Executive Director of the USD Center for Disabilities.
?The citizens of South Dakota could benefit from
this bill, as it would provide assistance to
organizations that conduct research of FASD best
practices in schools and services as well as
collecting prevalence data in South Dakota. The
Chiesman Foundation?s FASD Center recently
conducted a roundtable on FASD. Input from
parents, teachers, and service providers
indicated that more support services and
coordination of services were necessary to
intervene with the issues surrounding FASD,? said
Helen Usera, Project Director for the Cheisman Foundation?s FASD Center.
Johnson held a roundtable discussion in Sioux
Falls to discuss the prevention of FASD and how
the lives of those with the disorders can be
improved. People affected with these disorders
face numerous medical, physical, educational, and
financial challenges. Difficulties can include
severe learning disabilities, physical
abnormalities, costly medical bills, and
behavioral impairments. Diagnoses under the FASD
umbrella include Fetal Alcohol Syndrome,
Alcohol-Related Birth Defects and Alcohol-Related
Neurodevelopmental Disorder.
###
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From rosse at ncf.ca Mon Apr 12 00:23:22 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Sun Apr 11 23:28:13 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Higher birth-defect rate seen in Chernobyl area
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100411232312.01fe8d78@ncf.ca>
"...lacked data on women's diets. This is important because the birth
defects that were elevated in Rivne can also result from fetal
alcohol exposure..."
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62N4L820100324
Reuters
Health
Higher birth-defect rate seen in Chernobyl area
Amy Norton
Wed Mar 24, 2010 3:43pm EDT
Anya Savenok, 9, who was born physically affected due to high r
[Photo]
Anya Savenok, 9, who was born physically affected due to high
radiation according to doctors, plays in her home in the village of
Strakholissya, just outside the 30 km (19 miles) exclusion zone
around the closed Chernobyl nuclear power plant April 1, 2006.
Credit: Reuters/Damir Sagolj
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Rates of certain birth defects appear
higher than normal in one of the Ukraine regions most affected by the
1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, according to a new study.
The findings, reported in the journal Pediatrics, stand in contrast
to a 2005 U.N. report stating that there is no evidence of an
increased risk of birth defects or other reproductive effects in
areas contaminated by radiation from the Chernobyl accident.
The results point to a need for continuing research into birth
defects in regions affected by chronic low-dose radiation from
Chernobyl, according to researcher Dr. Wladimir Wertelecki of the
University of Southern Alabama in Mobile.
"There has been a tendency to imply that the question is closed as
far as the prenatal effects (of Chernobyl)," Wertelecki said in an interview.
The 2005 position statement from the International Atomic Energy
Agency and other U.N. bodies may have had a "chilling effect" on
research into congenital defects in Chernobyl-affected areas,
Wertelecki notes in his report.
The current findings, he said, "suggest that we should re-evaluate
that position."
For his study, Wertelecki focused on the Ukraine province of Rivne,
located about 155 miles from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The
northern half of that province, known as Polissia, was designated as
"significantly impacted" at the time of the disaster, and soil and
food from the area remains contaminated with low levels of the
radioactive substance cesium 137.
Wertelecki found that among all 96,438 babies born in Rivne between
2000 and 2006, the rate of neural tube defects -- serious anomalies
of the brain and spine, including spina bifida -- were higher than
the average for Europe. In Rivne, 22 of every 10,000 babies were born
with a neural tube defect, compared with a European average of 9 per 10,000.
What's more, the rate was particularly elevated in the Polissia area
-- where 27 of every 10,000 babies were born with a neural tube
defect, compared with 18 per 10,000 in the rest of Rivne.
Rivne also appeared to have elevated rates of conjoined twins -- 0.6
percent, compared with the roughly 0.2 percent average estimated for
Europe -- and sacrococcygeal teratomas, which are congenital tumors
on the tailbone. The teratoma rate was 0.7 percent in Rivne, whereas
the published rates of the condition range from 0.25 to 0.5 percent.
Two other birth defects -- microcephaly, where the head is abnormally
small, and microphthalmia, in which the eyes are undersized -- were
more common in Polissia than in other regions of Rivne. There were
3.7 cases of microcephaly for every 10,000 children in Polissia,
compared with 1.3 per 10,000 in the rest of Rivne; the rate of
microphthalmia was 1.8 per 10,000, versus 0.4 per 10,000 in other regions.
The findings are "not definitive," Wertelecki said. A limitation of
the study is that it lacked information on pregnant women's actual
radiation absorption.
It also lacked data on women's diets. This is important because the
birth defects that were elevated in Rivne can also result from fetal
alcohol exposure or, in the case of neural tube defects, a deficiency
in the B vitamin folate early in pregnancy.
"In the Ukraine," Wertelecki said, "alcohol is also a problem.
Malnutrition is also a problem."
It is not clear to what extent alcohol, folate deficiency and
low-dose radiation exposure may each explain the findings. It's also
quite possible, Wertelecki said, that all three factors work in
combination to raise the odds of congenital defects.
More studies are needed to look at the relationship between actual
radiation absorption and the risk of birth defects, as well as the
possible interaction between low-dose radiation, prenatal drinking
and nutritional deficiencies, according to Wertelecki.
"Existing local resources and the expressed interest by Rivne
authorities to nurture partnerships with national and international
teams will facilitate such initiatives," he writes.
SOURCE: Pediatrics, April 2010.
Health
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From rosse at ncf.ca Mon Apr 12 00:23:40 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Sun Apr 11 23:28:16 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100411232331.0200a9e8@ncf.ca>
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From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Apr 14 15:46:46 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Wed Apr 14 14:52:08 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Fetal alcohol disorders common in Eastern
Europe adoptees
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100414144632.05885948@ncf.ca>
http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2010/04/13/eline/links/20100413elin003.html
Reuters
Health
Fetal alcohol disorders common in Eastern Europe adoptees
Last Updated: 2010-04-13 10:30:12 -0400 (Reuters Health)
By Amy Norton
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Many children adopted from Eastern
European countries may have been exposed to damaging levels of
alcohol in the womb, a new study suggests.
In a study of 71 children adopted by Swedish families between 1993
and 1997, researchers found that 52 percent had developed a fetal
alcohol spectrum disorder, or FASD.
FASD is an umbrella term for the lasting developmental effects seen
in some children with prenatal alcohol exposure. It's most severe
manifestation is fetal alcohol syndrome, which is marked by stunted
growth, facial deformity, neurological deficits -- including low IQ,
learning disabilities and vision and hearing problems -- and serious
behavioral problems.
But more children develop what is known as alcohol-related
neurodevelopmental disorder, where only neurological and behavioral
problems are present.
In the current study, however, fetal alcohol syndrome was the most
common FASD; 30 percent of the children overall had the disorder,
while 14 percent had "partial" fetal alcohol syndrome and 9 percent
had alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder.
The findings, published in the journal Pediatrics, come at a time
when international adoptions are suddenly under closer scrutiny.
Last week, a U.S. family created a furor when they put their adopted
7-year-old son on a plane, alone, back to Russia. Claiming the boy
was violent and had severe psychological problems, they said they
could no longer care for him. Moscow subsequently threatened to halt
all adoptions by U.S. families.
International adoptions from Russia and other Eastern European
countries took off in the 1990s. In the U.S., there were more than
47,000 adoptions from Russia alone between 1998 and 2009 -- though
the yearly numbers have fallen significantly from their peak in the
early 2000s, according to State Department statistics.
In Sweden, there are currently more than 2,500 children adopted from
Eastern Europe, according to the researchers on the new study.
Lead researcher Dr. Magnus Landgren said his team decided to study
the FASD rate in these children after noticing what appeared to be a
high rate of abnormal growth and development among Eastern European adoptees.
The researchers anticipated an elevated rate of fetal alcohol
problems, Landgren, of Skaraborg Hospital in Skovde, Sweden, told
Reuters Health in an email. Alcohol consumption is generally high in
many Eastern European countries, and it's known that many children
end up in orphanages because of parents' alcohol abuse, the researcher noted.
"But we didn't expect to find quite this rate -- about half of the
children affected," Landgren said.
Still, he hoped the results would not dissuade families from adopting
children from these countries. "To be adopted into a caring and well
functioning family is very important," Landgren said. "The children
really need this support."
He added that adopted children, whatever their country of origin,
frequently have "special needs," and that families considering
adoption should be prepared for that prospect.
The findings are based on 71 children adopted from Russia, Poland,
Romania, Estonia or Latvia. The researchers assessed them for FASDs
and other neurodevelopmental problems five years after their
adoption, when the children were 7 years old, on average.
The rate of FASDs -- 52 percent -- appears to be the highest yet seen
in a study population, according to Landgren's team. By comparison,
it's estimated that 9 or 10 children for every 1,000 born in the U.S.
have an FASD.
"Our very high frequency of FASDs...implies an extremely selected
population," the researchers write.
According to Landgren, the findings highlight the dire need to reduce
prenatal drinking, particularly in societies with high rates of alcohol abuse.
"The findings of this study underscore the danger and risk for damage
when children are exposed to alcohol during pregnancy," he said, "and
also the importance of public health measures to help (expectant)
parents keep away from alcohol."
SOURCE: Pediatrics, May 2010.
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From rosse at ncf.ca Thu Apr 15 11:53:19 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Thu Apr 15 10:52:09 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Adoptive parents can feel overwhelmed during
transition
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100415105306.04eba738@ncf.ca>
"...There's also evidence to suggest that children adopted
internationally could have much higher rates of fetal alcohol
syndrome, autism and brain damage, said Dr. Ronald Federici, a
clinical neuropsychologist who works with adopted children...."
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/04/14/children.adoption.mental.health/index.html?hpt=Sbin
CNN Health
Adoptive parents can feel overwhelmed during transition
By Madison Park, CNN
April 14, 2010 9:41 a.m. EDT
[Photo]
Raising biological and adopted children is challenging, but
enriching, says adoptive parent Melissa Fay Greene.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Some parents feel overwhelmed and depressed after adoptions
* Adopted children who have been institutionalized can face
mental health challenges
* Risk of behavioral problems increases with length of child's
time in orphanage
(CNN) -- Melissa Fay Greene woke up at night crying and wondering if
she had "ruined our life."
Long before her decision to adopt a boy from Bulgaria, she did her
research and learned that raising an adopted child could be
challenging. It wasn't going to be a fairy tale to raise a child who
had spent most of his life in an orphanage, but she wanted to do it.
"It's terrifying," Greene said. "It's like meeting the man or woman
you're marrying at the altar. There's no turning back. It's a
lifelong commitment. It's really scary."
After she and her husband brought Jesse, 4, home to Atlanta, Georgia,
she lamented the decision. The boy immediately latched onto Greene,
never allowing her to disappear from his sight. He threw temper
tantrums when she wasn't in his line of vision and once tried to run
through a glass door to stop her from leaving the house.
It wasn't the boy's fault, as he behaved well, Greene said. But she
felt depressed and overwhelmed just the same.
While Jesse's transition into his adoptive home was rocky, other
adoptive parents can witness even more severe emotional trauma in
their children.
Children who are adopted may be at elevated risk for mental health
disorders, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity, oppositional
defiance, major depression and separation anxiety disorders,
according to a wide body of research. There's also evidence to
suggest that children adopted internationally could have much higher
rates of fetal alcohol syndrome, autism and brain damage, said Dr.
Ronald Federici, a clinical neuropsychologist who works with adopted children.
[Photo and more
From Russia to the United States: Introduction; Who can adopt; Who
can be adopted; The process; Adoptions since 1999]
[2 videos
Video: Russia upset over adopted boy snafu
Video: Boy's return still riles Russia]
In some cases, "the kids coming from the Eastern bloc and other
countries, they've been languishing in deprived, neglected orphanages
without proper care or education. So they come here with years of
institutional damage -- alcohol, drug exposure, developmental delays,
neglect, abandonment and all these issues that were never treated
there," he said.
The longer a child has been institutionalized increases the potential
for behavioral and other problems, Federici said. If a child is
adopted earlier in his or her life, this reduces some of the risks.
But some adopted children can exhibit disturbing behavior -- as in a
case described by a Tennessee family. They sent their 7-year-old
adopted son back to Russia alone because of what they described as
his violent behavior. The family's action has been widely criticized
and triggered an international dispute, with Russia threatening to
end adoptions to the United States.
The boy, Justin Artyem, compiled a hit list, threatened to kill his
adoptive American mom for her house and tried to start a fire in the
home, his adoptive grandmother said.
In such cases, families discover their adopted children have
psychological issues and can feel overwhelmed by these needs.
"This is a well-known problem," said Dr. Robert Marion, chief of
genetics and developmental medicine at the Children's Hospital in
Montefiore, New York. "These kids are in orphanages because they were
taken away from their parents or the parents couldn't take care of
them. Many of them are born to parents who are alcoholics, drug users
or have mental health problems."
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders describe the range of physical,
mental, behavioral and learning disabilities that can affect children
whose mothers drank alcohol during pregnancy. The severity of
symptoms varies, but can include low IQ, learning disabilities,
social problems, attention deficit, cognitive impairment and more.
