From rosse at ncf.ca Mon May 3 19:36:44 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Mon May 3 18:40:11 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] B.C. man sues after province bans him from disability assistance for life Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100503183629.03cd5ed0@ncf.ca> http://www.metronews.ca/vancouver/local/article/516291--b-c-man-sues-after-province-bans-him-from-disability-assistance-for-life--page0 metronews.ca Local B.C. man sues after province bans him from disability assistance for life JAMES KELLER Canadian Press April 30, 2010 7:48 p.m. VANCOUVER, B.C. - A B.C. man with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder who has struggled with drug and alcohol addiction for years is suing the provincial government after he was banned for life from receiving disability assistance over a $250 fraud. Justin Mitchell, 27, of Vancouver pleaded guilty last year to fraud under $5,000 after submitting a fake confirmation-of-employment letter to receive an extra $250. He created letterhead with images and text he found on the Internet. He was ordered to pay back the money, and a week later he received a letter from the Ministry of Housing and Social Development informing him he will never again qualify for disability assistance. Mitchell asked the ministry to reconsider but was told provincial legislation doesn't allow for any discretion when someone is convicted of defrauding the disability assistance program. He then took his case to an appeal tribunal, which upheld the ministry's decision. He has now petitioned the B.C. Supreme Court, asking it to strike down the sections of the provincial law that outline the lifetime ban and to overturn the appeal tribunal's case. His petition says he will make constitutional and jurisdictional arguments about why the sections should be declared invalid, but the petition does not go into detail. Mitchell is being represented by a lawyer with the University of British Columbia's First Nations legal clinic. Mitchell, who suffers from a range of emotional and cognitive problems as a result of his fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, had been receiving about $900 a month. Now, he is getting what's called "hardship assistance," which provides him $610 a month and does not include any of the other benefits he was receiving before, such as supplements for bus passes, addiction treatment and health and dental care. "Now that I no longer receive the amount of disability assistance and supplements that I was entitled to receive under the act, I am not able to meet many of my needs," Mitchell says in an affidavit filed with the court. "As a result of my lifetime ban, I will not be able to meet these needs for the remainder of my life." The ministry declined to comment on the case, since the province hasn't been served with the lawsuit and the matter is before the courts. Mitchell first applied for assistance six or seven years ago when the province determined his disabilities made him unable to work. Dr. Christine Loock, a researcher at the University of British Columbia, said in a letter included with Mitchell's lawsuit that he has significant mental disabilities, including impaired memory, anxiety and attention deficit disorder. Loock said Mitchell's condition was caused by "heavy exposure to alcohol" in the first five months of pregnancy, and that he was placed into mental-health care at an early age. Loock's letter also noted Mitchell has a child who does not have fetal alcohol spectrum disorder but is living with Mitchell's mother "for stability." Mitchell told the appeal tribunal the ministry should have taken into account his disability or addiction, which he said affected his ability to appreciate the consequences of his actions, and that his conviction was his first offence. The appeal tribunal's decision acknowledged both of those facts, but suggested the law provides no other option than a lifetime ban. "Despite the appellant's diagnosis of FASD and the fact that he is seeking treatment for his addictions, there is no discretion in the legislation to change the penalty," says the decision from August 2009. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100503/1b0138a4/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Mon May 3 20:28:26 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Mon May 3 19:34:11 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Fetal alcohol counselling available: North Bay, Ontario Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100503192235.03392210@ncf.ca> http://www.nugget.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2559705 North Bay Nugget News - Editorial Fetal alcohol counselling available COLUMN Posted By GENNY BROWN Posted 2 days ago [as of May 3, 2010] My name is Genny Brown and I'm the community support worker at the North Bay Indian Friendship Centre. The focus for the Community Support Program is to bring awareness of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and child nutrition to the urban aboriginal population, both in a traditional and contemporary approach. Many are unaware of the harsh effects of alcohol on an unborn child and many disorders associated with alcohol-related births. FASD is 100% preventable. Many believe that a child will outgrow it as they get older, but the reality is FASD never goes away. There is no safe amount of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. As well as creating awareness about FASD, our program also has a child nutrition component. Children from birth to age 12 are at a critical period of growth development. It is important that children adopt healthy eating patterns to maintain a healthy lifestyle throughout their lives. Through the Community Support Program at the Friendship Centre, we strive to educate the public about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and child nutrition through presentations, information sessions, one-on-one support, and provide resources for families dealing with FASD, as well as families that have limited food sources. Our activities include community kitchens, nutrition information sessions, budget counselling, grocery store tours, traditional teachings as well as contemporary teachings. We also make referrals to the many programs at the North Bay Indian Friendship Centre and surrounding agencies such as health programs, counselling, family support programs, family and criminal court workers, Healthy Babies Healthy Children, prenatal care and FASD clinics. The Community Support Program, Family Support Program, and Prenatal Nutrition Program will be hosting a Women's Wellness Day May 20 at the Friendship Centre on Cassells Street. Our program also wants to host support groups for individuals affected by FASD and for parents of FASD children starting in May. For more information or to sign up for the support groups, contact Genny Brown at 472-2811 ext 205 or e-mail fasd@nbifc.org Article ID# 2559705 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100503/178281b2/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Mon May 3 20:28:50 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Mon May 3 19:34:15 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Final reminder notice for Study of adults with FASD and their parents Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100503192840.03cd65e0@ncf.ca> >Date: Mon, 03 May 2010 10:04:24 -0400 >From: Shari Orders >Subject: *Final reminder notice for Study of adults with FASD and >their parents* > >First, a big thank you to those who have forwarded our recruitment >notice to their networks. > >Unfortunately, the response to our online survey has been a bit >disappointing to date. As we are scheduled to present our findings >at a national conference later this month, we are hoping to gather >more data; ideally by the end of this week. We would very much >appreciate your help in forwarding this message to your contacts, >and encouraging them to participate. > >In addition to the survey we would like to interview adults with >FASD who are currently enrolled, or have been enrolled in a >post-secondary program (e.g., community college, apprenticeships, >job training programs). > >If you have any questions about the survey or the telephone >interviews, please do not hesitate to get in touch. > >Thank you for your kind assistance, > >Shari > >-- >Shari Orders >Ph.D. Candidate >Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa >home 613.730.1998 >cell 613.762.9954 > >* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * >* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * >* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * >* * * * * * * * > >Post-Secondary Experiences of Adults with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder > >To FASD Ontario Committees and 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 understandtheir 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). -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100503/cd9fcd12/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Thu May 6 21:40:35 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Fri May 7 01:46:15 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] New eye test may detect learning disabilities, early Alzheimer's Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100506211103.03ab58b8@ncf.ca> [This article below was republished from the Toronto Globe & Mail Science section where it had the title Video eye tests help screen toddlers' brain function Research could be used to detect learning disabilities, damage caused by fetal alcohol syndrome Anne McIlroy Science Reporter From Thursday's Globe and Mail Published on Wednesday, Apr. 21, 2010 9:23PM EDT Last updated on Thursday, Apr. 22, 2010 10:38AM EDT [Photo] Researcher Rebecca Titman monitors Jakeson Bowlby, 2, as he undergoes tests designed to assess his brain function at Kingston's Hotel Dieu Hospital on Wednesday. Kevin Van Paassen/The Globe and Mail http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=377297&src=120 Suburban Chicago's Information source New eye test may detect learning disabilities, early Alzheimer's Toronto Globe and Mail Published: 5/3/2010 12:06 AM Two-year-old Jakeson Bowlby has a bull's eye sticker on his forehead that helps a computer system track the movement of his eyes. He sits in a high chair and watches a video, but instead of Toy Story or another favourite, researchers at Queen's University show him a high-definition video that is part of a new test to assess brain function in toddlers. It jumps quickly from one image to another -- kangaroos sitting under a tree, kids playing soccer, buses and cars zooming by. How quickly children can zero in on the kangaroos and follow the ball or the vehicles is a measure of how well their brains are directing the movement of their eyes, says Queen's neuroscientist Doug Munoz. He has devoted nearly two decades to documenting how eye control is related to abnormal brain function, both in children and adults. His work is part of a broad investigation involving labs around the world which, over the last two decades, has laid the groundwork for relatively simple tests that could soon be used to detect everything from learning disabilities to the early onset of Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease. Munoz's latest project is aimed at the high chair set, a way to screen youngsters for problems that may make it difficult for them to learn in school. He and his colleague, Laurent Itti at the University of Southern California, have preliminary evidence that shows their "free viewing" test can identify children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. That study was in children over the age of 8. Next, they plan to conduct a trial at St Michael's Hospital in Toronto with both toddlers who were exposed to alcohol in the womb and a control group. They want to see if the test can pick out the children who have suffered brain damage. Early interventions can make a big difference with these youngsters, says Brenda Stade, the researcher at St. Mike's who, along with Queen's University's James Reynolds, will help evaluate the test. Stade recently found that babies who were exposed to alcohol before birth and who received a lot of extra help with language and other aspects of cognitive development showed significant improvement by the age of 2, compared to similar children who didn't get intensive therapy. But it can be difficult to diagnose brain damage caused by exposure to alcohol in the womb. This eye movement test wouldn't be enough to diagnose a toddler, Munoz says. However, if further testing backs up the preliminary results, it could identify young children in need of a more in-depth assessment and evaluation for possible treatment. Munoz says eventually it would be possible to do the testing as part of a standard eye exam. "A mass screening of kids at a young age would sort out who needs help," he said. "There is tremendous payback in that." He studies how the brain directs the eye to make quick movements from one place to another. These movements, called saccades, are essential for reading and other visual tasks. He and his colleagues have documented abnormalities in saccade control in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, as well as in patients with Parkinson's or Alzheimer's. Other scientists have found differences in children and adults with dyslexia. The tests that work well with older children and adults are too difficult for young children, so Munoz and his colleagues came up with the idea of using a 20-minute video and an eye tracker. The new "free viewing" test is portable and would be easy to train a technician to use, says Munoz's colleague, Courtney Green. Her son Jakeson is being tested as part of a control group, but the scientists have done trial runs with a number of toddlers to make sure the test works well with super-squirmy children or if the equipment gets smeared with a little oatmeal. "It is ready to go," she said. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100506/4555536a/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Thu May 6 21:40:53 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Fri May 7 01:46:19 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Early detection key to treating mental health in kids: Ontario Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100506210252.0203c4b0@ncf.ca> [No mention of FASD] http://fftimes.com/node/233278 Fort Frances Times Online Fort Frances, Ontario Early detection key to treating mental health in kids Wednesday, 5 May 2010 - 1:08pm By Duane Hicks , Staff writer One-in-five Ontario children and youth has a mental health problem, according to Children?s Mental Health Ontario. These disorders range from anxiety, depression, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to eating disorders, substance abuse, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and even early psychosis. If left untreated, these disorders could lead to failure at school, conflicts with family, drug abuse, violence, or even suicide. But the good news is that help is available and treatment does work, said Troy Clink, manager of children?s mental health at Family & Children?s Service here. May 2-9 is Children?s Mental Health Week, which Clink said is a good opportunity to increase public awareness of the signs of child and youth mental health problems as well as decrease stigma. Clink said one misconception some members of the public still have is that a person has to have schizophrenia, or something equally extreme, in order to be considered as having a mental health problem. ?It does not have to be as severe as that,? he stressed. ?You?ve got kids who are struggling to pay attention, you?ve got kids struggling with life adjustment issues after a divorce. ?Those really present mental health challenges.? Clink said the reason why children?s mental health really needs to have a voice is because, just as with physical health issues, early detection is important. ?Early detection can really help these kids avoid substance abuse later on and run-ins with the law?quite often jails have a high number of folks with mental health challenges,? he noted. ?That?s what we?re pushing for, a proactive stance to catch things early in kids as opposed to ignoring kids, ignoring the issues and challenges that they?re facing, and just waiting for them to become more and more intense as they get older.? Clink said times have changed, and a child previously thought to be ?oppositional? now may be recognized as having an attention deficit disorder and get the help they need. ?That was never talked about when I was a kid,? he remarked. ?So I think a lot of people, because things were missed and the knowledge wasn?t there, really missed out on a lot of success they could have had if someone could have come alongside them and showed them some tools that would allow them to succeed in school.? Likewise, more people are getting over the stigma of seeking help for mental health issues for themselves and their children. This has led to a greater demand for mental health services. Clink said the process to access services at FACS, including children?s mental health services, is as follows: ?Call FACS at 274-7787 and ask to speak to Integrated Services Northwest. ?Case workers will set up an appointment to meet with the family or child, take their information, go through the intake process, and sign consent forms. ?After deciding with the family what program would best suit the child?s needs, case workers then forward that information to the appropriate program manager. ?The program manager then prioritizes the level of severity of the issue, and the child is put on a list to receive counselling. ?The reason we have to have a prioritizing system is because we simply do not have enough counsellors to meet the needs of the Rainy River District,? Clink explained. A major problem that is facing children?s mental health?here and elsewhere in Ontario?is a lack of funding. Clink said the province only has increased funding to children?s mental health once in the past 15 years. And with inflation, that lack of any new funding means there?s fewer counsellors to see clients each year, and thus very long waiting lists. The children?s mental health program at FACS, at any one time, is serving about 120 clients up to age 18. With seven mental health counsellors on staff (five in Fort Frances and two in Atikokan), the waiting list is six months to a year. ?It?s very common throughout the entire province of Ontario for kids to wait at least up to a year, depending on the issue that?s brought them into services,? noted Clink. ?Some issues can?t wait, but there?s other issues that just will not get the support very quick. ?That?s a big reason why Children?s Mental Health Week was created. We wanted to give a voice to these kids who are simply waiting. ?They?re not voters. I don?t know if their voice is always heard,? he added. Clink stressed that what children?s mental health programs are concerned about is if children are left on waiting lists for too long, their issues become more intense?and it can escalate to suicide. ?That makes having a wait list very hard,? he remarked. ?You know these kids need help, but you don?t have the resources to reach them. ?And quite often, it?s logical to expect there?s going to be deterioration of people on the waiting list.? In addition to counsellors, FACS also has a psychometrist to do psychological assessments. As well, FACS holds videoconferences with the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto to provide psychiatric consultations to determine the proper medications for psychological disorders. ?For a small populated area?I?ve worked in the cities quite a bit?I was really amazed at how easy it is access this level of service,? Clink admitted. ?To get a psychiatric consultation is really hard. But because of the modern technology we have, and the agreement we have with Toronto Sick Kids, we are really able to provide excellent psychiatric support. "But it?s the counselling that people desperately want?they want that ongoing support as opposed to one or two consultations,? he stressed. ?That?s where we see our biggest need, for sure.? Prevalent issues While FACS sees a range of children?s mental health issues among its clients, a big one is anxiety and depression amongst young teens. Clink said high school students, especially those in Grades 9 and 10, face a lot of pressure. And those who do not get support and help often will turn to substance abuse as they attempt to self-medicate. ?It?s an unhealthy, risky escape but it?s an escape,? he explained. ?It gives them an immediate sense of relief.? Clink said substance abuse is a bigger problem in Fort Frances than most people realize, and believes a large part of that is because there?s ?kids who are overwhelmed with their anxieties at that age and the challenges they?re facing.? Another common issue is family relationships. ?We treat the whole family,? Clink said. ?The whole family is under a lot of pressure, and quite often mom and dad are really struggling to cope with the challenges their kids are facing, they?re struggling to parent that child. ?We try to equip parents with tools. We put on parenting courses right here at the agency,? noting Clink, citing the recent ?Love and Logic? course as a good example. ?We try to improve that parent-child relationship,? he added. ?That parent is the child?s natural support system, and if you can improve that relationship, it?s going to go a long way with helping this kid with whatever they?re struggling with. ?We try to take a holistic approach. . . . There?s a whole system around this child that we have to support.? When it comes to overcoming mental health challenges, Clink said the program tries to give people choices and work with them to find solutions. ?It?s a shared responsibility,? he reasoned. ?We need to come alongside folks and support them. They need to strive to make the choices, to use the supports that we bring. ?The tools, the clinical interventions that we have access to, are very effective. ?But just like any tool, unless the person chooses to pick up and use it, it?s not going to do much good,? he lamented. Working together Clink noted FACS works with other agencies in the community, including Weechi-ti-win Family Services, which has its own children?s mental health program. ?We work with them, and they have more of a traditional, aboriginal component to their mental health program,? he said. ?So that if an aboriginal person would like to have that as their treatment modality, that is available.? The children?s mental health program at FACS also works with the local school boards, and their clinicians are in schools on a regular basis. ?We have a really great working relationships with the schools, with Weechi-ti-win, with the agencies around town,? said Clink. ?Good partnerships, good relationships among the professionals, means better service for the clients.? As well, since FACS is an integrated agency, there is seamless communication and cross-referral between its various programs. Clink noted it?s not uncommon for families to receive help from children?s mental health and another program at the same time. ?So many folks, when they think of FACS, the only thing they think about is child protection or foster care,? he said. ?