Marion said he encountered a family a few weeks ago with an adopted
child from Russia. The child did not want to go to school or
participate in activities and threatened to burn the house, he said.
"Counseling can sometimes help and medication can sometimes help," he
said. "Kids can mature and grow out of it, but the family needs a lot
of support. The kid needs support and counseling and therapy through
this period."
A 2008
study [see
below] comparing about 500 adopted and nonadopted children found that
the odds of having an ADHD or oppositional defiant disorder diagnosis
were approximately twice as high in adoptees compared with nonadoptees.
"Families that adopt kids from Russia and elsewhere need to be
prepared for the possibility that the child is going to come with
problems like this or other problems," Marion said. "If that's the
case, they need to know to ask for help and help needs to be
available for them."
The problem also occurs because adoption agencies can hide
information and mislead prospective parents, said Federici.
Parents sometimes don't know how to handle behavioral and
psychological problems, he said. They may sue the adoption agency or
abuse or relinquish their children.
Federici said he hopes the publicity surrounding Artyem will
encourage prospective parents to get better informed, receive
counseling and work more closely with adoption specialists.
Greene felt anxious about adopting her son in 1999. More than 10
years after the adoption, she looked back at her family life and
said, "We've been infinitely enriched. We've been really lucky."
After the tumultuous first few months after adopting Jesse from
Bulgaria, she reached out to her doctor and friends. Greene said she
believes she had post-adoptive depression syndrome (which is like
postpartum depression for adoptive parents) and now dispenses advice
for parents who adopt.
Greene's Web site
More than 10 years later, Jesse is a 15-year-old, straight-A student
and star basketball player.
Greene adopted four more children -- all are from Ethiopia and were
orphaned after their parents died from complications of HIV/AIDS. In
all, her family is made up of four biological and five adopted
children -- large enough for a sports team. They all get along, but
family life takes work, she said.
"It's misleading to think it's a pathway covered with rose petals,"
Greene said. "None of it is a Disney World ride, but it's wonderful.
It's hard and serious work."
[2008 study quoted] The Mental Health of US Adolescents Adopted in Infancy
Margaret A. Keyes, PhD; Anu Sharma, PhD; Irene J. Elkins, PhD;
William G. Iacono, PhD; Matt McGue, PhD
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2008;162(5):419-425.
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From rosse at ncf.ca Thu Apr 15 11:53:34 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Thu Apr 15 10:52:14 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Torry Hansen should have sought help
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100415105326.04eba5f0@ncf.ca>
"...Some, like Hansen's adopted son, had alcoholic parents, and may
have fetal alcohol syndrome or other drug related difficulties. They
do not magically change once adopted...."
http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/04/14/cogen.adoption.russian/index.html
CNN Opinion
Torry Hansen should have sought help
By Patricia Cogen, Special to CNN
April 14, 2010 12:59 p.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Patricia Cogen says U.S. family returned adopted son to Russia
due to a mismatch
* She says research should have revealed how difficult
international adoptions can be
* It's common for kids in such adoptions to have extreme trouble
adjusting, she says
* Cogen: Therapy, research, patient guidance are crucial to
making adoptions work
Editor's note: Patricia Cogen is a child development specialist and
family therapist and the author of "Parenting Your Internationally
Adopted Child -- From Your First Hours Together Through the Teen
Years" (Harvard Common Press, 2008).
Seattle, Washington (CNN) -- By all appearances, Torry Hansen
returned her 7-year-old adopted son to Russia like a pair of pants
that didn't fit. As a result, Russia is considering closing adoptions
to American families.
The parents of internationally adopted children, like myself, and the
agencies that work with them are horrified by the family's actions --
Torry Hansen's mother put the boy on a plane with a note -- but also
empathetic: We know just how challenging and frustrating raising such
a child can be.
But mainly, many are shocked that she apparently did not reach out
for the help that is available. Torry Hansen wanted a child to love,
her mother, Nancy Hansen, told The Associated Press. Unfortunately
her expectations were a mismatch with reality.
Those realities are well known, widely discussed and fully documented
in both popular and professional literature. Internationally adopted
children follow a unique developmental path, displaying extreme
behaviors as a matter of course, and require a unique approach -- a
combination of therapy and education, intense patience and guidance
-- that goes beyond traditional parenting. Knowing the tools of this
trade is the responsibility of every parent who commits to raising an
internationally adopted child.
An adoption is a "final sale."
As a child therapist and a parent of two grown children -- one by
birth, the other by adoption -- I know how difficult this process can be.
When we first picked up our 3-year-old daughter, she had scars on her
body; the orphanage denied knowledge of them. Her early behavior
included screaming night terrors and fears of separation from me. She
lost basic skills, such as toileting, dressing and feeding herself.
She refused to talk -- although she understood everything we told
her. She hoarded food, walked up to strangers and took their hand,
joined up with Asian families (my husband and I are white), and was
so easily overstimulated that even a trip to the grocery store was
overwhelming; she apparently was afraid we might hand her off to some stranger.
I quickly learned that I had to anticipate my daughter's reactions
and be willing to cut short social visits, park visits, birthday
parties and shopping at the first sign that she was beginning to fall
apart. I learned to prepare her for separation using a slinky to
demonstrate "away" (pulling the slinky apart) and "back" -- pushing
it back together to show her that I would come back for her.
When she entered elementary school, the slinky didn't work -- she
needed someone other than me to take her to school to reduce the pain
of separation. At 17 years old she recalled the tantrums she had
refusing to go to school; she admitted that no matter what we told
her, she thought we would leave her there, as her birth family had
left her at the orphanage.
This is a common scenario in international adoptions, which is why
therapy, beginning early on, needs to become an accepted part of life
-- a strategy to defuse larger problems down the road.
Internationally adopted children, especially if they are adopted over
the age of 1 year, typically reject nurturing. Their development is
often atypical: They can appear alternately overly mature or
completely infantile. A year-old child will insist on holding her own
bottle. A 7-year-old will hit, spit and scream.
The children act this way, usually, because of painful past
experiences that always include loss of birth family and -- more
likely than not -- various combinations of malnutrition, abuse and
neglect. Some, like Hansen's adopted son, had alcoholic parents, and
may have fetal alcohol syndrome or other drug related difficulties.
They do not magically change once adopted.
In this boy's case, it appears that the child was in a pressure
cooker, landing in a rural community with a family that was
relatively new to the area and had few community connections.
Imagine how you would feel if suddenly you were dropped in the middle
of Russia, given a new set of clothes, a new name, some unfamiliar
food, and told -- in Russian, which you don't understand -- "Adjust!
You're the luckiest person in the world!"
Most adults would be in shock, confused, disoriented, frightened and
angry, not to mention anxious about where the toilet was. With this
in mind, Hansen's son's behavior -- even after a few months -- seems
neither extreme nor surprising.
It can in fact take years for children like him to adjust to being
part of a family and to express affection for parents. Initially
adoption agencies and social workers must educate prospective
parents, but ultimately parents need to educate themselves.
Google the words "international adoption" or "attachment" and you
will find hundreds of sites offering information and support. You can
chat with other adoptive parents with similar problems; you can
search professional sites to find a local adoption therapist. And of
course you can e-mail your adoption agency for help. Some excellent
sites with extensive article libraries include, Dr. Boris Gindis'
BGCenter, A4everFamily.org, and my own site.
To be an effective, successful parent for a child like the Russian
boy, you have to be willing to grow and change. If you feel the need
to be in control of a situation most of the time, international
adoption is not for you.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Patricia Cogen.
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From rosse at ncf.ca Thu Apr 15 11:56:48 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Thu Apr 15 11:04:12 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Ontario: Study of adults with FASD and their
parents
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100415105638.04eba738@ncf.ca>
April 15, 2010
This is a pilot study of adults and parents in ONTARIO
Please send this on to any families you know.
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2010 10:56:14 -0400
From: Cheryll Duquette
Subject: Study of adults with FASD and their parents
Post-Secondary Experiences of Adults with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
My name is Cheryll Duquette, and I am a professor at the University
of Ottawa. I am doing research on the post-secondary experiences of
adults with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). The purpose of
this study is to understand their experiences so that recommendations
for policies, programs, and services may be made to administrators
and educators.
I am recruiting adults with a diagnosis of a type of FASD and who are
now enrolled in a post-secondary program (transition, apprentice,
college, university, or other) or were enrolled in a post-secondary
program in the past.
I am also recruiting parents of adults with a diagnosis of a type of
FASD who are now enrolled in a post-secondary program or were enrolled in one.
Adults with FASD
Individuals with FASD will be asked to answer questions in an
interview. It may be done in person at a time and place convenient
for them. The interview may also be done over the telephone. The
questions will be on their school experiences. Most of the questions
are open-ended, and the interview should take about 60 minutes.
The interview will be taped recorded and transcripts will be sent to
each participant by mail with a self-addressed stamped envelope.
If you would like to participate in this research, please contact me
at cduquett@uottawa.ca or by telephone at 613-562-5800 (ext. 4040). A
time to do the interview will be arranged. You may give consent over
the telephone or a consent form will be mailed to you with a
self-addressed stamped envelope.
Parents of Adults with FASD
Parents of adults with FASD will be asked to complete an on-line
survey. To access the survey click here, or use this link:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/32Y97JH
Please feel free to forward this recruitment notice to your
networks. If you have any questions about this research, please
contact me at cduquett@uottawa.ca or at 613-562-5800 (ext. 4040).
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From rosse at ncf.ca Fri Apr 16 17:01:17 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Fri Apr 16 16:04:12 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] FASD on Voice of America - Bruce Ritchie &
Teresa Kellerman
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100416154927.03fbb6c0@ncf.ca>
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From rosse at ncf.ca Fri Apr 16 18:36:43 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Fri Apr 16 17:40:11 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Local man walking to raise awareness of
preventable disorder : Belleville, Ont
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100416160136.03fbb430@ncf.ca>
http://www.intelligencer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2532422
The Intelligencer
Belleville, Ontario
News
City
Local man walking to raise awareness of preventable disorder
Posted By Intelligencer Staff
Posted 2 days ago [as of April 16, 2010]
A Belleville man and his Shadow want to change lives and make a difference.
Tom Wilkinson and his dog, Shadow, will walk April 16 for the 10th
year in the hopes of putting an end to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).
Wilkinson knows firsthand the negative effects of alcohol consumption
during pregnancy. At 13, Wilkinson was diagnosed with FASD. He
experiences difficulties with physical, social and emotional
development and has limited intellectual and developmental abilities
due to the disorder.
FASD is 100 per cent preventable and still it is the leading cause of
developmental disabilities in Canada.
During one lifetime, an estimated $1.5 million is spent per person
diagnosed with FASD, according to the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Treatment & Education Centre Inc.
An advocate for services and support for individuals affected by
FASD, Wilkinson has walked across Ontario twice for his cause. He is
determined to increase awareness and encourages member of the
community to walk with him.
Wilkinson a part-time Wal-Mart employee for more than 16 years, will
begin his walk at the Belleville Wal-Mart at 10 a.m. and end at 41
Octavia St. A fundraising barbecue will take place at the Octavia
Street address from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
"Every step of the walk will be worth it if it stops one baby from
being born with FASD," said Wilkinson.
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From rosse at ncf.ca Fri Apr 16 18:45:51 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Fri Apr 16 17:46:11 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Numbers crunched on disease's cost: FASD study
from Manitoba
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100416172134.054587a0@ncf.ca>
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/life/numbers-crunched-on-diseases-cost-91013964.html
Winnipeg Free Press
LIfe & Style
Numbers crunched on disease's cost
Affected kids need funding triple that of general population: study
By: Mia Rabson
16/04/2010 1:00 AM
[Photo of woman's Tshirt with the slogan: I have the power to prevent FASD]
DON HEALY / CANWEST NEWS SERVICE ARCHIVES
Regina woman displays message at recent awareness day. Vancouver
conference is hearing about FASD's economic toll
VANCOUVER -- Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder require
three times as much funding for health care and education as kids
from the general population, a new Manitoba report shows.
The study, released Thursday at the Fourth National Biennial
Conference on Adolescents and Adults with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum
Disorder in Vancouver, is the first of its kind in Canada. It looked
at hospitalization rates, doctor visits, prescription-drug use,
education costs and child care costs of kids with FASD both in and
outside the child welfare system, and kids without an FASD diagnosis
but whose parents have alcohol-abuse problems, and compared those
results to the general population of kids in Manitoba.
Findings show kids with FASD or children whose parents have
alcohol-abuse problems are far more likely to see a doctor, end up in
the hospital and be prescribed medications than kids from the general
population, and that the costs associated with those things are far
higher for kids with FASD.
It also found nearly half of all children in care with FASD need
special education support in school.
Study co-author Don Fuchs, a social work professor at the University
of Manitoba, said this study, along with an earlier report showing
the high costs of FASD to the child welfare system, are ample proof
of the need to prevent more kids from being born with this fully
preventable but incurable disease.
"Our model clearly shows because FASD is preventable, it would make
sense to move more money into prevention," Fuchs said while
presenting the findings at the conference Thursday.