[But] there are a lot more programs under this roof than just those two,? he stressed. ?There?s children?s mental health, the child development program, supervised access program, and more than that.? To celebrate Children?s Mental Health Week, FACS is inviting the public to Plaza Lanes this Friday (May 7) from 6-8 p.m. to enjoy free bowling and snacks. Clink said all families are welcome to come out for free hotdogs, chips and pop, and bowling, as well as to learn more about children?s mental health services provided in Rainy River District. ?We?re going to have an informational booth set up there so that people can find out what our program has to offer, find out more information about mental health challenges and issues, and find out more about things that can be helpful,? he noted. ?It?s not just the kids that are challenged with mental health issues,? he reiterated. ?The whole family is. It?s not a vacuum. ?We also want to promote family togetherness because obviously that?s a huge part of children having the best chance of good mental health?strong, healthy families,? added Clink. ?People need to be active; families need to be doing stuff together.? FACS held a similar event in Atikokan this past Tuesday. For more information about children?s mental health services, contact FACS at 274-7787. ? * Add new comment * Email this page Digg Delicious Reddit Stumble Facebook Tweet this -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100506/6bb06890/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Thu May 6 21:43:44 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Fri May 7 01:46:23 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Alcohol in pregnancy may boost child's leukemia risk Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100506210723.0203c4b0@ncf.ca> [article not about FASD] "...it's estimated that 60 percent of Russian women drink while pregnant, as do 59 percent of their Australian counterparts. Fifty-two percent of French women, 30 percent of Swedish women and 12 percent of American women drink while pregnant,..." http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2010/05/06/eline/links/20100506elin007.html Reuters Health Information Alcohol in pregnancy may boost child's leukemia risk Last Updated: 2010-05-06 0:01:16 -0400 (Reuters Health) By Megan Brooks NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who drink alcohol while pregnant raise the risk that their child will develop a rare type of blood cancer called acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, a new study suggests. In a pooled analysis of data from published studies, researchers found that drinking alcohol during pregnancy was associated with a 56 percent increased risk of AML in children. But in an email to Reuters Health, Dr. Julie Ross of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, who was not involved in the study, said it's important for women to know that childhood AML is rare (about 700 cases are diagnosed each year) and likely has many causes. Moreover, she said: "The vast majority of women who consume alcohol during pregnancy will not have a child who develops leukemia. However, given other risks associated with alcohol drinking during pregnancy, these results can help to reiterate the message that it is probably best to abstain from alcohol if you are pregnant or planning to get pregnant." What causes leukemia in children is largely unknown, but researchers suspect it may be an interaction between genes and the environment, including drinking alcohol, Dr. Paule Latino-Martel of the Research Center for Human Nutrition in France and colleagues note in a report published online today. When the researchers looked at 21 previous studies of women's drinking habits during pregnancy and childhood leukemia, they found that women who drank during pregnancy had a 56 percent increased risk of childhood AML, they report in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. Ross cautioned, however: "While a 56 percent increased risk sounds like a lot, in real terms it means that with a childhood AML incidence rate in the US of about 8 cases diagnosed per million children, the risk might increase to about 12 cases diagnosed per million children. Thus about 4 more cases per million children." Despite the recommendation that women abstain from alcohol while pregnant, it's estimated that 60 percent of Russian women drink while pregnant, as do 59 percent of their Australian counterparts. Fifty-two percent of French women, 30 percent of Swedish women and 12 percent of American women drink while pregnant, according to estimates. For American women, Ross further explained: "If we are to believe that the risk (of childhood AML) is increased by about 56 percent, and that about 12 percent of US women drink alcohol sometime during pregnancy, this means that perhaps up to about 6 percent of childhood AML in the US might be attributable to alcohol consumption." On the flip side, "this also means that 94 percent might be attributable to other causes," Ross noted. Only a few of the studies reviewed by Latino-Martel's group reported results according to type of alcohol consumed -- beer, wine, or spirits -- and the existing evidence does not suggest that one type of alcohol could be more related to leukemia risk than another, they say. The limited available data also make it impossible to tell whether it matters when women drink in the course of a pregnancy, although risk tended to be higher when alcohol was consumed later in pregnancy. The researchers say it's possible the results were skewed because some women who drank during pregnancy did not admit to it "due to the stigma." There were other limitations: Only a few of the studies adjusted for smoking during pregnancy and factors such as exposure to pesticides, folate intake, birth weight and age of the women were largely not taken into account. Despite these limitations and caveats, the current findings serve to strengthen the public health recommendation against drinking alcohol during pregnancy, the study team, and Ross, conclude. SOURCE: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, online May 6, 2010. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100506/1de0be2c/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Sat May 8 08:47:49 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Sat May 8 12:52:13 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] When Adoption Isn't Easy Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100508084738.048bb678@ncf.ca> "...Both girls had some level of fetal alcohol syndrome...." When Adoption Isn't Easy Josephine A Ruggiero. Newsweek. New York: Apr 26, 2010. Vol. 155, Iss. 17 When I heard about the adoptive family who sent their 7-year-old boy back to Russia, I was saddened, but I wasn't surprised. They made a drastic decision, but I'm sure other adoptive parents in distress have thought about doing the very same thing. My husband and I adopted three biological siblings from Russia in 1994-a boy and two girls, all under the age of 5. We saw pictures and were assured they were healthy, but we had to make a quick decision, based on very little information. I'm trained in sociology, but nothing could have prepared me for the challenges we've encountered. The kids had serious medical and emotional issues. Both girls had some level of fetal alcohol syndrome. The youngest needed immediate surgery to repair a traumatic brain injury, and she's had seizures ever since. From the start, they all exhibited defiant behavior. Admittedly, all kids go through that phase, but we didn't expect it to happen so young. Within a week of bringing them home, we contacted our adoption agency and told them our experience was very different from what we had expected. They said something like, "We're sorry to hear that." My husband and I spent several months with the children at home before I went back to teaching. We played with them and found Russian speakers to talk with them and read stories in Russian. The kids all suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder resulting, we believe, from neglect and both mental and physical abuse. None ever tried to hurt us, but they were unable to control their anger. It was as if they operated solely on a level of basic survival, which never seemed to be replaced by rational thinking. We had to put locks on doors inside the house, because they would take anything they wanted, including money. I'm always trying to teach them-"We don't do this in our family"-but there's no reciprocity. We once found ourselves even charged with neglect-an unsubstantiated charge that was never pursued-when our teenage son decided to live elsewhere. Every kid tries to push the limits. But most kids get it when they've pushed too far and they stop. They care about what their parents think; they love their parents. Even now, I don't see that with my children. I spent more than a decade researching Russian adoption, and I believe families face three major challenges. First, they are not adequately prepared in the pre-adoption phase for the kinds of emotional struggles their children might face. Second, they often receive incomplete or even false medical and background information. Third, there is a lack of postadoptive services specializing in behavioral issues. Ultimately, I believe everybody would benefit if adoptees were placed in foster care in their home countries before joining families in the United States. Children need a transition period after life in an orphanage; they need to get a sense of what the give-and-take of family life is all about. Most Russian adoptions are successful. In our case, we kept thinking that our kids' early behavioral issues stemmed from the challenges of adjusting to their new life. But they only got worse. My youngest, who's 17, still gets very defensive and starts screaming. I can't say I have any real relationship with my older daughter, 19, much as I'd like to. My son, 20, lives on his own and doesn't communicate with us. It's awfully hard to take strangers and try to make them into people who love you. There isn't any doubt that we love them, but I think it's hard for them to understand what love means. My children are a success as far as society goes. My son's in college; my older daughter hopes to go in the fall. They're polite, friendly, and respectful-just not with us. We continue to love our children through all of it. It's like climbing a mountain, but we haven't reached the top, where it gets easier. I'm thinking that may never happen. Ruggiero is a professor of sociology at Providence College and the author of Eastern European Adoption: Policies, Practice, and Strategies for Change. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100508/3bdeda43/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Sat May 8 15:07:26 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Sat May 8 19:10:11 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] FASD kids to get added help: Winnipeg Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100508150240.0432aec8@ncf.ca> http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/fasd-kids-to-get-added-help-93182369.html Winnipeg Free Press News FASD kids to get added help Program aims to open door to high school, graduation By: Carol Sanders 8/05/2010 1:00 AM [Photo] PHIL.HOSSACK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA Enlarge Image Dani Kaye says she's looking forward to moving up to Grade 9 in new program at R.B. Russell Vocational School Kids in a special program for students with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder will no longer be cut adrift when it's time for high school. Starting this fall, the Winnipeg School Division is offering a Grade 9 program for kids with FASD who need more than just help from an education assistant. "We've been looking forward to something like this," said Debbie Lenhardt Mair, principal of the David Livingstone School. Students with FASD at her school have benefited from its Bridges program right through to Grade 8. Now, kids such as Dani Kaye, who has spent an extra year in Grade 8 in the Bridges program at David Livingstone because she wasn't prepared to leave and enter high school, is getting a break. "I feel excited in a way," said Dani. "I get to move on." Her grandmother and guardian Shirley Cyr is thrilled and relieved. "I've wanted it since she started school and I found out there was nothing." Dani is looking forward to attending the Grade 9 program at R.B. Russell Vocational High School in the fall. "It's the first year for a high school program in a formal way," said Bev Wahl, principal at R.B. Russell. Now there are support teachers to help FASD kids with integration, but the Grade 9 class at R.B. Russell is the first program of its kind in the city. "It's very exciting," said Wahl. "Not every student with FASD needs major support but this will give those who do an opportunity to go into a high school setting." Students will be referred from across the school division, she said. Kids who need extra help like Dani from the Bridges program and those from a similar FASD program at Shaughnessy Park School get first dibs, she said. The program is still being developed, and will start small, likely with just 10 students, Wahl said. To get ready for the first class in the fall, they're talking to agencies and community groups with experience helping FASD students, said Wahl, who brings her experience as a former principal at David Livingstone School. To start, classes will be in their homeroom with a teacher and educational assistants. Students will receive help getting organized and have a routine so their day is predictable. When they're feeling overwhelmed, they'll have a space to calm down and regroup. And they'll have supports to help them get and stay on task. "They'll have someone who can review that with them, where they're going and what happens next." Some students need to keep moving while they're sitting, so they may have a rocker instead of