Shelagh Marchenski, a research associate in the faculty of social
work at the U of M, said the findings show not only do children with
FASD use health-care services more often, it costs more per visit
when they do. For example, of 1,360 kids who either had FASD or had
parents with alcohol problems, the total cost in 2006 of doctor
visits, hospital visits and prescription drugs was $1.4 million. That
compares to just under $2 million for 4,964 kids studied in the
general population.
"What that means is 22 per cent of the children incurred 41 per cent
of the costs," said Marchenski.
One of the prime drivers of those costs are mental illnesses, which
account for a far greater number of doctor visits and
hospitalizations for FASD kids than for the general population. In
2006, 31 per cent of kids with FASD in care and 23 per cent of kids
with FASD but not in care, saw a doctor for a mental illness compared
to 4.6 per cent of kids from the general population.
As well, 14.3 per cent of the hospitalizations of kids with FASD were
the result of a mental illness, compared to 2.9 per cent for the
general population.
Kids with FASD are also far more likely to require psychiatric drugs.
More than one in three kids with FASD were prescribed an
antipsychotic medication in 2006, compared to fewer than one in 10
kids from the general population.
The education system is also heavily affected by FASD, with half of
all kids in care with FASD needing additional supports in school,
compared to just 2.9 per cent of the general population of kids.
mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca
FASD facts
What is FASD?
FASD stands for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, an umbrella term
used to describe a number of physical and neurological conditions
affecting people whose mothers drank while pregnant. They include
physical, mental, behavioural and learning disabilities. The
conditions are incurable, though people with FASD can fare well with
specific services and supports. FASD is, however, preventable.
Average total health-care total cost per child:
Kids in care with FASD: $1,403
General population: $403
Education, average total cost per child:
Kids in care with FASD: $7,343
General population: $2,177
Average number of doctor visits per year, average cost per visit:
Kids in care with FASD: 4.4, $364
General population: 3.0, $208
Percentage of kids who saw a doctor for a mental illness:
Kids in care with FASD: 30.9%
General population: 4.6 per cent
Percentage of kids who spent time in the hospital, average cost per
hospital visit:
Kids in care with FASD: 9.0 per cent, $5,804
General population: 4.7%, $3,497
Percentage of kids who were hospitalized with a mental illness:
Kids in care with FASD: 14.3%
General population: 2.9%
Average number of prescriptions issued to kids:
Kids in care with FASD: 12.1
General population: 2.4
-- As Conservative estimates say about one in 100 people have FASD
and Canada's population is about 33 million, about 330,000 Canadians
likely have FASD.
-- Source: Sterling Clarren
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From rosse at ncf.ca Fri Apr 16 18:50:41 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Fri Apr 16 17:52:08 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Picture bleaker for adults: expert: Sterling
Clarren
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100416172203.054587a0@ncf.ca>
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/picture-bleaker-for-adults-expert-91013979.html
Winnipeg Free Press
Local
FASD: Picture bleaker for adults: expert
By: Mary Agnes Welch
16/04/2010 1:00 AM |
VANCOUVER -- There's a huge crack in the health system and adults
with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, many of whom can't hold down
jobs, struggle with drugs and booze and get into trouble with the
law, fall right through it.
That's according to one of North America's top FASD scientists, Dr.
Sterling Clarren, who kicked off a three-day conference on fetal
alcohol spectrum disorder in Vancouver Thursday.
Diagnosing FASD is tricky business, involving everything from IQ and
other neurological tests to detailed physical exams and it usually
requires confirmation that a mother drank while pregnant. In Canada,
most FASD diagnostic clinics are for children only. There are huge
waiting lists to get into those clinics, including the one in
Winnipeg at Health Sciences Centre, and many kids in rural and remote
communities never get diagnosed.
As bad as it is for kids, it's even bleaker for adults. Not only are
there virtually no diagnostic services -- even in Manitoba -- experts
are only just starting to figure out the step-by-step process of
adult diagnosis. Telltale facial features, like a thin upper lip and
small eye slits, aren't as visible in adults and it's tougher to
determine whether an adult's mother drank during pregnancy.
But it may also be unethical to launch adult diagnostic services if
there are no treatment or support programs available for people once
they get their results.
Those questions, plus a lack of funding from government, mean work on
diagnosing adults is slowly grinding to a halt, said Clarren, a
researcher and pediatrics professor at the medical schools at the
University of British Columbia and University of Washington.
Meanwhile, there are an estimated 330,000 Canadians with FASD and
only about 2,000 spots a year in diagnostic clinics, said Clarren.
"Talk about bad numbers," he said. "We are so far behind in our capacity."
maryagnes.welch@freepress.mb.ca
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From rosse at ncf.ca Sat Apr 17 14:51:55 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Sat Apr 17 13:52:06 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] FASD Respite Camp videoconference Manitoba
April 30
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100417135144.04e49df8@ncf.ca>
www.capmanitoba.ca
Click on Events & Happenings
Click on 1009-2010 Info Series Sessions
April 30, 11:45-1:00 pm
FASD Respite Camp
Winnipeg sessions located at the Rehab Centre for Children, 633
Wellington Crescent
all sessions available via televideo Conference
The FASD Information Sessions are sponsored by the
Coalition on Alcohol and Pregnancy (CAP)
To hold your seat for the sessions in Winnipeg only
please email
Kerri Hiebert
kerrihiebert@mts.net
[Contacts are given for The Pas, Thompson, Norway House, Brandon,
Flin Flon, Morden/Winkler, Russell]
From rosse at ncf.ca Sat Apr 17 15:18:13 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Sat Apr 17 14:22:11 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] NeuroDevNet: website & conference Montreal
June 6-7
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100417141805.04eebc68@ncf.ca>
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From rosse at ncf.ca Sat Apr 17 15:34:12 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Sat Apr 17 14:40:08 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Appeal court halves sentence: Winnipeg
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100417143404.0332dbb8@ncf.ca>
"... said the lower court sentencing judge failed to properly
consider several key issues, including ...the fact he suffers from
fetal alcohol spectrum disorder....
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/two-key-witnesses-to-testify-90071512.html
Local
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Two key witnesses to testify
By: Mike McIntyre
7/04/2010 1:00 AM
JURORS were told Tuesday that two women will describe a killing that
capped a wave of violence and prompted immediate action from Winnipeg
police and politicians.
....
Appeal court halves sentence
THE Manitoba Court of Appeal has slashed a prison sentence in half
for a man who robbed the same Winnipeg gas station employee three
times in as many weeks.
Troy Draper, 26, learned this week he will only have to do three
years behind bars, instead of the original six-year penalty he was
given last year.
Justice Freda Steel said the lower court sentencing judge failed to
properly consider several key issues, including Draper's addiction to
crack cocaine, lack of a prior criminal record and the fact he
suffers from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
"The sentencing judge significantly underemphasized the mitigating
factors and the role of rehabilitation in this case," Steel wrote in
her decision.
Draper pleaded guilty to four armed robberies, including three
against the same Domo gas station victim. The other hold-up was at
the Royal Canadian Legion. Draper was out on bail at the time of the
April and May 2008 incidents for a theft charge, court was told. He
wore a mask in all four cases, and was armed with a knife during one.
Draper filed an appeal of his lengthy prison sentence, claiming it
was "unfit, harsh and excessive."
The Crown argued no mistakes were made, especially given how much he
traumatized the one victim who was targeted three times.
"While it is true that denunciation and deterrence are key sentencing
principles in cases involving robberies, that has to be weighed
against the importance of rehabilitation of first offenders," said Steel.
Draper claimed he committed the robberies to get money to feed his
untreated drug habit.
www.mikeoncrime.com
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 7, 2010 B2
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From rosse at ncf.ca Sat Apr 17 15:39:53 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Sat Apr 17 14:46:09 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Identifying young criminals with fetal-alcohol
syndrome worth the cost: Manitoba
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100417143525.04ee3390@ncf.ca>
http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Identifying+young+criminals+with+fetal+alcohol+syndrome+worth+cost+judge+says/2917645/story.html
Times Colonist
Victoria
News
Identifying young criminals with fetal-alcohol
syndrome worth the cost, judge says
By Mary Agnes Welch, Winnipeg Free Press April 17, 2010
VANCOUVER ? More than 300 young criminals are
waiting to get diagnosed and treated for
alcohol-related birth defects through a
crime-fighting program in Manitoba courts.
In the last five years, the FASD Youth Justice
Program has diagnosed about 72 kids with fetal
alcohol spectrum disorder. But judges, lawyers,
probation officers and other court officials have
referred about five times that many kids to the
program, which screens repeat offenders, sends
them to doctors for an official diagnosis and
helps tailor a sentence that might help a young
person with a brain injury stay out of trouble.
It?s a unique program that helps the courts deal
with kids whose brains are simply not hardwired
to learn from traditional punishments like jail
and probation, justice officials told a national
FASD conference here this week.
?We?re very good at the sausage-factory justice,
the Kentucky Fried justice, the millions and
millions served,? said Manitoba provincial court
Judge Mary Kate Harvie. ?But if you take the time
to do it properly, it?s worth the investment.?
The problem is that the youth justice program can
only refer two kids a month to doctors at the
FASD clinic at Winnipeg?s Health Sciences Centre
to get an official diagnosis that counts as
evidence in court. If resources were available,
justice staff say they could send five times that
many kids with suspected FASD to the clinic per month.
The youth justice program, now five years old,
has flown largely under the radar in Manitoba
despite constant public outcry about chronic car thieves and young offenders.
Everyone from defence lawyers to judges to
probation officers can refer a youth to the
program, where a team of co-ordinators do an
initial screen and do some detective work,
checking out old case files and even tracking
down biological mothers to ask if they drank during pregnancy.
Program co-ordinator Dan Neault said, when he
started his job, he had to go out for a cigarette
before getting up the nerve to call mothers and
pose such a tough question. But he found mothers
remarkably willing to admit they?d been drinking,
partly because they were so desperate to get help
for their out-of-control teen.
?They were never picked up in the school system,
they were never picked up in the child welfare
system, they weren?t picked up anywhere,? said Neault.
More than 90 per cent of the kids diagnosed with
FASD have IQs in the low to ?mentally deficient?
range, raising questions about how effective
punitive jail-time is in deterring crime when
young people might not have the mental capacity
to understand the nature of what they?ve done.
Once kids get a diagnosis, that sparks a shift in
sentencing and followup. Probation officers can
tailor how they communicate all the arcane rules
of probation, staff at group homes and the youth
centre can offer more proactive supervision and
the youth can get access to services and programs
meant especially for people with FASD.
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From rosse at ncf.ca Sat Apr 17 15:48:00 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Sat Apr 17 14:52:08 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Petition drive in US urges Russia not to
freeze adoptions despite furor over abandonment
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100417144752.04e3d990@ncf.ca>
[No mention of FASD here.
American adoption advocates and parents should also be petitioning
for pre-adoption training and post adoption and Mental Health & FASD
support, so that families know to expect that they will need services
and know where to go for help, and so that real help is actually
available. They should be connecting with the FASD community wherever
they live]ERoss, adoption/permanency & FASD educator
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/world/breakingnews/petition-drive-in-us-urges-russia-not-to-freeze-adoptions-despite-furor-over-abandonment-90781134.html
Winnipeg Free Press
World Breaking News
The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION
Petition drive in US urges Russia not to freeze adoptions despite
furor over abandonment
By: David Crary, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
13/04/2010 4:24 PM
NEW YORK - Worried over a threatened freeze of adoptions from Russia,
thousands of American adoption advocates are petitioning leaders of
the two nations to prevent such a step even as they decry a U.S.
woman's abandonment of her adopted Russian son.
Poignant pleas from would-be adoptive parents were included in the
petition to President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart,
Dmitri Medvedev, that was being co-ordinated Tuesday by the Joint
Council on International Children's Services. The council, which
represents many U.S. agencies engaged in international adoption,
estimates there are about 3,000 pending U.S. applications for
adoptions from Russia.
"My husband and I have been working toward a Russian adoption for two
years now," wrote Susan Busek, a teacher from Loveland, Colorado.
"Please know that there are many would-be parents like us, who want
only the opportunity to be parents and give our love."
The petition, which quickly gathered more than 11,000 electronic
signatures, is a response to the outcry in Russia over the incident
last week in which a nurse from Tennessee arranged to send her
7-year-old adoptive son back to Moscow alone on a plane, asserting
that the boy had severe psychological problems.
Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, and its children's rights
ombudsman, Pavel Astakhov, have suggested that Russia suspend all
U.S. adoptions until Moscow and Washington sign a bilateral adoption agreement.
"How can we prosecute a person who abused the rights of a Russian
child abroad?" Astakhov said in a televised interview. "If there was
an adoption treaty in place, we would have legal means to protect
Russian children abroad."
Lavrov called the return of the boy, Artyom Savelyev, "the last
straw" after a string of other cases in which adopted Russian
children were mistreated.
As of Tuesday, however, no freeze had been imposed, and U.S. agencies
handling adoptions from Russia told their clients that applications
remained active.
The U.S. State Department is arranging for a high-level delegation to
visit Moscow next week to discuss the incident and the possibility of
some sort of new adoption agreement.