a regular chair. "After we've identified those students, it will be really individualized," Wahl said of the program. "We're looking at integration into regular programming to as great an extent as the students are able to," Wahl said. "Our hope is to get them through high school and with the right support into the world of work and community," said Wahl. "This is a great starting point." Across the city, high schools are losing students with FASD who need extra help and structure. "A lot of them have been unsuccessful and drop out and some may try again," she said. "I'm looking forward to see how this unfolds." A spokeswoman for the division said Thursday the program will be extended for grades 10 through 12. "It's desperately needed," said Gail MacAulay, spokeswoman for Family Advocates for Special Needs Students in the Winnipeg School Division. "We've been asking for this for a long time," said the mom of a child with special needs. "FASD is a huge problem," said MacAulay, a criminal lawyer. At work, she sees FASD clients who may have avoided trouble with the law if they'd been helped in school. "Kids often do very well in a structured setting," said MacAulay. "You see young adults on their own, with no programming or help and they start falling through the cracks," she said. carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 8, 2010 B3 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100508/a8bee203/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Sat May 8 15:43:49 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Sat May 8 19:46:11 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Courts on relatively new ground with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: Chicago Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100508150912.0432aaf0@ncf.ca> http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/ct-met-fetal-alcohol-justice-20100508,0,6230682,full.story Chicago Tribune Health Courts on relatively new ground with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders Debate flares over treatment for adults unable to understand consequences of actions By Bonnie Miller Rubin, Tribune reporters May 9, 2010 [Photo] Kathy Link talks about her experiences raising her son Matthew, 22, who suffers from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, in her Carpentersville home Wednesday, May 5, 2010. Link adopted Matthew when he was a baby and says she did not know he had Fetal Alcohol Syndrome until 2009. (Lane Christiansen, Chicago Tribune / May 4, 2010) As long as his mom could remember, Matthew Link was impulsive, making bad choices and not understanding right from wrong. He required constant supervision and would tell "off-the-wall" stories that made him look tough and powerful. As the Carpentersville boy got older, the small problems grew bigger. Link's cognitive deficits made him an easy mark for the "wrong crowd," who could talk him into anything ? including shoplifting and transporting sttolen goods. "He'd say, 'Mom, I did it because they are my friends,' " said Kathy Link, recalling one grim night at a police station in 2006. "After he'd get caught, he would always be sorry but the lessons never stuck." Adopted as an infant, her son has been diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, or FASD ?? an umbrella term for the birth defects caused by alcohol use during pregnancy. He is now 23, and while he looks like everyone else, his maturity is closer to mid-adolescence. And his parents fear that his next mistake could land him in prison. The Link family is not alone. The recent case of a Tennessee mother, who sent her adopted son on a plane back to Russia, heightened awareness about fetal alcohol children and the life-wrenching difficulties faced by their families. However, a more intense debate is raging among parents, prosecutors and judges about how to deal with fetal alcohol adults who repeatedly break the law and are unable to understand the consequences of their actions. About 60 percent of people with FASD in the United States have been in trouble with the law, and the disability is pervasive in prisons, according to a new study by Columbia University's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. Despite the numbers, those with the disability can fall through the cracks in the criminal justice system, which doesn't know much about the disorder, much less acknowledge it as a mitigating factor, said several experts. In Illinois, the state Department of Human Services found a "lack of understanding in the judicial system when dealing with individuals diagnosed with FASD," the agency noted in a recent report. "These kids need more chances in life," said Link, "because they've been dealt such a bad hand." Seminar planned In an effort to increase awareness, DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett is co-sponsoring an educational seminar this month for attorneys, educators and social workers. "Just a few years ago if you asked probation officers and some juudges, what do you know about FAS, they would say, well what does that stand for?" Birkett said. "It's a larger problem than people realize, and we're going to have to come to grips with it." Birkett's office is confronting a difficult case involving a 29-year-old man, Kevin Teichen, who was diagnosed with fetal alcohol disorder. Since they adopted him as a baby, Walt and Kathy Teichen have struggled to make sense of their son's behavior. It started in the mid-1980s, when he got kicked out of first grade and placed in a special education class. Then came more academic, social and job failures, followed by petty brushes with the law, which only escalated over time. He once walked out of Target with an armload of electronics, and no worry of getting caught. While driving a cab, he stole a credit card number to treat other drivers to dinner. It wasn't until December 2008 when the then-27-year-old Elmhurst man allegedly had sex with a 16-year-old girl that the full weight of the justice system came crashing down, sending him to the DuPage County Jail, where he has spent 16 months awaiting trial. According to investigative records, the girl said it was her idea to have sex and he agreed. If convicted, he could be sentenced to 14 years in prison and required to register as a sex offender, a label that could affect his life for decades. A court hearing is scheduled for Monday that could determine his fate. "He's not a sex offender," said his father, whose assertion is supported by two psychologists' reports. "Did he make a bad decision? Yes. Was what he did wrong? Yes but that's what fetal alcohol is. People make bad decisions." Lack of screening Nationally, FASD affects an estimated one in 100 babies ? or about 40,000 live births per year. However, no one knows how many adults with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, such as Teichen, are incarcerated. Researchers at the University of Washington estimate that as many as one out of four inmates could be affected, but few states ? including Illinois ? screen for the disabilbility. While FASD has been identified as a public health issue since the 1970s, transgressions are often seen as noncompliance rather than noncomprehension. Unlike Down syndrome, people can show no outward signs and be of normal intelligence ? in fact, they are more vulnerable to run-ins than thosee with lower IQs. They are also immature, highly suggestible and may confess to crimes they didn't commit to win favor with friends or the police. Additionally, few alternatives exist for afflicted adults who break the law, beyond incarceration. (The only FASD group home in the U.S. is in Minnesota and requires state residency.) Once in the system, it's almost a given that offenders won't be able to follow rules or probation. "All the available drugs and therapy, all the jail time, all the best intentions found in court orders, will not generate new brain cells," said David Boulding, a Canadian lawyer. A handful of states and the American Bar Association are trying to change the approach. Training and awareness are key, said Kathryn Kelly of the FASD Legal Issues Resource Center at the University of Washington, which fields about 500 inquiries annually from judges and others. "Unless we do a better job of educating court professionals and mmodify our strategies, this population is always going to fail," Kelly said. Indeed, that would apply to Teichen ? with an IQ of 74 and developmmental age closer to 12 ? whose troubles were reported by the Tribunne in 2004. Since then, he's been hospitalized four times and landed in jail three times. Deciding what should happen now becomes more complicated because Teichen is charged with a sexual offense. Prosecutor's dilemma "I'm trying to balance protecting the public's safety while taking into account his disability," said Birkett. "You want to hold the offender accountable, but you also want to make sure that the disposition you reach is appropriate." Prosecutors are arguing that Teichen is a repeat sexual offender due to an incident that occurred while attending a Florida boarding school. While at a friend's house when he was 13, he experimented with another boy during a game of "truth or dare," according to court documents. Because the Teichen family had little money for legal fees, Kevin pleaded guilty and was placed on probation until he turned 18. A subsequent investigation deemed the incident "routine experimental behavior." If sentenced to prison, he is at risk for an even worse outcome, including "being negatively influenced" by others, according to 2009 findings by the University of British Columbia. "Individuals with fetal alcohol mimic their peers," his father said. "So, if Kevin goes to treatment for sexual abusers, he will become a sexual abuser." "It is not a matter of innocence or guilt. It is how you treat a disabled person," he said. More time behind bars won't teach anything, agreed Susan Carlson, a retired Hennepin County (Minn.) juvenile judicial officer, who has dealt with hundreds of Kevins. Her state is at the forefront of tailoring sentences that are a more effective deterrent for people with FASD ? and better traaining for those who interact with them. "You aren't going to change the brain damage, but you can change the way people view it," she said. Still, Carlson acknowledged that fetal alcohol spectrum disorder treatment is in the "embryonic stages." She envisions a model that replaces jail guards with paraprofessionals, who function like the offender's "external brain," making sure he receives employment help and medication, along with a more structured living environment. The Illinois report, released in January, recommends agencies "improve and expand" FASD services. Yet, in these cash-starved times, providers say the chances of paying for such a mandate are slim. "Who should own these people?" said Art Dykstra, director of Trinity Services, a Lockport-based nonprofit, which provides programs for people with disabilities. "Who is going to raise their hands and say, 'I want to take these kids?' The funding just isn't there and kids like Kevin are cauught in the middle." Carlson acknowledged the lack of resources, but recidivism, she emphasized, is expensive, too. "We can do better," she said. "It's not only more humane it's a llot more cost-effective. I have yet to see a prison that can take someone with this disability and turn them into a productive citizen." brubin@tribune.com maramirez@tribune.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100508/cbbedff1/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Sat May 8 15:44:49 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Sat May 8 19:46:13 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] CASA's Behind Bars II: Substance Abuse and America's Prison Population Report Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100508154440.04173d18@ncf.ca> http://www.casacolumbia.org/templates/Home.aspx?articleid=287&zoneid=32 CASAColumbia.org The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University What's New CASA's Behind Bars II: Substance Abuse and America's Prison Population Report Finds: 65 Percent of all U.S. Inmates Meet Medical Criteria for Substance Abuse Addiction, only 11 Percent Receive any Treatment Drugs, Alcohol Implicated in 78 Percent of Violent Crimes, 83 Percent of Property Crimes, 77 Percent of Weapon, Public Order, Other Crimes [dated February 2010] Read report (PDF) Full press release Chairman's Statement Watch the presentation: Part 1/Part 2/Part3 [The full report is 153 pages A search by FASD finds 22 references IV. Profiles of Substance-Involved Inmates Inmates with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Rarely Diagnosed..... V. The Treatment Gap Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Rarely Addressed..... ....CASA recommends that: ..... The Criminal Justice System: Expand the use of treatment-based alternatives to jail and prison, including drug courts and prosecutorial diversion programs, for substance-involved offenders.... ...Recognize Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) as a mitigating factor in criminal cases, develop alternative sentencing options for those suffering from these disorders and provide individuals with FASD appropriate services and support at every point in the criminal justice process, from arrest to imprisonment to reentry.... ] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100508/c2ec81e7/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Sun May 9 16:20:36 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Sun May 9 20:22:13 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] A mother's mission: Barrie mom raising awareness about FASD Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100509162029.03d9d998@ncf.ca> http://thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2569554 The Barrie Examiner Barrie, Ontario Local news A mother's mission Barrie mom raising awareness about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Posted By NICKI CRUICKSHANK Posted 1 day ago [as of May 8, 2010] [Photo] MARK WANZEL The Barrie Examiner Joanne Leonard, of Barrie, has seen first hand the devastating effects of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder can have on a family. Her oldest of two adopted boys, now 14 , struggles to stay in school. Above, Leonard holds an older photo of him. Joanne Leonard won't give up on her children, even if the community has. The Barrie mother of two has been put through the ringer of parenthood, raising two sons with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). And the stigma placed upon them, and her, is often too much to take. "We need to show people just how serious this illness is. There's such a stigma attached to mental illness, and my children are affected by it every day," said the Barrie resident, who's a member of Parents for Children's Mental Health (PCMH) of Simcoe County. "My oldest son doesn't look like there's anything wrong with him. "It's really hard to diagnose FASD. But you can tell it's affected his neurological system," she added. "My youngest, he has the facial identifiers of FASD." FASD is a term that describes a range of disabilities that may affect children whose mothers drank alcohol while they were pregnant. The disorder is classed as medical/physical, but mental effects include some level of brain damage. This week was mental health awareness week, and Leonard welcomed a chance to educate the public on living with children with mental illness. It wasn't the life, or the motherhood Leonard signed up for. But, even through all the turmoil mental and physical exhaustion the disorder has put her through, she doesn't love her 15-year-old and seven-year-old sons any less. "Have I been traumatized? Absolutely," she said. "I've had two heart attacks because of this, and had counselling. And, I can't work because I parent my youngest still." Both Leonard's children were adopted from the same birth mother, who she said drank during both her pregnancies. Her oldest son, Adam (not his real name), started showing signs at age four, but Leonard wasn't able to tell. "He was all over the place, very busy and hyper. He might have been out of control then, but I was too naive to realize something wasn't right," Leonard said, looking at her son's school picture. "Then, in Grade 1, (Adam) was suspended for throwing snowballs at the principal. "The challenges got more extreme as he grew, because of his frustration about his severe learning disabilities," she said, adding that at age 8, Adam became enraged with her and grabbed a butcher knife from the kitchen to threaten her with. "He gets mad and has punched holes in our walls. He has disappeared and been out all night," she said. "He was doing drugs at age 10, skipping school. And he refused any assistive devices at school because he didn't want people to think he was stupid. He's in Grade 9 sitting at a Grade 3 learning level." Now, her youngest boy, Andrew (not his real name), is diagnosed with the same disorder, and Leonard fears starting the whole process over again. "His actions are starting, but I'm trying to corral him now and not let him get to where (my oldest) is," Leonard said. Sadly, FASD is not a commonly-known disorder in Simcoe County. But that's something Tonya Millsap and Catulpa Community Support Services in Barrie are trying to change. "We focus on raising awareness across the business sector, and with families about what FASD is," said Millsap, project manager of the Simcoe County Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Initiative. "We're also trying to work with existing community organizations to help them effectively address this disorder. "At this point, FASD is seen as a medical/physical disability, but there's the question of, is it also a mental health disorder," she added. The initiative began two years ago, and is researching the prevalence of the disorder in the county, as well as the risk factors and long-lasting effects. "Most of the affected children won't have the visible facial characteristics, but some do," she said. "The one consistent thing is the fact that the brain is affected on some level. "(FASD) is a very complex diagnosis and it doesn't affect everyone the same," she added. "It's case by case, but there's often a high rate of inability to understand consequences, tell time, use their own judgment, and affect sensory integration." A child can also be hypersensitive or hypo-sensitive because of FASD. The disorder affects one in 1,000 newborns, or 300,000 Canadians annually, but it's not clear how prevalent it is in our area. "We're working on learning about that, but the most we can say is it's 1% of the community," Millsap said. Leonard said the disorder has put a considerable amount of stress on her marriage, family life and Adam's school life. "He's been kicked out of different schools for his behaviour, and one group home, because they didn't know how to deal with his condition," she said. "I've done a lot of damage control from all the stigma they receive. The school systems and group homes need to change the language and programs they have to teach FASD students the way they can learn, and not expect them to conform to their ways." Mother's Day is Sunday, but Leonard said it won't be much of a special day for her. "It's nothing special. It'll just be a normal Sunday for me," she said with a shrug. "There's no respite at all with kids with FASD. I still have my youngest and he still needs me." Still, after all she's been through, Leonard loves being a mother to her sons. "I wouldn't change my decision to take these two kids in. It just would have been nice to know (what they had)," she said. "I want my kids to grow up and be good members of society and function, regardless of their mental illness. But the awareness and the help has to be there for them." Article ID# 2569554 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100509/2854bf03/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Mon May 10 12:53:08 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Mon May 10 16:58:14 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Sleep Problems in Children With Prenatal Substance Exposure Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100510125300.0358c848@ncf.ca> http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/164/5/452?rss=1 Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine vol. 164, no. 5, May 2010 Sleep Problems in Children With Prenatal Substance Exposure The Maternal Lifestyle Study Kristen C. Stone, PhD; Linda L. LaGasse, PhD; Barry M. Lester, PhD; Seetha Shankaran, MD; Henrietta S. Bada, MD; Charles R. Bauer, MD; Jane A. Hammond, PhD Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2010;164(5):452-456. Objective To examine the associations between sleep problems and prenatal exposure to cocaine, opiates, marijuana, alcohol, and nicotine in children aged 1 month to 12 years. Design Sleep data were collected by maternal report in a prospective longitudinal follow-up of children participating in the Maternal Lifestyle multisite study. Setting Hospital-based research centers in Providence, Rhode Island; Miami, Florida; Detroit, Michigan; and Memphis, Tennessee. Participants There were 808 participants, 374 exposed to cocaine and/or opiates, and 434 comparison subjects. Main Exposure Prenatal cocaine, opiate, marijuana, alcohol, and/or nicotine exposure. Outcome Measure Sleep problems in early, middle, and/or late childhood, assessed as composites of maternal report items. Results Of the 5 substances, prenatal nicotine exposure was the only unique predictor of sleep problems (B = 0.074, R2 change = 0.008, P = .01), with adjustment for covariates, including socioeconomic status, marital status, physical abuse, prenatal medical care, and postnatal cigarette smoke exposure. Conclusions Prenatal exposure to nicotine was positively associated with children's sleep problems persisting throughout the first 12 years of life. Targeting of this group of children for educational and behavioral efforts to prevent and treat sleep problems is merited given that good sleep may serve as a protective factor for other developmental outcomes. Author Affiliations: Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk, Women and Infants Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island (Drs Stone, LaGasse, and Lester); Department of Pediatrics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan (Dr Shankaran); Department of Pediatrics, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington (Dr Bada); Department of Pediatrics, University of Miami, Miami, Florida (Dr Bauer); and RTI International, Rockville, Maryland (Dr Hammond). -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100510/4946a484/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Tue May 11 09:53:05 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Tue May 11 13:52:10 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Adoptive parents of child with fetal alcohol syndrome deal with frustrating behavioral problems Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100511095255.045048a0@ncf.ca> http://lubbockonline.com/stories/050610/loc_634601012.shtml The Lubbock-Avalanche Journal Lubbock, Texas Adoptive parents of child with fetal alcohol syndrome deal with frustrating behavioral problems By Sarah Nightingale | AVALANCHE-JOURNAL Thursday, May 06, 2010 Story last updated at 5/6/2010 - 10:41 am Ashley Taylor swings her legs out of bed and starts her day. She takes her bath at the right time. (Not three in the morning). She dresses herself. (Nothing is on back to front, inside out or sideways). She eats her oatmeal. (Not so fast, she spits it up minutes later). She doesn't pick a fight with her siblings. (Or her parents). Behind the scenes, her adoptive parents are holding their breath and treading on eggshells. It's TAKS testing week - one of the worst times for 10-year-old Ashley to have a bad day. For parents of children with fetal alcohol syndrome, though, there are no guarantees. "It's a roller coaster," said her mom, Jennifer Taylor. "Some days she's on, some days she's off, and we can usually tell the minute her feet hit the ground if we're going to have a good or a bad day." A way of life On the outside, Ashley looks pretty much like her classmates. At least, she's the kind of "different" you wouldn't notice unless someone pointed it out. She can be smart, too. She'll explain exactly how she wound up with fetal alcohol syndrome. "It's because my birth mom drank alcohol," she said. "You shouldn't drink alcohol or that much soda when you're pregnant." She's sitting at the family's kitchen table, talking like a grown-up. Things have been better since spring break, her mom said. A few months ago, before a change in her medications, things were harder. Ashley lashed out by kicking, screaming and biting. She'd try to hurt her siblings or throw herself