In the past, the United States has resisted Russian entreaties to
sign a formal adoption pact, contending that an international accord
called the Hague Convention would be sufficient once Russia ratified
it. But the latest incident appears to have softened the U.S. stance.
"We're willing to talk about some sort of bilateral understanding
where we would ensure that these kinds of things could not happen,"
the U.S. ambassador to Russia, John Beyrle, told CBS television.
Tom DeFilipo, president of the Joint Council on International
Children's Services, said he was not sure if a possible U.S.-Russian
pact would require ratification by the Senate, but pledged that his
group would help work for ratification if that was the case.
The petition being promoted by the council calls the abandonment of
the Russian boy "an isolated incident ... not at all indicative of
the thousands of successful adoptions between Russia and the United States."
It calls on Medvedev and Obama to ensure that "every child's right to
a permanent and safe family is not interrupted due to the suspension
of intercountry adoption services." It calls on the two governments
to "aggressively prosecute any individual involved in child abuse to
the fullest extent of the law."
Larisa Mason, executive director of an Oakmont, Pennsylvania,
adoption agency called International Assistance Group, urged the
American government to be flexible in the upcoming talks with the Russians.
"We need to work with the Russians on putting together something that
will protect children in circumstances like this," she said. "This is
the most unfortunate incident, and maybe this will push our
government to do something more."
Mason said many Russians felt that 7-year-old Artyom - and other
adopted Russian children - were treated like "second-class citizens"
in the United States. She said Russians were outraged that no charges
had been filed as of Tuesday against the adoptive mother in
Tennessee, Torry Hansen.
One of the couples working with Mason's agency to adopt a Russian
orphan expressed understanding for the outrage being voiced in Moscow.
"The number one objective has always got to be the welfare of the
children," said Sharon Johnson of Atlanta. "But I'd ask them to not
penalize all of the waiting families who can provide loving homes to
raise these children."
Johnson and her husband, Don - both attorneys - already have an
adopted 4-year-old daughter from Russia and embarked last year on
efforts to adopt another girl. They fervently hope the abandonment
incident won't delay the process.
"The families seeking to adopt are not represented by this woman,"
said Sharon Johnson, referring to Hansen. "We want to help children,
we want to love them and grow old with them, and watch them do sports
and ballet, and give them the opportunities here that they can't get
growing up in an orphanage."
In recent years, the number of foreign children being adopted by
Americans has sharply declined - and Russia has been a big factor.
There were more than 5,800 U.S. adoptions from Russia in 2004, and
only 1,586 last year.
Louise Schnaier, director of international adoption at the
Spence-Chapin agency in New York, said there is a perception in the
adoption community that many of the children being adopted out of
Russian orphanages can present special challenges - due to such
conditions as fetal alcohol syndrome.
"Ultimately we have to depend on the families to give us feedback so
we can help them," she said. "There's inherently a lot of unknowns,
and families need to be clear about that."
Natasha Shaginian-Needham, co-founder of the Happy Families
International adoption agency in Cold Spring, New York, said she had
no sympathy for Torry Hansen.
"She had many sources to go to, to get help: the adoption agency, the
Department of Social Services, counselling, post-adoption support
groups, and many more who would guide her appropriately in this
crisis situation," Shaginian-Needham said.
"There is a child who cannot be treated as a broken toy that gets
sent back to the store if it stops working," she added. "This
abominable action is a crime."
Associated Press writer Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow contributed to
this report.
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From rosse at ncf.ca Sun Apr 18 09:07:28 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Sun Apr 18 08:12:26 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Fetal alcohol program fights crime: Manitoba
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100418080720.0346eba0@ncf.ca>
www.canada.com
17 Apr 2010
Edmonton Journal
MARY AGNES WELCH
Fetal alcohol program fights crime
Man. courts tailor youth sentencing
We're very good at the sausage-factory justice, the Kentucky Fried
justice, the millions and millions served. But if you take the time
to do it properly, it's worth the investment. Manitoba provincial
court Judge Mary Kate Harvie
More than 300 young criminals are waiting to get diagnosed and
treated for alcohol-related birth defects through a crime-fighting
program in Manitoba courts.
In the last five years, the FASD Youth Justice Program has diagnosed
about 72 kids with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. But judges,
lawyers, probation officers and other court officials have referred
about five times that many kids to the program, which screens repeat
offenders, sends them to doctors for an official diagnosis and helps
tailor a sentence that might help a young person with a brain injury
stay out of trouble.
It's a unique program that helps the courts deal with kids whose
brains are simply not hard-wired to learn from traditional
punishments such as jail and probation, justice officials told a
national FASD conference here this week.
"We're very good at the sausage-factory justice, the Kentucky Fried
justice, the millions and millions served," said Manitoba provincial
court Judge Mary Kate Harvie. "But if you take the time to do it
properly, it's worth the investment."
The problem is the youth justice program can only refer two kids a
month to doctors at the FASD clinic at Winnipeg's Health Sciences
Centre to get an official diagnosis that counts as evidence in court.
If resources were available, justice staff say they could send five
times that many kids with suspected FASD to the clinic per month.
The youth justice program, now five years old, has flown largely
under the radar in Manitoba despite constant public outcry about
chronic car thieves and young offenders.
Everyone from defence lawyers to judges to probation officers can
refer a youth to the program, where a team of co-ordinators does an
initial screen and some detective work, checking out old case files
and even tracking down biological mothers to ask if they drank during
pregnancy.
Program co-ordinator Dan Neault said when he started his job he had
to go out for a cigarette before getting up the nerve to call mothers
and pose such a tough question. But he found mothers remarkably
willing to admit they had been drinking, partly because they were so
desperate to get help for their out-of-control teen.
"They were never picked up in the school system, they were never
picked up in the child welfare system, they weren't picked up
anywhere," said Neault.
More than 90 per cent of the kids diagnosed with FASD have IQs in the
low to "mentally deficient" range, raising questions about how
effective punitive jail-time is in deterring crime when young people
might not have the mental capacity to understand the nature of what
they've done.
Once kids get a diagnosis, that sparks a shift in sentencing and followup.
Probation officers can tailor how they communicate all the arcane
rules of probation, staff at group homes and the youth centre can
offer more proactive supervision and the youth can get access to
services and programs meant especially for people with FASD.
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From rosse at ncf.ca Sun Apr 18 09:26:49 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Sun Apr 18 08:28:11 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Forging a better future: Whitecrow Village
FASD camp: B.C.
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100418082636.0346e3f0@ncf.ca>
www.canada.com
A camp that helped improve the prospects of
children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder needs a new home
18 Apr 2010
Times Colonist
HEATHER REID
Special to the Times Colonist
Forging a better future
Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
learned coping strategies and ways to defy
predictions of a dismal future at a camp that now needs a new home
?It took a lot of learning about FASD to accept
where I needed help.? Ken Kissinger, 29, a camp
leader who suffers from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
Growing up, Ken Kissinger heard about all the
things he would never be able to do. Then in
2004, at a special camp in Cowichan Lake, he
started learning about all the things he could accomplish.
[Photo]
PHOTOS COURTESY WHITECROW VILLAGE FASD SOCIETY
At a camp run by Whitecrow Village, above and
left, children with FASD take part in mix of
typical camp activities as well as specialized
programs designed to help them better manage
their disorder. The campers attend with their
families and other professionals who also take part in the programs.
Born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, known
as FASD, Kissinger had been told he would never
hold a job. But at the camp, run by the Whitecrow
Village, he saw a different reality. Adults with
FASD lead the programs and workshops for kids,
parents and professionals on how to manage the disorder.
FASD describes a range of disorders that are the
result of brain damage caused to a fetus when the
mother drinks alcohol during pregnancy. The
resulting physical, cognitive and behavioural effects persist throughout life.
Children with FASD are usually below average
weight and height. Some have a distinctive set of
facial features, such as small eyes relative to
the space between the eyes, a long, smooth area
between the nose and lips and a thin upper lip.
Others might have poor motor skills. Learning
disabilities, impulse control problems and
communication difficulties are common.
Without help, people with FASD have trouble at
home and at school because of their poor
short-term memories and difficulty transferring
specific learning to global situations. Someone
with FASD might perform a task daily, then one
day forget how to do it. Or forget that they
should do it. This behaviour challenges parents
and teachers because it often looks intentional,
like the child is being a smartalec.
Childhood problems often lead to secondary issues
when people with FASD fail to finish school, turn
to alcohol or drugs, break the law or suffer
psychologically because they don?t fit in to ?normal? daily life.
As a child with FASD, Kissinger couldn?t control
his impulses. That, coupled with learning and
memory problems, meant he was always getting into
trouble in his Oak Bay neighbourhood. These days,
organization and financial challenges affect
Kissinger more than the average 29-year-old. He
says he recently spent too much money on pants
because he forgot he had several pairs in his
dresser. With the pants out of sight, he completely forgot he owned them.
Still, skills Kissinger learned at the camp have
helped. A team leader at Whitecrow, he lectures
at conferences on FASD, addressing experts who
often don?t believe he has the condition.
?It took a lot of learning about FASD to accept where I needed help,? he says.
Now in her 60s, Kee Warner learned about the
frustrations of the disorder after she moved to
B.C. in her early 20s and found work as a bridge
inspector for the Ministry of Transportation. She
became a foster parent and eventually adopted a
son ? later to discover he had FASD. Warner went
on to raise five boys with the condition and fostered 13 others.
With nowhere to turn for information or support,
Warner figured out for herself that rigid
routines and a diet free of sugar and junk food
controlled the worst behavioural problems
associated with FASD. She learned to communicate
with her kids using direct, specific language and
to accept that they needed more reminders than the average child.
Because summer camp had been an important part of
her childhood, she wanted her kids to enjoy the
same experience. When she called to register, she
told staff about the structures and routines her
boys needed to function well. She was usually
dismissed as a nervous parent. A few days after
camp started she would get the call to come pick
up her kids because camp counsellors couldn?t control them.
After her children were sent home from ?normal?
camp, Warner established Whitecrow camp in 1996
to help children with FASD. As at other camps,
kids canoe, ride horses and go hiking. Unlike
other camps, the diet isn?t heavy on hot dogs and
s?mores. Junk food and sweets disappear from the
table because while most kids get wound up on
sugar, people with FASD spin right out of control.
While it was devastating for her children to be
asked to leave camp, ?it started a good thing,? Warner says.
At other camps kids leave behind family and
friends. Whitecrow campers arrive at with an
entourage ? their families, the professionals
they work with, even their neighbours. Doctors,
police officers and judges also come to learn about FASD.
The camps offer education programs, some just for
the kids, others for parents, caregivers and
professionals. Kids participate in physical
activity before settling down for learning
because it helps them focus and retain the material presented.
At Whitecrow, visuals and graphics are used to
communicate and team leaders avoid talking in
abstractions because kids with FASD don?t
understand them. The kids learn to use checklists
to remember things they need to do. The parents
learn how predictability and healthy eating
smooth out the day. Everyone learns that people
with FASD need a network of support throughout
their lives to function at their best.
In a demonstration of the possibilities,
Whitecrow employs adults with FASD to run the
camps ? the leaders who first gave Kissinger a glimpse of his potential.
The camps have evolved into Live-in Fetal Alcohol
Spectrum Disorder sessions, or LIFE sessions, run
under the umbrella of Whitecrow Village FASD Society, based in Nanaimo.
Warner is recognized as a pioneer in FASD
intervention programs. She is the executive
director of Whitecrow, which also offers support
programs for schools, addictions recovery and
interdependent living and employment programs for adults with FASD.
Originally held in the Interior of B.C., the
sessions have been offered as far away as Ireland
and Alaska. For the last few years, the camps
have run at the Cowichan Lake Outdoor Recreation
Centre, but that location is only available for a few weeks each summer.
Whitecrow is now looking for a stable, long-term
home to offer the full range of programs in one
setting, Warner says. Eventually, Whitecrow hopes
to expand and provide a safe community for its staff, too.
Kissinger says he?s proof that Whitecrow deserves
a permanent home. Before attending the camp, he
never had any effective help for his FASD.
?I was kind of like a pathogen when I came to
Whitecrow. Everyone wanted to get away from me,? he says.
After always hearing that he?d never amount to
anything, Kissinger fell in with the wrong crowd
and had serious drug and alcohol problems. His
parents tried everything, he says, but he kept
barging down the same troubled path.
It wasn?t until he attended Whitecrow that he
stopped drinking and went back to school. He
earned a community support worker certificate and
got a job as team leader at Whitecrow.
?He puts a personal face to what FASD is ? and
what it can be,? says JenniferLeigh Gould, who
leads the education programs at Whitecrow.
When people with FASD receive the right support,
she says, they experience such a big improvement
that, ironically, it can work against them. They
start to act more ?normal,? and those around them
forget they have the condition and stop taking it
into account, Gould says. ?Especially in the
school system, that?s when they yank the
supports,? she says. Once the support is gone, the difficulties return.
In the same way, the moment Whitecrow appeared to
be doing well, some of its support disappeared.
The Victoria Foundation funded new program
development at the society, but stipulated that
it could not be used for the existing LIFE
sessions. The provincial government saw the new
money and cut the funding it had provided the camp?s ongoing programs.