into walls. She'd bite her arm and pull on her hair. Outbursts happen without notice, and there's no calming her down, Jennifer said. "Because people don't understand it, they think we're bad parents," she said. There's only so much Jennifer and her husband, David, can do, though. And only time will tell how and when Ashley will grow up. "She can't help it," Jennifer said. "She has fetal alcohol syndrome and it's 100 percent preventable." Nine months and after Jennifer, 39, is a photographer. When David helps her shoot weddings, just one thing spoils the party. "You see the bridesmaids and a lot of times they're pregnant or talking about getting pregnant, and they're still drinking the champagne," he said. He doesn't judge people for enjoying a drink. "I'm judging people for drinking while they're pregnant," he said. When alcohol crosses from a mother's blood to a fetus it can cause damage that lasts a lifetime, said George Henderson, a professor of pharmacology & neuroscience at Texas Tech Health Sciences Center and an expert on fetal alcohol syndrome. Autopsies and scans of FAS children show brains that are small and abnormal, Henderson said. Alcohol not only kills brain cells, but it stunts signalling pathways that tell the brain how to develop, his research shows. With fewer cells and fewer connections, it's little wonder FAS kids have problems, he said. "These children drive their parents nuts," Henderson said. "They can be unbelievably difficult to deal with." There's no safe amount for a pregnant woman to drink, said Karen Rogers, a developmental pediatrician with PALS Developmental Center. "It depends on a woman's metabolism," she said. "A woman who doesn't drink a lot might be very susceptible." Binge drinking and chronic drinkers are most at risk, Rogers said. "If you have one drink and then realize you're pregnant, the risk is very low. If you continue to drink, the risk increases with each drink, she said. Inside out Damage caused by alcohol can result in a group of conditions, Rogers said. The broader term now used is fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, she said. Children diagnosed with the full syndrome usually have physical symptoms, including small heads or eyes, a flat groove above the lip, and a thin upper lip, Rogers said. They might also have a low birth weight, slow growth, heart defects or a cleft palate, she said. Other children might show only the emotional and behavioral scars, Rogers said. FASD kids have poor impulse control, mood problems and tantrums that can be "totally unexplained with no provoking," she said. FASD affects one in every 100 infants each year, according to the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Those affected come from all socio-economic backgrounds, said David Jenkins, a licensed specialist in school psychology with Region 17 Education Service Center. Jenkins and Rogers serve on a team to help local kids get diagnosed and treated. Many children, the experts said, are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed with conditions like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It happens too often with children who are not in care, Jennifer said. "I don't think it's a coincidence that all the adopted babies are being diagnosed with FAD and all the babies still with their natural moms are labeled ADD or ADHD," she said. Rogers agreed. "Some (cases) go undiagnosed because of the social stigma," she said. But it's not just important because of the label, she said. It's important because treatments for FASD - behavioral, educational and pharmaceutical - are different than for other disorders. Lifelong journey Most FASD kids are "normal learners" but have challenges in processing and storing information, Rogers said. "They have difficulty learning because they have an inability to use what they learn or reach their potential," she said. Ashley, a student at Cooper West Elementary, is two years behind academically but reads well, her dad said. Some days she remembers what she learns, he said. Other days it just floats away. Instead of studying, Ashley sometimes hides under her desk. She breaks almost everything she touches and makes herself sick to get out of class, her mom said. "There aren't many days we don't get an e-mail from the teacher or the nurse," said Jennifer, who praised school staff, but worries about future grades. She has bigger problems, though. "I lie, and I steal," Ashley admits. Many FASD kids struggle to integrate and respect boundaries, Jennifer said. The number of FASD adults in the criminal justice system is high, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "They make very poor judgments," Jennifer said. "They steal because they want to make friends. If someone asks them to do something, they will." Less than 10 percent of FASD adults live independently, Jenkins said. "We worry if anything would happen to us, who would take care of her," Jennifer said. A gift Jennifer was just 16 when doctors told her she wouldn't have children. She prayed each night for a blond, blue-eyed girl who looked exactly like her. Her prayers were answered almost a decade ago, when she heard about Ashley - tiny, malnourished and in need of a home. Ashley was later joined by two adopted siblings: a brother, Grant, and a sister, Brooke. It was the family Jennifer had dreamed of, but something still wasn't right. While Ashley gained weight, she was slow to develop. She was uncoordinated and she wasn't talking like she should. "Could it be fetal alcohol syndrome?" asked Jennifer, who graduated from Texas Tech with a degree in Human Development. Ashley's birth mother denied drinking and Jennifer's doctor told her to give Ashley - once weak and underfed - more time. The problems continued. School made Ashley unusually anxious and she'd chew through a pencil a day while whirling constantly on her chair. When Jennifer asked Ashley to get in the car, she'd sometimes find her daughter lost in the back of a closet. Jennifer switched doctors and got a different diagnosis. "I couldn't believe I'd wasted so much time," said Jennifer, wracked with guilt for not intervening sooner. Coping with Ashley's diagnosis has meant more than medicines and therapies, though. It's meant learning to love and support Ashley in a way that allows her to care for herself and her family. A journal describing her struggles led to Jennifer's new book, "Forfeiting All Sanity, A Mother's Story of Raising a Child with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome." It's both educational and frank, Jennifer said. "I was having all these negative feelings and I was ashamed," she said. "Since I've written the book, I've had so many moms tell me they've felt that way too." To comment on this story: sarah.nightingale@lubbockonline.com l 766-8796 james.ricketts@lubbockonline.com l 766-8706 HEALTH/Adoptive parents of child with fetal alcohol syndrome deal with frustrating behavioral problems [Watch video] [Photos]Geoffrey Mcallister / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal Ashley Taylor, 10, plays with her dolls in her room before going to choir practice April 28. Ashley was diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome when she was 5. Ashley Taylor, 10, embraces her adoptive father, David, after school in their backyard April 28. Ashley has fetal alcohol syndrome, which can cause poor impulse control, mood problems and tantrums that can be totally unexplained. Ashley Taylor, 10, right, swings in her backyard alongside her sister, Brooke, 6, on April 28. Ashley Taylor, 10, back right, practices with the kids choirs at Victory Life church Wednesday, April 28. Ashley Taylor, 10, right, runs to the car for choir practice with her sister Brooke, 6, Wednesday, April 28. Ashley Taylor, 10, right, smiles as she talks with her sister Brooke, 6, during supper in their backyard Wednesday, April 28. Ashley Taylor, 10, right, wrestles with her sister Brooke, 6, during an argument in their home Tuesday, April 27. Ashley Taylor, 10, reads out loud with her group in Mrs. Raindl's class at Lubbock Cooper West Elementary, Tuesday, March 3. Ashley Taylor, 10, right, reminds her sister Brooke, 6, which doll is hers as they play in their home after school Tuesday, April 27. Ashley Taylor, 10, sits in her kitchen as her adoptive mother, Jennifer, does her hair, Tuesday, April 27. Meet Jennifer Taylor ? The book: "Forfeiting all Sanity. A Mother's Story of Raising a Child with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome" ($10.99, Tate Publishing, can be ordered at bookstores). ? Signing: 2-4 p.m. May 22 at Hastings Bookstore, 3249 50th St. ? More information: Visit www.jenniferposstaylor.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100511/b6c4bcda/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Tue May 11 10:00:10 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Tue May 11 14:04:14 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Alcohol sign rules could change soon: Texas Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100511093822.045048a0@ncf.ca> [Old article - don't know if change went through] http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/031210/fea_585576728.shtml Lubbock-Avalanche Journal Lubbock, Texas Features Alcohol sign rules could change soon By Sarah Nightingale | AVALANCHE-JOURNAL Friday, March 12, 2010 Story last updated at 3/12/2010 - 12:26 am Signs appealing to women about the dangers of drinking while pregnant aren't required in local liquor stores and supermarkets. The Lubbock Health Department might ask the City Council to change that. The health board will discuss today state laws on warning signs and the potential to educate women about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome as they shop for drinks, said Bridget Faulkenberry, health department director. Such signs are already required in places selling alcohol for on-site consumption, said Brian Williams, a lieutenant with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. "They are posted in the bathroom and they contain information about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome," Williams said. No state laws require the signs be posted in alcohol-selling stores, Williams said. But that doesn't stop a city passing its own ordinances, he added. "As long as it doesn't relax our code, it's fine," Williams said. Also at the meeting, the board will be briefed on feral hogs and prairie dog flea studies, adult H1N1 influenza patients at University Medical Center; the health department's efforts to educate people about the benefits of getting vaccinated; and local infectious disease numbers. The meeting is set for 12:30 p.m. at the Health Department Auditorium, 1902 Texas Ave. To comment on this story: sarah.nightingalelubbockonline.com l 766-8796 charles.reinken@lubbockonline.com l 766-8706 HEALTH/Department may ask City Council to require warnings in liquor, grocery stores -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100511/1759657b/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Mon May 17 15:46:08 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Fri May 21 11:58:20 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Free Beer Not as Good as It Sound - Unless You're Pregnant Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100517144208.069fca20@ncf.ca> http://www.fastcompany.com/1642975/free-beer-not-as-good-as-it-sounds-unless-youre-pregnant FAST company Free Beer Not as Good as It Sounds--Unless You're Pregnant BY Addy Dugdale Mon May 10, 2010 Kirin's Free beer (as opposed to free beer: that would obviously bankrupt the company PDQ) is a non-alcoholic lager with an interesting marketing campaign attached. Launched last month, the TV spot is filled with young, expectant mothers hanging out in a playground and drinking cans of the amber nectar. The ad was spotted last month by Lisa Katayama, who writes the TokyoMango blog, and she posted the video for all to see. Said vid, however, has been pulled from YouTube by Kirin (second thoughts about the campaign? Fetal Alcohol Syndrome wobbles?), and the Japanese brewing firm has today launched a campaign that, while slightly different, still mines what they think could be a lucrative market for it's alcohol-free products: new mothers. According to the AP, any woman who's just dropped a sprog at one of Japan's maternity hospitals will be issued with a single can of Kirin Free. The beer, aimed at drivers and the recently knocked-up, launched last year, and sold 4 million cases in its first eight months--far surpassing Kirin's original target of 630,000. However, it's some way behind the Brazilian brand Nova Schinn, whose 2006 advertising campaign eschewed subtlety in favor of out there-ness. It's hard to say whether it was aimed at the partners of pregnant women (verily, I say unto thee, Joao, should you partake of the refreshing Nova Schinn, this is what your other half will look like. No, really.) or at the women themselves. Marketing alcohol-free beer to pregnant women should, on the face of it, be a straightforward exercise. It's non-alcoholic, ergo it's alrighty. Even zero percent alcohol, however, contains traces of the stuff. And, whether you incur the wrath of your fellow citizen who think that even one drop of the hard stuff will render unto your unborn child Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, is pretty much dependent on where you live. In the U.K. and the U.S., drinking even a glass of the stuff can be frowned on--there have even been cases of pregnant women being chided for drinking coffee in the morning. The rest of Europe, however, is a little more laid-back about it. In Spain, many gynecologists advocate the odd glass of wine a week--some even suggest that it is better for a smoker to enjoy the occasional cigarette when pregnant, rather than risk the trauma of giving up. (Back in the '60s, mothers worldwide were advised by their doctors to smoke occasionally and ensure an easier birth--smaller baby, see?) To digress slightly, the idea of steering clear of food like prawns, unpasteurized cheese and the wonderful jamon serrano would probably incite street riots in Madrid within 24 hours. And, of course, the Irish know that Guinness is good for you. Kirin's marketing campaign is based on the idea that a cold beer, post-partum, can de-stress even the most sleep-deprived, unshowered-for-three-days, semi-functioning new mother. Whether, however, the more puritanical members of society could get their heads around the idea of seeing pregnant women, or those still breast-feeding, chugging down a beer, remains to be seen. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100517/fdc62894/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Mon May 17 15:52:55 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Fri May 21 11:58:37 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Meeting to assess need for FASD network in Portage: Manitoba Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100517145019.0647cc28@ncf.ca> http://www.cpheraldleader.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2575943 Portage La Prairie News Meeting to assess need for FASD network in Portage Posted By The Daily Graphic Staff Posted 4 days ago [as of May 17, 2010] A meeting planned for Monday is aimed at assessing the need for a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) network here in Portage la Prairie. Anyone can attend the meeting, which will take place May 17 at 2 p.m. at the Tupper Street Family Resource Centre, Margaret Warner, the centre's executive director, said, although people who are directly affected by FASD will find it especially interesting. "It's particularly aimed at service providers and parents of kids with FASD," Warner said. Leilani Bushau with M?tis Child and Family Services will make a presentation covering what FASD is and what services are available across the province, the executive director said. While there are services available in the Portage area, she said, through various agencies, they all run independently of each other. This meeting will attempt to bring the various service providers in the area together to try and better co-ordinate their efforts and identify what may be missing. The Tupper Street Family Resource Centre has been approved for $2,500 of funding from the Changes for Children Initiative, Warner added, and the meeting will also involve discussion about how best to allocate that grant money, such as the possibility of setting up a co-ordinated network for service providers. news@cpheraldleader.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100517/73418d4a/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Mon May 17 16:42:13 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Fri May 21 11:58:49 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] MP wants danger alerts on booze: New Zealand Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100517145407.0647cd70@ncf.ca> [This article is NOT about warning about drinking in pregnancy] http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3703426/MP-wants-danger-alerts-on-booze stuff.co.nz National MP wants danger alerts on booze By NICOLA RUSSELL - Sunday News Last updated 13:13 16/05/2010 [Photo] LABEL IT: MP Sue Kedgley is calling for prominent warning labels on bottles of alcohol. Green MP Sue Kedgley is calling for prominent warning labels on bottles of alcohol in the wake of the death of schoolboy James Webster who had been drinking vodka. The 16-year-old Auckland King's College student died after drinking a bottle of straight spirits and falling into an alcohol-induced coma on Saturday last week. James' uncle, Donald Webster, suspected his nephew didn't know the difference between the vodka and similar-sized pre-mixed vodka and fruit juice drinks popular with young drinkers. The RTDs contains around 8 percent alcohol compared to straight vodka which ranges from 35 to 50 percent alcohol. Current labelling on booze bottles show the alcohol content and approximate standard drinks in small print. But Kedgley said the warnings should be as prominent as those on cigarette packets. Her call also comes as Chief Coroners Office figures yesterday revealed 83 New Zealanders have drunk themselves to death since July 2007. And a report by the Law Commission, Alcohol in our Lives, showed nearly 5500 young people were hospitalised with alcohol-related conditions from 2002-2006. Kedgley believes alcohol marketing glamourises drinking. "Anyone who is a food expert will tell you there are three ways to get your new product widely consumed. The first issue is price, the second is marketing and the third is availability. "If you market your product heavily and get it everywhere it will sell - it's the same with alcohol." The MP was especially scathing of how alcopops were marketed. "They completely disguise the alcohol, and in many cases they have caffeine and sugar added which I think exacerbate the alcohol and is deliberately targeted at teenagers," she said. "The idea is to hook them young ? get them at an early age, which to me is predatory." The Auckland District Health Board released figures to Sunday News this week that showed 2186 people have been hospitalised for alcohol intoxication since the beginning of last year. And 11 percent were aged 12-19. The total does not include patients who stay for three hours or less or patients who have sustained injuries as a result of alcohol intake. THE RULES Current legal guidelines in New Zealand on alcohol consumption by under 18-year-olds. If you are with your parent or legal guardian you can: Drink responsibly in a private home or at a private function ? like a family BBQ or 21st party. Ad Feedback Go into supervised areas of bars and pubs ? that's most bars ? but be sure ? check the licence. Drink in a public place ? except where there is an alcohol ban. If you are under 18, without your parent or guardian, you can't: Drink in a public place. Go into pubs and bars. Buy booze or get an adult to buy you booze. Carry a fake ID or use someone else's. ? from the Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100517/a8166fc2/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Mon May 17 16:54:44 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Fri May 21 11:59:50 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Eva and Rick's incredible journey: California Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100517155436.03f4ab08@ncf.ca> Skipped content of type multipart/related-------------- next part -------------- From rosse at ncf.ca Mon May 17 16:55:04 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Fri May 21 12:00:42 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] FASD U.S. Surgeon General Warning sign at Costco: Long Island (2 articles) Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100517155455.04369aa0@ncf.ca> From the FASDAY list Date: Tue, 11 May 2010 21:57:48 -0400 (EDT) From: Smrose49@aol.com Subject: Re: FASD U.S. Surgeon General Warning sign at Cosco- Dear fellow crusaders, My husband returned last night from Coscos in Westbury (Nassau County) on Long Island. He was shocked when he saw a large U.S. Surgeon General's sign above the beer display. I called the head manager at Cosco and thanked him profusely, on behalf of our organization and other FAS groups , for putting up the sign. He said that HE had the sign put up because he thought it was the right thing to do. He was amazed when I told him what a huge contribution to the cause he had made. I asked him if he would contact Cosco headquarters so that all the Cosco stores would carry such a sign. *******This is a terrific opportunity for us to raise awareness: Now, I don't know what this manager will do, but I know what we can do. Everyone...call your local Cosco and tell them about the New York Cosco and why the sign is so important. I plan on next calling all the Coscos in my our area and their competitor- Walmart. Note: Many more people are shopping at these two stores because of the economy. In fact, my husband said that he had to wait 20 minutes on line at Cosco for groceries on a Saturday night. We're at the beginning of the 'Barbeque Season' so the timing is perfect for us to be proactive. So, please start calling and then let me know if you were successful in getting the attention of a Cosco in your area. "We're all in this together" Susan Rose, President of The Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Support Network of New York City and Long Island www.fassn.org Date: Wed, 12 May 2010 11:28:56 -0400 (EDT) From: Smrose49@aol.com Subject: Call Costco about Surgeon General signs above beer display! Dear Faslinkers, Pardon my calling Costco-Cosco. I think you all knew what I meant! After calling and thanking the Costco manager who on his own posted The U.S. Surgeon's warning about the danger of drinking alcohol....., I have found that the other Costco stores in our area are also receptive to the idea. Note: It was the manager at Costco in Westbury, Long Island, New York that put up the first sign. Again....please call your local Costco(s). Tell the manager about the impact that these signs will have-especially since so many more people are shopping at Costco vs. grocery stores because of the economy. I would probably mention the Costco in Westbury to get the attention of your local Costco manager. No long letters needed. Just pick up the phone and call. Really cheap way to raise awareness with minimum effort. Please let me know if you are successful in getting a Costco in your area to put up a sign. "We're all in this together" Susan Rose, President of The Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Support Network of New York City and Long Island From rosse at ncf.ca Thu May 27 11:59:05 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Thu May 27 11:04:31 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] =?iso-8859-1?q?What=92s_best_for_troubled_t?= =?iso-8859-1?q?eens=3F?= Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100527105853.03b29d30@ncf.ca> [No mention of any specific condition such as FASD] http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/05/20/whats-best-for-troubled-teens/ Macleans magazine Canada What?s best for troubled teens? Increasingly, Canadian youth are put in U.S. residential programs by Rachel Mendleson on Thursday, May 20, 2010 3:00pm [Photo] Kristen Schmid/ St. Petersburg Times/ Zuma/ Keystone Using boot camps or wilderness programs to treat youth suffering from emotional, behavioural or addiction problems is a divisive issue in the mental health profession. So a conference in Toronto this month that will include representatives of more than 100 such residential therapeutic programs?four are Canadian, the rest are U.S.-based?has reignited the debate about their efficacy, and the increasing placement of Canadian youth in these facilities. The conference, organized by the Fairfax, Va.