?It?s been very difficult,? Warner says. Not only
is Whitecrow unable to offer what is arguably the
key program, but staff with FASD lose a support
that had helped them gain success.
Brian Christie, a neuroscientist with the
University of Victoria Island medical program,
says the type of programs offered by Whitecrow
can produce lasting changes for people with FASD.
Christie has done groundbreaking research that
shows physical activity can help reverse the
effects of fetal alcohol exposure in rats. His
experiments showed the animals perform better at
cognitive tasks after a session of exercise.
?What you see is an enhancement in [brain]
structure,? he says. In other words, physical
changes in the brain underlie the behavioural changes.
In the womb, alcohol exposure depletes growth
factors involved in fetal development. In adults
and children, those growth factors increase with exercise.
Whitecrow primes people with FASD for learning
just the way researchers would prescribe:
exercise followed by cognitive and behavioural
work. With the growth factors flowing, the mental
activity builds new cells and connections under
the grey matter, Christie says.
His disappointed at Whitecrow?s loss of funding,
saying the programs should be expanded, not cut
back. ?These kids get disadvantaged and disadvantaged,? he says.
Every year between one and five in 1,000 babies
born in Canada have FASD, according to Health
Canada statistics. Many cases go undiagnosed, or
misdiagnosed as attention deficit disorder or
autism, Christie says. People see FASD as a
problem of the underprivileged, especially
aboriginal people on reserves, but it?s also an
issue for well-off and middle-class women who
still think it?s OK to have a drink while
pregnant, Christie says. ?I see it too often.?
There is no safe amount of alcohol during
pregnancy, Christie says. One glass of wine at
the wrong time can have serious consequences if
that just happens to be the day the baby?s hippocampus is under construction.
To establish a permanent home for its programs,
Warner says Whitecrow needs about 30 hectares of
land near an airport and a body of water suitable
for recreation. More than 200 families sit on the
organization?s waiting list. Warner worries
because she knows what it?s like to struggle
raising FASD kids with little support.
[3 Photos]
?Those are 200 families that could be in the situation I was in.?
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From rosse at ncf.ca Tue Apr 20 15:13:06 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Tue Apr 20 14:16:12 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Central Alberta man jailed for second sexual
assault of his wife
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100420141259.045c4128@ncf.ca>
Central Alberta man jailed for second sexual assault of his wife
The Canadian Press. Toronto: Apr 16, 2010.
RED DEER, Alta. _ A central Alberta man has been sentenced to prison
for sexually assaulting his wife while serving a conditional sentence
for sexually assaulting her on a previous occassion.
The 41-year-old man can't be named because of a court-imposed ban
prohibiting the victim's name from being published.
Court heard the man attacked his wife in 2007 while serving a
conditional sentence in the community for a previous sexual assault on her.
Justice Sheilah Martin sentenced the man to 3 1/2 years for the
second assault on top of the 1 1/2 years he must now serve for the first crime.
Furing the trial defence lawyer Norman Clair said his client, who has
fetal alcohol syndrome, believed it was his wife's duty to have sex with him.
They are now divorced. (Red Deer Advocate)
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From rosse at ncf.ca Tue Apr 20 15:13:21 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Tue Apr 20 14:16:20 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Man convicted of sexually assaulting disabled,
pregnant prostitute: B.C.
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100420141314.04408510@ncf.ca>
Man convicted of sexually assaulting disabled, pregnant prostitute
The Canadian Press. Toronto: Apr 16, 2010.
KAMLOOPS, B.C. _ A man has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a
mentally disabled and pregnant prostitute near Kamloops, B.C., last summer.
Dennis Bragg was also convicted of unlawful confinement and the Crown
is considering an application to have him declared a dangerous offender.
The victim, who cannot be named, suffers from fetal alcohol syndrome
and has the mental capacity of a six-year-old.
The attack happened in June of last year when Bragg drove the woman
to a lake after the two negotiated a price of $100 for sexual services.
The woman says she engaged in a variety of erotic behaviours for more
than four hours and was held by Bragg despite asking numerous times to go home.
Court heard at the time of the assault she was seven months pregnant. (CHNL)
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From rosse at ncf.ca Tue Apr 20 15:13:50 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Tue Apr 20 14:16:23 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] FASD eye opener: Manitoba
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100420141342.04681958@ncf.ca>
FASD eye opener
Anonymous. Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg, Man.: Apr 17, 2010. pg. A.18
For decades now, the simple math has put the cost to the public
system of a baby born with alcohol-induced brain damage at $1 million
over his or her lifetime. Over time that's moved closer to $1.5
million, but it is a rough estimate. Now, however, there are some
firm numbers attached to the tab and the picture coming into focus is
an eye opener.
The itemized account constructed by University of Manitoba
researchers measured the costs to the health and education systems of
children with and without fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. The
disproportionate reliance annually on health services and special
supports in school is stark -- FASD children will be in hospital at
about twice the rate of the general population and their visits cost
40 per cent more. They are far likelier to be hospitalized with a
mental illness, more than three times as likely to be on
anti-psychotic medications. In school, special supports for FASD kids
will cost an average $7,343 yearly, $5,000 more than for kids in the
general population.
Some 135 Manitobans are born each year affected by alcohol. The U of
M study is a small peek at the profound impact FASD has on children,
who will need intensive support to get through school. Further, the
total costs are likely underestimated as Manitoba, like most
provinces, has just begun to scratch at meeting the needs of FASD, to
keep them from falling out of school, into poverty and crime or from
becoming victims of crime.
Once a child is grown and out of school, supports fall off, as does
the chance of diagnosis. For many, the first mention of FASD comes in
a court-ordered, pre-sentence report.
It is easy to do the math, here. Manitoba spends just more than $10
million yearly on FASD. There is expected to be more money allotted
this year to prevention, but it will not be enough. Until the money
and work to convince and coerce pregnant women not to drink is
redoubled, there will be no getting ahead of the curve of this scourge.
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From rosse at ncf.ca Tue Apr 20 15:14:10 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Tue Apr 20 14:16:26 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] RCA Annual Meeting & FACE Satellite: San
Antonio Texas June 26-30
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100420141403.0441ce40@ncf.ca>
[Times have changed. A few years ago this
organization's meeting did not feature FASD.
Much of interest on FASD at this conference in San Antonia, Texas June 26-30
Effects of alcohol on the brain; FASD:research to
prevention: Kathleen Sulik keynote; Collaborative
initiative on FAS; How alcohol affects the brain;
Proposed changes for substance use in DSM-V;
Maternal-fetal interactions in addressing
mechanisms & amelioration strategies for FASD;
Functional neuroadaptive effects of repeated
moderate ethanol exposure; Role of serotonin &
serotonin receptors in prenatal & postnatal
effects of ethanol; Nutrient modulation of FASD risk]
33rd Annual RSA Scientific Meeting
June 26-30, 2010
The primary goal of the Research Society on
Alcoholism (RSA) meeting is to provide a forum
for alcohol researchers to present their latest
findings and to learn about new research
developments in an environment that will promote
interaction at both the professional and personal
level. The FASD Study Group meeting will be held June 26th.
Location:
Grand Hyatt San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas USA
Website:
http://www.rsoa.org/2010meet-indexPre.htm
E-mail: DebbyRSA@sbcglobal.net
Tel: 512-454-0022
Fax: 512-454-0812
From: Susan Santiago
Subject: RSA Annual Meeting & FACE Satellite
Each year the FACE Research Network hosts a
Satellite meeting at the Annual conference of the
Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) . The
objective of the FACE Satellite is to provide a
forum for the introduction of Canadian FASD research.
If you have new research (at any stage of
development) that you would like to present in a
short 10-minute presentation, please e-mail your
abstract to me and we will add you to the
agenda. The deadline for abstract submissions is April 15, 2010.
This year?s RSA will take place June 26 ? 30,
2010, at the Grand Hyatt in San Antonio,
Texas. Our FACE Satellite meeting will be held
on Sunday, June 27th from 12:15 p.m. to 1:45
pm. All FACE members (and their guests) are
cordially invited to attend. There is no
registration fee; RSVP by May 15, 2010.
For information on the 33rd Annual RSA Scientific
Meeting visit their website @ http://www.rsoa.org/2010meet-indexAbs.htm
Thank you. I look forward to receiving your presentation abstracts!
Susan Santiago
FACE Research Network Coordinator
416-813-8084
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From rosse at ncf.ca Tue Apr 20 15:14:23 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Tue Apr 20 14:16:29 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] ARND in DSM V
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100420141416.04681fc0@ncf.ca>
[There are two sides to the question of FASD & the DSM:
I have been told that "one reason parents in Autism got so far is
that they got Autism labelled as a neurological, not a psychiatric
condition. This gave them voice, a solid voice." Dr. Joe Hornick,
University of Calgary, speaking at an Ottawa conference March 30, 2010
I wonder why parents want FASD to be a psychological condition in the
DSM when they don't want their child labelled as "behavioural" for an
IEP [Individual Education Plan] school, but prefer "physical"???
I have been told by a psychologist:
" FAS is in the DSM III. See page 877 of the DSM IV TR.
It is an Axis III diagnosis, like Down syndrome. [Axis III for
medical conditions]
It should not be an Axis I or II diagnosis as these are based on
behavior and the diagnosis of FAS requires a physical examination,
which most psychiatrists will not do. It is already where it should
be as an Axis III diagnosis.
It is perfectly possible now to give a DSM IV diagnosis with FAS on
Axis III....if FAS has previously been diagnosed by a qualified
clinician..."]ERoss
>From: "Tyla Sawyer"
>Date: Wed, 31 Mar 2010 16:57:27 -0700
>Subject: [AdoptFASD] ARND in DSM V
>
>I received this from Mary J. O'Connor, PhD, ABPP. Adjunct Professor,
>Program Director, UCLA ABC Partial Hospital Program, Training
>Director, Tarjan Center on Developmental Disabilities
>
>To send out to families that want to advocate for ARND being
>included in the DSM-V. Please feel free to send on to other parents. - Tyla
>
>You have an opportunity to respond to the call for public comment
>issued by the American Psychiatric Association, which is considering
>diagnostic changes for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 5th
>edition (DSM-V). Currently, there are no plans to include
>conditions related to prenatal alcohol exposure in the DSM-V. There
>are potential benefits to the inclusion of such diagnoses in the
>DSM-V, including better recognition of this developmental disability
>by mental health professionals, a better understanding of
>appropriate treatment approaches, and greater public awareness.
>
>If you would like to comment on whether you think conditions related
>to prenatal alcohol exposure should be included in the DSM-V, please
>go the DSM-V website
>(http://www.dsm5.org/Pages/Default.aspx).
>You must first register in order to comment (upper right corner of
>the page). After you have registered, you will receive a password
>to log in. Once you are logged in, click on the tab, "Proposed
>Revisions" and then click on the tab for "Conditions Proposed by
>Outside Sources." You will see a box at the bottom of the page
>where you can provide your comments. You must also place your
>comments in the tab for "Substance Related Disorders" under "Alcohol
>Use Disorder." Although reading the criteria for the alcohol use
>disorder will seem like you should not comment here, we have been
>advised that this committee is open to hearing our comments so
>please add them here also.
>
>Sample comment:
>
>Individuals affected by prenatal alcohol exposure often experience
>significant psychosocial, emotional, and behavioral problems. These
>individuals may not respond as expected to well established
>medication regimens and to many forms of traditional
>psychotherapy. I believe that recognition of this developmental
>disability in the DSM-V will result in more accurate diagnoses, more
>appropriate treatment, and improved mental health outcomes. In order
>to reflect the most current research literature and clinical
>practice, it is imperative that the DSM-V recognizes conditions
>related to prenatal alcohol exposure.
>
>Comments should be submitted by April 7, 2010 before the committee
>meets. If you cannot submit this by April 7, you must submit before
>April 20, 2010 when the opportunity for public comment will end.
>
>
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From rosse at ncf.ca Tue Apr 20 15:14:38 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Tue Apr 20 14:16:32 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] First European Conference on FASD,
3-5 Nov. 2010, Netherlands
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100420141430.04681d30@ncf.ca>
http://www.eurocare.org/press/upcoming_events/first_european_conference_on_fasd_3_5_november_2010_netherlands
eurocare
European Alcohol Policy Alliance
Upcoming events
First European Conference on FASD, 3 - 5 - November 2010, Netherlands
03/11/2010 9:00 am
05/11/2010 5:00 pm
The aim of this conference is to bring together European researchers,
public health workers, and FAS-related NGOs for the first time in
order to share knowledge and promote collaborations. Presentations
will cover latest developments worldwide, with an emphasis on
European experience:
* Latest research on FASD in Europe
* Public health and preventions
* Diagnosis and intervention
* Consequences for justice and politics
This conference will be held in the conference center of the medieval
Rolduc monastery in Kerkrade, Netherlands, near Maastricht. The
meeting will begin on Wednesday evening with dinner buffet and
plenary session, with sessions all day on Thursday, and ending at
noon on Friday, for traveling convenience. Easy to reach by train (to
Kerkrade or Aachen), or by air to Aachen/Maastricht airport or
Cologne/Bonn airport.
The conference is hosted by the FAS Foundation of the Netherlands.
To receive updated information via e-mail, ask for your name to be
added to the mailing list by mailing to
info@eufasd.org.
Conference hotel:
Rolduc Conference Center
Heyendallaan 82
6464 EP KERKRADE
The Netherlands
Rolduc website
Reservations for lodging will be handled via the FAS Foundation of
the Netherlands
For more information, visit
http://www.eufasd.org/EN/conf_en.php
Kerkrade
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From rosse at ncf.ca Thu Apr 22 15:51:29 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Thu Apr 22 14:52:09 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Study of adults with FASD and their parents
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100422145122.038ddb78@ncf.ca>
This notice may have missed you before.
Please send on to anyone who knows an adult with FASD who has had
training after high school: transition, apprentice, college,
university, or other.
The survey has been opened to anyone who would like to participate,
not just people in Ontario.
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:50:13 -0400
From: Shari Orders
Subject: RE: Study of adults with FASD and their parents
Hello all,
This is friendly reminder that our online research survey will be
accessible until May 4th. If you could share this recruitment notice
with your networks and encourage them to participate, it would be
most appreciated.
Also, we would like to interview adults with a diagnosis with FASD
about their post-secondary education experiences. Interviews can be
done in person or over the phone. If you know of anyone who might be
interested in participating, please feel free to forward this message.
With thanks,
Cheryll & Shari
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Post-Secondary Experiences of Adults with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
To: FASD Ontario Support Groups,
My name is Cheryll Duquette, and I am a professor at the University
of Ottawa. I am doing research on the post-secondary experiences of
adults with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). The purpose of
this study is to understand their experiences so that recommendations
for policies, programs, and services may be made to administrators
and educators.
I am recruiting adults with a diagnosis of a type of FASD and who are
now enrolled in a post-secondary program (transition, apprentice,
college, university, or other) or were enrolled in a post-secondary
program in the past.
I am also recruiting parents of adults with a diagnosis of a type of
FASD who are now enrolled in a post-secondary program or were enrolled in one.
Adults with FASD
Individuals with FASD will be asked to answer questions in an
interview. It may be done in person at a time and place convenient
for them. The interview may also be done over the telephone. The
questions will be on their school experiences. Most of the questions
are open-ended, and the interview should take about 60 minutes.
The interview will be taped recorded and transcripts will be sent to
each participant by mail with a self-addressed stamped envelope.
If you would like to participate in this research, please contact me
at cduquett@uottawa.ca or by telephone at 613-562-5800 (ext. 4040). A
time to do the interview will be arranged. You may give consent over
the telephone or a consent form will be mailed to you with a
self-addressed stamped envelope.
Parents of Adults with FASD
Parents of adults with FASD will be asked to complete an on-line
survey. To access the survey click here, or use this link:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/32Y97JH
Please feel free to forward this recruitment notice to your
networks. If you have any questions about this research, please
contact me at cduquett@uottawa.ca or at 613-562-5800 (ext. 4040).
--
Shari Orders
Ph.D. Candidate
Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa
home 613.730.1998
cell 613.762.9954
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From rosse at ncf.ca Fri Apr 23 17:05:37 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Fri Apr 23 16:10:10 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Evaluation of a Successful FASD Coalition in
Ontario, Canada
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100423160339.03faff30@ncf.ca>
["A secure funding source could turn this
community capacity effort into a well-functioning
community-based FASD program - at least that is the vision.]
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/123352263/abstract
Medical, Veterinary and Health Sciences
Nursing
PHN
Public Health Nursing
Volume 27 Issue 3, Pages 240 - 247
Published Online: 14 Apr 2010
? 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Abstract | References | Full Text: HTML, PDF
(Size: 185K) | Related Articles | Citation Tracking
Special Features: Clinical Concepts
Evaluation of a Successful Fetal Alcohol Spectrum
Disorder Coalition in Ontario, Canada
Donna M. Clarke-McMullen 1
1 B.Sc., R.N., M.N., is Clinical Educator,
Mental Health Program, Hotel Dieu Hospital, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Correspondence to:
Donna Clarke-McMullen, PO Box 393, Verona, ON,
Canada K0H 2W0. E-mail:
dclarkemcmullen@hotmail.com
Copyright ? 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
KEYWORDS
coalitions ? community capacity ? fetal alcohol
spectrum disorder ? health promotion ? public health nursing
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT Leading a successful coalition that
benefits both the members and the community is a
difficult task. Coalitions are complex and
require a great deal of skill to initiate, lead,
and evaluate. This article examines a successful
coalition, developed to build community capacity
to address fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
(FASD). FASD is a complex, multidimensional
health issue common in many communities.
Coalitions can be effective in tackling these
types of issues and fit with community
capacity-building approaches to health promotion.
The Internal Coalition Outcome Hierarchy (ICOH)
model (Cramer, Atwood, & Stoner, 2006a, 2006b) is
used to retrospectively examine the internal
constructs of the FASD Action Network and provide
useful lessons learned for other coalition
leaders and public health nurses. This
hierarchical model demonstrates that sound
internal processes lead to more successful
outcomes and ultimately an increased impact on
community issues. The usefulness of ICOH as a
tool in evaluating the FASD Action Network and
its application to other health-promotion
situations with community capacity goals is described in this article.
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From rosse at ncf.ca Fri Apr 23 17:06:40 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Fri Apr 23 16:10:14 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Results of a Nurse-Led Workshop Designed to
Prevent Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Buffalo
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100423160615.045af958@ncf.ca>
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From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Apr 28 22:14:33 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Wed Apr 28 21:16:12 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Russian Adoptees Get a Respite on the Range
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100428195246.03d5d1e0@ncf.ca>
Article on the front page of the New York Times
"... the wrenching life that many face as a
legacy of fetal alcohol, institutionalization,
poverty and the sometimes socially corrosive survival skills..."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/27/us/27ranch.html?ref=todayspaper
New York Times
U.S.
Russian Adoptees Get a Respite on the Range
By KIRK JOHNSON
Published: April 26, 2010
[Photo]
Janie Osborne for The New York Times
Joyce Sterkel led Phillip Harding on horseback at
her ranch in Eureka, Montana.
EUREKA, Mont. ? Hundreds of adopted children,
most of them Russian, have come here to northwest
Montana to live and perhaps find healing grace
with the horses and cows and rolling fields on
Joyce Sterkel?s ranch. Some want to return to the
families that adopted them, despite their troubles.
[Photo of ranch entrance]
Janie Osborne for The New York Times
The Ranch for Kids is five miles from the
Canadian border in a homesteader?s valley.
Others, like Vanya Klusyk, have seen far too much
of what the world can dish out.
Vanya, 17, suffers from fetal alcohol syndrome,
which affects his reasoning ability, his impulse
control, his intelligence and even his height.
Then there were the beatings in the Russian
orphanage, he said, where he lived from age 8 to
14, until a California couple brought him to America.
?There were bigger boys, 18 and 19, and I was too
small,? he said in a quiet voice, standing in the
bright sun outside the ranch?s school on a recent
morning. Vanya, who turns 18 this summer, wants
to stay on after graduation, working with other
wounded children, and Ms. Sterkel has said he can.
An international adoption can be a journey into
the waters of the unknown, and sometimes the
rocks and shoals ? for the parents, the child or
both ? are too much to negotiate. Ms. Sterkel?s
remote ranch, five miles from the Canadian border
in a homesteader?s valley that got electricity
only around 1960, is for some of those families the end of the line.
In the weeks since a woman from Tennessee put her
daughter?s 7-year-old adopted son, alone, on a
plane back to Russia, saying he had been violent
toward his mother, much of the furor has focused
on parents, governments and adoption agencies,
and what they do right ? or do not do right ? by adopted children.
Missing from the debate have been the voices and
perspectives of the children themselves and the
wrenching life that many face as a legacy of
fetal alcohol, institutionalization, poverty and
the sometimes socially corrosive survival skills
they were required to hone in their early years.
?Lying, stealing and hoarding food,? Alexi, a
smiling, upbeat 13-year-old girl, said when asked
why her adoptive parents had sent her here.
Alexi, whose family did not want her last name
used, sat on the edge of a pool table in the main
ranch house, swinging her legs and reading a
book, ?The Purpose Driven Life? by Rick Warren.
She spent the first two years of her life in a
Russian orphanage, she said, and does not
remember anything about it. She just knows she
has always had a hard time trusting adults, including her adoptive parents.
Here at the Ranch for Kids, a nonprofit
established seven years ago and focused on
adopted children from Russia ? where Ms.
Sterkel?s family came from a century ago, and
where she worked as a midwife in the early 1990s
before adopting three Russian children herself ?
background stories of hard luck or horror are as common as skinned knees.
Ms. Sterkel, 63, said those stories gave her
great sympathy for parents who had reached a
point of desperation. Adoptees with inner lives,
and brains, twisted by experiences that began
even before birth can be mercurial ? sunny one
minute, explosively violent the next, with no
ability to make moral judgments about what they
have done. They can also be emotionally distant, self-destructive or both.
In Russia, vodka?s curse has been woven through
history since the early czars. One widely cited
study concluded that Russia?s rate of fetal
alcohol syndrome was eight times that of the rest of the world.
Exposure in utero to alcohol can cause
irreversible brain damage, with visible
manifestations that include smaller eyes and a
smaller upper lip with the lip?s groove
flattened. Even those with lesser exposure can
have an interior rewiring of their brain
chemistry, according to extensive medical research.
Isolation in infancy ? in an understaffed
orphanage or with a drunken parent ? compounds
those problems. A paper published last year in
The American Journal of Psychiatry about
preschool-age children from Romania found that
more than half who had lived in an orphanage had
psychiatric disorders, from attention deficit to
post-traumatic stress. Boys tended to have more
symptoms than girls, the study said.
That well-documented path of devastation makes
Ms. Sterkel impatient with remarks like the one
made by President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia,
who called the return of the boy from Tennessee a ?monstrous deed.?
?What he experienced was monstrous,? she said,
gesturing toward Vanya. ?Sending a kid back was not.?
Ms. Sterkel can be just as tough in talking about
some of her own clients, like the adoptive
parents of a Russian boy who was recently brought
to the ranch with early signs of fetal alcohol
troubles. The parents had agreed to pay $3,500 a
month for the boy?s keep, but they knew, they
said, that whatever happened, they just could not take him back.
?That?s when it?s sad ? they haven?t exhausted
all the possibilities,? Ms. Sterkel said.
Sarah Kershaw contributed reporting.
Page 2 of 2)
Ranch for Kids now has 30 children, ages 5 to 17,
some of whom stay for a month or two, some for
years. Critics say the ranch, and places like it
that focus on experience as therapy ? exposure to
nature, animals and rules of ranch life ? are
islands of unreality that do not fundamentally address a child?s problems.
[Photo]
Janie Osborne for The New York Times
From left, Patrick Fraley, Vanya Klusyk and
Christopher Napp at the Ranch for Kids.
[Photo]
Janie Osborne for The New York Times
Many Russian adoptees at the Ranch for Kids have
adjustment problems. Ms. Sterkel comforted Valentina on Friday.
?All it does is give them a hiatus,? said Ronald
S. Federici, a clinical neuropsychologist in
Virginia who mainly treats foreign adoptees.
Dr. Federici has tracked international adoptions
since 1992 and estimates that about 4,000 from
Eastern Europe alone have foundered ? with
children being sent into state care or to places
like the Ranch for Kids or back to their home
countries. He said that while he respected the
impulse behind the ranch, permanent improvement
could not happen without a spine of rigorous
medical and therapeutic treatment.
?It?s like a vacation at the beach ? we?re always
better when at the beach,? he said.
Ms. Sterkel and her staff do not fully disagree.
The rhythms of the ranch ? afternoons on
horseback, two teachers in a room of eight
children, cow-milking ? are not how life back
home really works. But she believes that strict
routines and responsibilities, like cleaning
one?s room and close contact with nature and
animals, can make a difference in upended lives.
?We can?t fix the fundamental damage,? she said.
?Generally, our parents have reached a place
where they need to restore sanity.?
About 70 percent of the roughly 300 children who
have come here, Ms. Sterkel said, do go back to
their adoptive families ? though she admits she
often loses track after that. Of the remaining 30
percent, the younger ones are often readopted,
while adolescents typically go into the federal
Job Corps program. And now there is even a
second-generation to work with ? a 10-month-old girl named Lilia.
Lilia?s mother was adopted from Russia and came
through the program herself a few years ago ?
fiercely unmanageable and claiming, in full
embrace of the Goth lifestyle, to be a vampire.
The young woman?s life did not much get better:
She ended up on methamphetamine, tattooed, pierced and pregnant at age 19.
But she came back to the ranch last year, Ms.
Sterkel said, for the final months of her
pregnancy, and then agreed to let the infant stay
on in the Sterkel family?s care. Ms. Sterkel, now
the baby?s legal guardian, said she assumed Lilia
had prenatal exposure to alcohol, so she is
trying everything she has learned over the years
? especially physical contact, usually with the
baby on her hip or lap ? as an effort at early intervention therapy.
And Vanya now has a big brother figure, a former
resident as a child, Jenya Davidson, 21, who has
fetal alcohol syndrome, too, and came originally
for help, only to return years later to work as a
handyman and to help attend to the younger
children. The two young men share an apartment over Ms. Sterkel?s garage.
Mr. Davidson, with a nearly constant smile, said
northwest Montana was now home. He dreams of
starting his own landscaping business.
Sarah Kershaw contributed reporting.
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From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Apr 28 22:14:47 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Wed Apr 28 21:16:17 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] In Lawsuit on Adoption, Focus Is on Disclosure
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100428195259.03d5d1e0@ncf.ca>
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From rosse at ncf.ca Wed Apr 28 22:15:09 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Wed Apr 28 21:16:21 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] How to Prevent Adoption Disasters
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100428211458.03d5bb08@ncf.ca>
http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/15/how-to-prevent-adoption-disasters/
New York Times
Opinion
Room for Debate - A Running Commentary on the News
April 15, 2010, 7:03 pm
How to Prevent Adoption Disasters
By THE EDITORS
Updated, April 16, 1:30 p.m. | Cynthia R. Mabry,
a professor at Howard University School of Law, joins the discussion.
[Photo]
The 7-year-old boy who was sent back to Moscow
alone by his adoptive mother in Tennessee.
----------
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on
Thursday that it would suspend all adoptions of
Russian children by Americans after an adoptive
mother in Tennessee sent her 7-year-old son back to Moscow alone last week.
The mother, Torry Ann Hansen, said the boy?s
emotional problems had overwhelmed her. ?After
giving my best to this child, I am sorry to say
that for the safety of my family, friends and
myself, I no longer wish to parent this child,?
she wrote in a note placed in his knapsack.
Her actions caused a global uproar. How could
such a case have been prevented? What standards
of conduct should apply when parents feel they
can?t provide for a child adopted from abroad?
Cynthia R. Mabry, Howard Law School
David Smolin, Cumberland Law School
Peter C. Winkler, social worker
Diane B. Kunz, Center for Adoption Policy
Elizabeth Bartholet, Harvard Law School
----------
A Two-Way Tragedy
Cynthia R. Mabry is a professor at the Howard
University School of Law, where she teaches
adoption and family law, as well as civil
procedure and pretrial litigation. She is the
co-authorof ?Adoption Law: Theory, Policy and Practice.?
Adoptions do go wrong. Only a small percentage of
them are dissolved but any dissolution further
traumatizes a child that already has been traumatized.
Providing post-adoption help and support is vital.
Post-adoption support services for the child and
the parent, more in-depth post-adoption
investigations and reporting, wrongful adoption
damages when agencies have not fully disclosed a
child?s background or falsified information and
dissolution of the adoption may occur when things
go wrong. Returning the child to his homeland usually is not an option.
Post-adoption support services should be
available for the parent and the child. These services should include:
Read more
Counseling Services. Counseling will help the
parent to identify ways of addressing the
challenges that the child presents and to deal
with the parent?s frustrations and feelings as
she endeavors to help her child. Counseling for
the child will help him to overcome the horrific
atrocities (like abuse or neglect at the
orphanage and his birth mother?s abandonment)
that he has experienced in his short life and to
deal with his feelings in more appropriate ways.
Parenting Classes. These classes will help
parents to provide support for children who come
with various challenges and teach them how to
help a child deal with the painful past
experiences. Parents also need respite care,
especially when dealing with a difficult child.
Post-adoption Reports. An evaluator should visit
the home and file a report about the child?s
adjustment. Because in-depth probing is often
resisted by parents, procedures may need to be
reviewed and modified to protect all members of the agency-parent-child triad.
Support Networks. Parents who have adopted
children from the same country, especially
parents who have had similar experiences, should
be made available to provide ideas for problem
solving as well as comfort for the parent and
interaction with children of a shared
nationality. When a child?s challenges cannot be
addressed in an out-patient manner, he may be a
candidate for inpatient treatment.
Torry Ann Hansen alleged that the Russian
adoption agency lied to her about her son?s
mental condition. She thought that she was
receiving a healthy child. If she was misled or
misinformed, the agency may be liable for damages
in a wrongful adoption action. However, adoption
agencies in other countries often include
disclaimers in their contracts so that they avoid
liability. These disclaimers have been upheld in
some United States courts. If a parent recovers
damages, they should cover the child?s medical expenses.
Ms. Hansen?s story did not end when Artyom was
returned to Russia. She still is his parent. She
adopted him, so that legal parent-child
relationship will not end until her parental
rights are terminated and the adoption order is
dissolved or vacated. Her financial
responsibility for his care may continue. Other
Russians are interested in adopting him; but, he
is not adoptable until Ms. Hansen?s rights are
terminated. Given the facts as presented, grounds for termination exist.
Russia?s decision to suspend new adoptions is a
typical response when things go wrong. At times,
other countries like Guatemala, Romania and
Ukraine have suspended U.S. adoptions. Usually,
however, sending countries suspend processing new
adoptions but agree to continue to process pending applications.
Now, Russia?s highest priority is to protect its
littlest citizens (unless the parent makes other
arrangements, a Russian adoptee remains a Russian
citizen after the adoption is finalized). U.S.
officials should act quickly to provide
assurances that situations like this will not
reoccur. The best way to address this problem is
through preventive measures with post-adoption support services.
Sometimes parents do not know that these services
exist. Sometimes, they do not have access to
them. Sometimes, parents cannot afford them.
Shelbyville, Tenn., is a small city with a
population of about 20,000 people. Some of these
services are not available in small towns but the Internet provides access.
Just as biological parents do, adoptive parents
become overwhelmed. They feel isolated because
they do not want the community, friends and
family members to know that they are in distress.
Some parents feel inadequate because they cannot
address the issues that their child presents.
There are two stories here ? Ms. Hansen and her son ? both are tragic ones.
----------
Fix the System
David Smolin is a professor at the Cumberland
Law School at the Samford University in
Birmingham, Ala. He has written extensively about adoption.
Intercountry adoption, particularly of older
children, and most especially of children from
abusive families or neglectful institutions, is
inherently a high risk process. Children coming
from traumatic backgrounds commonly suffer from
serious psychological, behavioral, cognitive and
educational issues. The language and cultural
transitions of intercountry adoption compound and
complicate both the child?s trauma and therapeutic interventions.
The child welfare and adoption systems that have
created countless cases far more tragic than this
latest one, are the real criminals.
Unfortunately, the adoption myth in the United
States sends the message that the love and care
found in any normal American home is enough to
heal any child. This myth leads to numerous
inadequacies: inadequate evaluation of children
prior to adoption; inadequate preparation,
training and selection of prospective adoptive
families; and inadequate post-placement services.
Thus, too many prospective adoptive parents, even
when warned about hypothetical possible problems,
are asked to make a purportedly permanent
adoption decision based on inadequate or
misleading information about the particular child
with whom they are matched. Too many prospective
adoptive parents are matched with children whose
behaviors, issues and needs are far beyond the
capacity of a normal family to manage. Too often,
the only expert services offered to such families
are too far away or too expensive to be practical, if they exist at all.
Read more
The recent decision of Torry Ann Hansen to send
her adoptive son back to Russia has occasioned a
misleading cascade of judgments about Ms.
Hansen?s actions and motivations. This concern
needs to be directed toward the other actors in this (and many other) cases.
Investigators need to determine what the
orphanage and agency knew about the child, and
what was conveyed to Ms. Hansen prior to the
adoption. The quality of care at the child?s
orphanage should be investigated, to determine if
his trauma came from poor quality institutional
care, as well as from any abuse or neglect in his
original home. Such investigation needs to become
commonplace in the significant number of cases
involving disrupted adoptions or children with
serious issues not disclosed to the adoptive family.
Governments must improve the quality of care for
vulnerable children by developing high quality
foster care and sharply improving standards for
institutional care. Regulators should demand that
child study forms and home study documents
provide detailed and accurate information that
provide the basis for proper matching of each
child?s needs with a family prepared to raise and assist that child.
For too long, shoddy child welfare and corrupted
adoption systems have traumatized children and
shifted the entire risk of the harms they
facilitate to children and adoptive families.
While the manner in which Ms. Hansen returned her
adoptive child to Russia is indefensible, the
child welfare and adoption systems that have
created countless cases far more tragic, are the real criminals.
----------
Lessons Learned
Peter C. Winkler, an adoption social worker, was
the director of New York State Adoption Services from 1985 to 1995.
More than 20 years ago, in New York, Joel
Steinberg, a lawyer, took into his home a little
girl he was supposed to be placing into an
adoptive home. He subsequently beat her to death.
As a result of this horrific event, New York
adoption laws and regulations were revised and improved.
Legislators in every state should review their
laws and regulations on adoptive placements.
I hope that after this recent case, legislators
in every state will sit down and review their
laws and regulations on adoptive placements, both
domestic and international. And here, based on my
experience, are a few places to start.
State regulations should require any agency that
places adopted children to visit the child
regularly over a period of at least one year. In
cases involving non-agency or independent
adoption, those visits should be made by a representative of the court.
Read more
Moreover, adoptive families should be advised
that they are responsible for advising the
placement agency or court representative if they
encounter issues with the child that go beyond a
normal adjustment by the child to a new home.
Those agencies should either offer services
directly or refer the family to appropriate services.
When a family determines that the child can no
longer remain in their home, the placement agency
should be responsible for finding an alternate placement for the child.
Legislators should also address the question of
placements by out-of-state agencies. In the
Tennessee case, the placement agency was located
in Washington State. I believe that every state
should require that agencies making a placement
into their state be required to abide by the laws
and regulations in the state where the child is placed.
----------
Transparency and Support
Diane B. Kunz, a lawyer, is the executive
director of the Center for Adoption Policy, a
nonprofit group that provides research and advice
on domestic and international adoption.
The first responsibility of anyone involved in
the adoption process is to prevent it from
failing. And with transparency and support,
disastrous adoptions can be greatly reduced.
There is a complete lack of resources for parents
who cannot keep or deal with their adopted children.
Every part of the international adoption program
must be transparent. Any child adopted
internationally should be automatically
considered a special-needs child who will bear
the scars of both a lack of prenatal care and
post-birth institutionalization. Love is
necessary but not sufficient for a successful international adoption.
Parents must be thoroughly screened and vetted.
Too often home studies conducted by the adoption
agency before placement of a child are rubber
stamps not investigative procedures. Parents
should be required to submit a post-adoption plan
that details how they intend to address their new
child?s needs and the needs of the adoptive family.
Read more
Post-adoption support, including post-placement
visits, translators, educational guidance,
respite care and telephone hotlines, is vital. In
takes a minimum of a year before an adoptive
family reaches stability yet many families are
left completely on their own during this crucial
time. It is no coincidence that both the Russian
case and the near fatal beating last month of a
3-year-old in North Carolina adopted from China
happened within a year of the child moving into a new home.
But despite all efforts there will always be some
children who cannot live in family settings.
Whether adopted or not, the standards are the
same: parents cannot abandon their children.
Unfortunately, there is a complete lack of
resources for these parents who cannot keep their
children. The few residential programs are
prohibitively expensive and always
oversubscribed. Social services are often
reluctant to intervene until it is too late. Some
parents, destroyed by years of violence and
abuse, have paid caregivers to take care of their
children. Some have done worse. The parents
believed they had no choice. Everyone involved in
the adoption process must do better.
----------
Suspending Adoption Is Not the Answer
Elizabeth Bartholet is a professor and the
faculty director of the Child Advocacy Program at
Harvard Law School. She is the author of ?Family
Bonds? and ?Nobody?s Children.?
The recent story of the adopted child sent alone
on an airplane to Russia should obviously set off
efforts to prevent such incidents in the future:
prospective parents need accurate information
about the institutional and other maltreatment
children have suffered prior to adoption and
access after adoption to professional advice for
children damaged by such maltreatment. They need
to know help is available if they feel incapable of parenting their child.
Policymakers should focus on freeing up children
at earlier ages for adoption ? age at placement
is the best predictor for normal development.
But the risk is that in focusing on the specific
wrongs involved in sending this child back,
policymakers will ignore the larger story about
child tragedy and related policy lessons. That
story has to do with the systemic abuse that
victimizes the millions of children in
institutions worldwide. Many decades of social
science demonstrate the destructive impact of
such institutions on children?s mental, emotional and physical capacities.
Maltreatment rates are extraordinarily low among
internationally adopted children as a group ?
lower even than in normal biological families.
International adoption serves generally to help
children, who have suffered horrific maltreatment
prior to adoption, overcome the damage done so
that they can lead essentially normal lives.
Read more
Policymakers who truly care about children should
resist the temptation to shut down international
adoption in response to the individual abuse or
abandonment case. This simply punishes more
children, denying them their best chance to
escape institutions into the adoptive homes that
are generally available only internationally. Yet
this response has been sadly typical, in part
because Unicef and other official friends of
children push countries like Russia in this
direction, and the U.S. puts up little resistance.
When biological parents abuse or neglect their
children, we don?t try to stop procreation or
move all newborn infants into institutions to
protect them from the risk of parental
maltreatment. It would be irrational, and cruel,
to impose even a temporary moratorium on
international adoption in response to this case,
or to increase existing restrictions on such
adoption. Policymakers who genuinely care about
children should focus on freeing up children at
earlier ages for adoption, because age at
placement is the best predictor for normal development.
122 Readers' Comments
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From rosse at ncf.ca Thu Apr 29 10:51:03 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Thu Apr 29 09:52:08 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Day camps for children with FASD: Manitoba
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100428213356.0325ae80@ncf.ca>
http://news.gov.mb.ca/news/index.html?archive=today&item=8281
Manitoba
News releases
April 21, 2010
DAY CAMPS FOR CHILDREN WITH FASD LAUNCHES AT FOUR SITES ACROSS MANITOBA
New respite day camps called Stepping Out on
Saturdays ? Manitoba (S.O.S. Manitoba) will open
their doors to children and families affected by
fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) in four
communities across the province, Healthy Living,
Youth and Seniors Minister Jim Rondeau and Family
Services and Consumer Affairs Minister Gord Mackintosh announced today.
?Manitoba is committed to offering a range of
services and resources to people affected by
FASD,? said Rondeau. ?S.O.S. Manitoba is another
innovative approach that offers a supportive and
fun environment for children, while providing needed respite for parents.?
This new, $342,000 initiative will be offered one
Saturday a month for children aged three to 12 in
Winnipeg, Brandon, Thompson and Little Grand
Rapids and will provide respite for parents of
children with FASD. Up to 72 children a year will
attend the camps, which help develop healthy
social and problem-solving skills. Children in
care or involved with child and family services will be given priority.
?This program is one of the many steps we?re
taking to improve the lives and well-being of
children in care across the province,? said
Mackintosh. ?Manitoba is proud to be a leader in
innovative programs that meet the needs of
children and families, particularly those who are living with FASD.?
The program will be run by community agencies and will offer:
? a low child-to-staff ratio;
? activities that allow the children an
opportunity to develop targeted social skills
including board games, crafts, drama and sports;
? successful strategies for parents and
schools working with children with FASD; and
? opportunities to adapt the program to
the unique needs of the community.
?This camp is an excellent example of how
follow-up and support services can be used to
increase the social and behavioural skill
development of children living with FASD,? said
Cheryl Susinski, executive director of the
Rehabilitation Centre for Children, the S.O.S.
Manitoba site in Winnipeg. ?At the same time,
this respite camp will help reduce caregiver and family stress.?
The Winnipeg site began offering services to
families this month and the remaining three sites
will launch this spring. This initiative is
modelled after a successful program currently running in Calgary, Alberta.
This initiative is part of Manitoba?s FASD
strategy, which was launched in April 2007 with
recommendations from experts and community
stakeholders. It focuses on multi-departmental,
multi-million dollar prevention activities and
service supports for individuals with FASD
throughout their lives. The strategy is a
partnership between the departments of Family
Services and Consumer Affairs; Health; Healthy
Living, Youth and Seniors; Justice; Education;
Aboriginal and Northern Affairs; and Housing and
Community Development and Healthy Child Manitoba.
Funding for the project has been provided by
Changes for Children, an initiative that
strengthens the province?s commitment to child
welfare through a joint partnership of the four
child-welfare authorities and Manitoba Family Services and Consumer Affairs.
- 30 -
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ATTACHED
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From rosse at ncf.ca Thu Apr 29 14:16:14 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Thu Apr 29 13:22:14 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] 4th International Conference on FASD Vancouver
March 2-5, 2011
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100429131357.046f5908@ncf.ca>
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From rosse at ncf.ca Thu Apr 29 14:21:28 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Thu Apr 29 13:22:17 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Australian Author on FASD To Visit NZ
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100429131105.046f5908@ncf.ca>
http://www.voxy.co.nz/national/australian-author-visit-nz-help-families-living-fetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorder/5/46379
Voxy.co.nz
National
Australian Author To Visit NZ To Help Families Living With Fetal
Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
Contributor: Voxy News Engine
Tuesday, 27 April, 2010 - 13:08 An Australian author and birthmother
of two adult sons affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
(FASDs) is coming to New Zealand next week to share her experiences
of raising children affected by prenatal alcohol exposure.
The free seminar entitled 'Living with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum
Disorder in the Family: Trying Differently Not Harder' will be held
on Thursday April 29 from 10am till 2:30pm at the Barrycourt Hotel in
Parnell. It will look at strategies that work and don't work when
FASD is a factor for the family.
Guest speaker Elizabeth Russell is the author of three books, most
notably her autobiography, 'Alcohol and Pregnancy - A Mother's
Responsible Disturbance.' In the book Elizabeth discusses the
challenges of raising two children affected by her drinking during
pregnancy and her advocacy for improved services for affected families.
Russell says that many families struggle to deal with the behavioral
difficulties of FASD.
"Some individuals with an FASD might appear unmotivated, stubborn or
defiant when in reality they can't remember, can't understand and
can't explain.
"Knowing the pitfalls to avoid and approaching situations in
different ways can make a huge difference and save a lot of
heart-ache and trouble."
The seminar, hosted by Alcohol Healthwatch, aims to provide important
information for those living with or assisting affected individuals
in New Zealand.
Alcohol Healthwatch's Christine Rogan, who coordinates the Fetal
Alcohol Network says it is important that people not only understand
the link between drinking during pregnancy and FASD but also how best
to understand, communicate and support those who are born affected.
"Misunderstandings of what is actually going on can make problems far
worse than they need be. The earlier a child with an FASD can be
identified and understood, the greater their chance is of growing up
successfully."
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From rosse at ncf.ca Thu Apr 29 14:26:55 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Thu Apr 29 13:28:09 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] MOFAS Provides Pre-Adoptive FASD Education to
Prepare Adoptive Families
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100429131217.046f5908@ncf.ca>
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mofas-provides-pre-adoptive-fasd-education-to-prepare-adoptive-families-for-the-unexpected-92305614.html
PRNewswire
MOFAS Provides Pre-Adoptive FASD Education to Prepare Adoptive
Families for the Unexpected
ST. PAUL, Minn., April 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following
was submitted by the Minnesota Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
and written by Emily Gunderson, Communications Director, MOFAS:
There are risks when adopting, as with any childrearing. Knowing
what to expect and being prepared, helps not only the parents but the
child be successful and reach their best potential.
MOFAS Offers Pre-Adoption Education
It was over 10 years ago that Christine and Tim Davis welcomed a tiny
Russian orphan girl into their lives. They were excited like any
other new parents. But as early as pre-school, they started to
notice some behaviors that didn't seem right. So they took their
daughter to a clinic in Duluth, where she was diagnosed with Fetal
Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). "We had no idea," said
Christine. "Nothing was ever said when we were adopting Grace."
Adoptive families like the Davis' come into adoption with good
intentions and expectations. While important, good intentions must
be accompanied by knowledge and understanding of the potential
challenges that can lie ahead. For the past four years, the Minnesota
Organization on Fetal Alcohol (MOFAS) has worked collaboratively with
adoption and social service agencies like Children's Home Society &
Family Services (CHSFS), Lutheran Social Services, Hope Adoption and
MN Adopt/Adoption Support Network, to provide pre-adoption education
to adoption professionals and families considering domestic and
international adoptions. MOFAS staff and volunteers provide training
on what Fetal Alcohol Spectrums Disorders is, what to look for, and
how to get support and services if necessary in hopes of avoiding
situations like these.
"Education before adoption is imperative," says Marilyn Gebauer, a
Domestic Adoption Social Worker with CHSFS. "It is not a deterrent
for adoption, but rather prepares the prospective adoptive parents
for the possible emotional and behavioral problems encountered in
some adopted children." She says, "All too often people believe they
will adopt the perfect child. Many times that is true. But when
it's not, we need to provide them with as much information as
possible, as many coping skills as possible, and help them have
realistic expectations of what a balanced and healthy family life
will look like."
The fact is, prenatal alcohol exposure is common. In MN alone, it is
estimated that 8,500 babies are born each year with brain damage
caused by prenatal alcohol exposure. Children who have experienced
foster care have higher rates of FASD. This may contribute to the
findings of a recent study that reported more than half of children
adopted from Eastern European countries were affected by FASD.
FASD Diagnosis in MN
With Minnesota ranking among the highest in numbers of families
adopting children internationally, diagnostic clinics around the
state have seen an increase in families seeking an FASD
diagnosis. Many of these children suffer from early childhood
trauma, malnutrition, abandonment as well as prenatal alcohol
exposure. "Getting a thorough and appropriate evaluation can be a
lifeline for these struggling families," says Dana Johnson, Professor
of Pediatrics with the International Adoption Medicine Program at the
University of MN. "For many of these families and children with
challenging educational and behavioral issues secondary due to
prenatal alcohol exposure, getting a diagnosis is the first step in
helping them put these behaviors and learning challenges into context
and getting the services and support they need to help their child
reach their full potential."
Families in Minnesota are fortunate to have accessible, consistent
and accurate diagnostic services available at ten health care
organizations around the state. For a complete listing, go to
www.mofas.org or call MOFAS at 1-866-90-MOFAS for more
information. MOFAS has also worked to develop a team of clinicians
from those ten diagnostic centers who formed a Clinical Diagnostic
Consortium, recognized nationally as a model state-of-the-art
clinical approach.
Ongoing Family Support
Parenting can be difficult in the best of circumstances, but
parenting a high-needs child can sometimes be overwhelming. The
Larson family understands this all too well. They landed in the U.S.
with their two children from Russia on Thanksgiving Day,
2003. Almost immediately they were confronted with behavioral
challenges that led to an FASD diagnosis for both their
children. They connected with the Minnesota Organization on Fetal
Alcohol Syndrome shortly afterwards and began learning about Fetal
Alcohol Spectrum Disorders through the Family Seminar Series. "This
was a life saver to hear that we were not alone," says Jodi
Larson. "We learned so much about FASD, how it affects behavior and
the physical body, the best referrals for therapy, how to advocate
for our children and how to access systems like the schools and the
government. It has been an unbelievable journey, from the depth of
despair to the height of joy," continues Jodi. "FASD is a major part
of our lives."
MOFAS continues to provide ongoing support for families like the
Davis' and Larson's who have been affected by FASD. Through Family
Retreats, the Hand in Hand Series, which is offered both in-person
and online, and the new Virtual Family Center on the MOFAS website at
www.mofas.org, families can interact, connect and share their
experiences with other families who understand what they are going
through. Through message boards, blogs, webinars and weekly chats,
parents raising children with FASD can find useful information and
resources that will help them not feel so alone, and provide ongoing
support to ensure that they not only survive, but thrive.
MOFAS was founded in 1998 by former First Lady Susan Carlson, and is
the only statewide source for training, information, resources and
support on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. The mission of MOFAS is
to eliminate disability caused by alcohol consumption during
pregnancy and to improve the life for those living with Fetal Alcohol
Spectrum Disorders throughout Minnesota. For more information
contact MOFAS at 651-917-2370 or toll-free 1-866-90-MOFAS; 1885
University Avenue, Suite 395, St. Paul, MN 55104; www.mofas.org.
SOURCE Minnesota Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
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From rosse at ncf.ca Thu Apr 29 14:31:21 2010
From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross)
Date: Thu Apr 29 13:34:14 2010
Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Genetic and epigenetic insights into fetal
alcohol spectrum disorders
Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100429131254.046f5908@ncf.ca>
http://7thspace.com/headlines/342794/genetic_and_epigenetic_insights_into_fetal_alcohol_spectrum_disorders.html
7th Space Interactive
Genetic and epigenetic insights into fetal alcohol spectrum disorders
The magnitude of the detrimental effects following in utero alcohol
exposure, including fetal alcohol syndrome and other fetal alcohol
spectrum disorders (FASD), is globally underestimated. The effects
include irreversible cognitive and behavioral disabilities as a
result of abnormal brain development, pre- and postnatal growth
retardation and facial dysmorphism.
Parental alcohol exposure and its effect on offspring has been
recognized for centuries, but only recently have we begun to gain
molecular insight into the mechanisms involved in alcohol
teratogenesis. Genetic attributes (susceptibility and protective
alleles) of the mother and the fetus contribute to the risk of
developing FASD and specific additional environmental conditions,
including malnutrition, have an important role.
The severity of FASD depends on the level of alcohol exposure, the
developmental stage at which exposure occurs and the nature of the
exposure (chronic or acute), and although the most vulnerable period
is during the first trimester, damage can occur throughout gestation.
Preconception alcohol exposure can also have a detrimental effect on
the offspring.
Several developmental pathways are affected in FASD, including
nervous system development, growth and remodeling of tissues, as well
as metabolic pathways that regulate glucocorticoid signaling and
balanced levels of retinol, insulin and nitric oxide. A body of
knowledge has accumulated to support the role of environmentally
induced epigenetic remodeling during gametogenesis and after
conception as a key mechanism for the teratogenic effects of FASD
that persist into adulthood.
Transgenerational effects are likely to contribute to the global
burden of alcohol-related disease. FASD results in lifelong
disability and preventative programs should include both maternal
alcohol abstention and preconception alcohol avoidance.
Author: Michele Ramsay
Credits/Source: Genome Medicine 2010, 2:27
Published on: 2010-04-28
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