-based Independent Educational Consultants Association, is an opportunity for these programs, as well as traditional boarding schools and colleges, to market themselves to the IECA?s members, who offer placement advice to parents and youth. Mark Sklarow, the IECA?s executive director, says the gathering is being held in Canada due, in part, to an uptick in interest from Canadian clients. But Roch Longue?p?e, founder of Restoring Dignity, a Halifax-based NGO that fights institutional child abuse, says the inclusion of U.S. residential therapeutic programs is ?a wake-up call? about Canadian recruitment to largely privately run facilities with ?a lack of oversight [or] structure for safeguards.? Some recent high-profile cases of abuse and neglect at therapeutic facilities, he says, are proof that such programs can put vulnerable kids at risk. Sklarow says all of the programs represented at the conference have met national accreditation and state licensure standards. ?If we have evidence that any attendee at the conference has ever been convicted of child abuse,? he says, ?we would not allow them to attend.? The conference has also attracted the attention of Ontario?s child advocate, Irwin Elman. More than anything, Elman is concerned these facilities fill a ?vacuum? of services in Canada, where, he says, ?we are not meeting our commitments to children and youth.? Comments Mark Sklarow ? 2 days ago It is important to note that the IECA conference, which brought over 750 professionals to Toronto, featured dozens of presentations by healthcare professionals, experts on learning issues and forums for debate which allowed all sides, including those of Mr. Longueepee to be heard. We all share one overriding concern: treatment for adolescents with behavioral or emotional issues or substance abuse that has prevented them from achieving success in life and school. As an association our members insist that member counselors understand all options: from home-based to community-options to residential alternatives. Angela Smith ? 21 hours ago I finde the IECA and their associations with programs and member programs that have lost multiple civil suits for abuse and/or wrongful death (i.e. Aspen Education Group, Universal Health Services (CHAD Youth Enhancement Center, Provo Canyon School, etc.) to be nothing but a pretense of credibility for an unscrupulous, greedy, and inhumane industry that regularly defrauds families and hurts kids. Freedom includes the freedom to err. At least, Gandhi thought so. But, these programs do not forgive the growing pains common to the teen years and treat even a "roll of the eyes" as a capital crime. It is time for strict regulation and/or the complete abolition of such programs. We need to strengthen family bonds and heal families, not bankrupt, harm, and destroy them. I guess Mr. Sklarow doesn't understand that. WDTONY ? 20 hours ago The US "troubled teen industry" is unregulated, psychologically damaging and at times deadly. There is no scientific basis showing that any of these residential programs help anyone. These programs resemble CULTS more than treatment. PLEASE DO NOT SEND YOUR YOUTH TO THESE PROGRAMS! According to Maia Szalavitz' book, "Help At Any Cost" (a fantastic book on this subject), on pg. 260- " These "educational consultants" present an additional set of problems. Some are former (or even current!) employees of tough love programs and believe in their methods based on this work. Many have little training beyond their own training as parents of troubled teens or as former program employees. ...Like many involved in running these programs, often these "consultants" are not licensed professionals of any kind. There's no regulatory oversight - anyone can call him- or herself an educational consultant." -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100527/39f31154/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Thu May 27 11:59:21 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Thu May 27 11:04:41 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] =?iso-8859-1?q?Friday=92s_Children_aided_by?= =?iso-8859-1?q?_new_FASD_?= resources: B.C. Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100527105911.03b2c348@ncf.ca> http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_north/comoxvalleyrecord/community/94544254.html Comox Valley Record Vancouver Island, B.C. Community Friday's Children aided by new FASD resources By Lindsay Chung - Comox Valley Record Published: May 20, 2010 6:00 PM [Photo] LAURIE FISHER OF the Queen Alexandra Foundation (centre) presents community grant funding to, from left, Karyn Smith, Terry Louden, Audrey Waite and Susan Urdea for the Friday's Child program. PHOTO BY LINDSAY CHUNG New resources will help the local Friday's Child program for families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder share what has worked here with other communities. The Comox Valley Aboriginal Head Start (AHS) Program, which houses the Friday's Child program, received a community grant from the Queen Alexandra Foundation for Children last April and used the funding to create the Little Book of Tips and a DVD to go with it. The book and DVD are based on the Friday's Child strength-based program for families with children affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and are based on ideas and techniques developed by Friday's Child facilitator Terry Louden working with the families in the program. "The tips are also what the parents have recognized as strengths of their children, and I have built on that," said Louden. "The DVD is a visual of what works and why we believe in this so much." When Louden heard about the possibility of putting a proposal into the Queen Alexandra Foundation for a project that would enhance the Friday's Child program, she and Audrey Waite, co-ordinator of the Comox Valley AHS Program, thought creating these resources would be a good project because there isn't much available for families whose children have FASD. They decided that Louden would develop eight workshops for different ages and stages up to the age of six. "One of the intents was so this program could be shared with other communities in B.C. and other places," said Waite. "Between the DVD and the Little Book of Tips, we also have a program manual. With those three things, communities can develop a program, and Terry can go and be available to assist other communities in developing a program such as this. Terry has done a tremendous amount of work with that. We are very blessed and honoured to have her working with us." Louden describes Friday's Child as "one small program, one huge impact." "It's great to have the Little Book of Tips and DVD that goes along with it so you can see some of these techniques being practised," she said. "The Little Book of Tips is ongoing; it's a living piece. It will always be added to. Those tips come from things parents ask." Friday's Child is now in its eighth year, and Louden feels the new resources give the program momentum going forward. "It's very exciting and encouraging," she said. "It gives us renewed hope and energy to continue to do it. The parents are so drained. They're incredible people; if we can give them that encouragement, that's what makes this work." Waite agrees. "I think it has created a tremendous opportunity for giving more knowledge to not only this community, but also other communities," she said. The DVD, Little Book of Tips and workshops were funded by the Queen Alexandra Foundation, while Friday's Child is funded by the Ministry of Children and Family Development. Karyn Smith, a parent in the Friday's Child program, foresees that the Little Book of Tips will become much larger in the future. Through Friday's Child, Smith has learned she is not alone. "To me, it seemed to make me more comfortable because I know others are living the same life I'm living now," she said. "As parents, we've spread the word that we're here, and it's not just you. I think it's amazing. As a group, we rely on one another now; we've become really good friends." Friday's Child has brought grandparent Susan Urdea a lot of understanding and knowledge, and it has become a safe haven. "This was the only place I felt safe on a Friday," said Urdea. "I felt safe because the judgment wasn't there. There aren't a lot of places you can feel safe being who you are." writer@comoxvalleyrecord.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100527/e9a41847/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Thu May 27 11:59:34 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Thu May 27 11:04:49 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] NIAAA Celebrates 40 Years of Research, Outreach Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100527105927.03e72b88@ncf.ca> "...highlights of its history, such as the first Fetal Alcohol Syndrome workshop..." "Contributors:.... Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: Peggy Seo Oba..." http://alcoholreports.blogspot.com/2010/05/niaaa-celebrates-40-years-of-research.html [U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism] Aims To support the free and open dissemination of research findings and information on alcoholism and alcohol-related problems. To encourage open access to peer-reviewed articles free for all to view. Alcohol Reports Friday, May 21, 2010 NIAAA Celebrates 40 Years of Research, Outreach NIAAA celebrates the 40th anniversary of its founding this year with a fresh, new look and new publications that will examine the Institute's pivotal role in alcohol-related research and outreach. The Institute also plans to host a special symposium on October 4, 2010, recognizing the anniversary. At this symposium, leaders in the field will discuss the ways in which alcohol research has evolved over the past 40 years and NIAAA's role in this progress. More information on this symposium will be available soon. Anniversary banners that incorporate a new logo for the Institute, boldly acknowledging its 40 years, already are on display on the main campus of NIH. NIAAA also will devote issues of its flagship publications to the milestone. A special issue of Alcohol Research & Health (AR&H) will cast a wide net over the multidisciplinary efforts involved in alcohol research and their public health impact. Further commemorating the anniversary, an Alcohol Alert will outline NIAAA's beginnings with the Hughes Act of 1970; its subsequent growth and establishment as an independent Institute in 1974; and highlights of its history, such as the first Fetal Alcohol Syndrome workshop, passage of the minimum legal drinking age laws, and the launch of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). In 40 years, NIAAA has helped the Nation evolve a more complete understanding of alcohol problems and how to prevent and treat them. The Institute has identified at-risk populations, including pregnant women and youth, and compelled the public to recognize their importance as prevention targets. It has allowed to flourish research that provides health care professionals with many perspectives on how alcohol use affects humans and how best to aim a broader cache of interventions. And it has created a landscape where investigators may pursue novel and cross-disciplinary questions that will build upon the advances in the field that NIAAA will continue to support. CONTRIBUTORS AFRICA -Isidore Obot ARGENTINA, CHILE AND URUGUAY -Mariana Cremont BRAZIL -Rosana Camarini CANADA -Tim Stockwell -Sherry Wasilow ESTONIA -Lauri Beekmann FRANCE - Philippe Arvers KOREA -Baek Jinuk SOUTH AFRICA -Rachel Cornish SOUTH ASIA - Prasantha De Silva UNITED KINGDOM -Libby Ranzetta -Rachel Cornish -David B. Cooper USA -Loran Archer -Thomasina Borkman -Tom Colthurst -Jay Lewis -Jared Lobdell -Marjana Martinic -Albert Pawlowski -Don Phillips FETAL ALCOHOL SPECTRUM DISORDERS - Peggy Seo Oba EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS - Paul M Roman -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100527/66729ea6/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Thu May 27 11:59:48 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Thu May 27 11:05:04 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] 'He didn't stand a chance from Day 1' Alberta Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100527105941.03f70b60@ncf.ca> "...John suffered from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, chronic tantrums and somewhat below-average intelligence...." http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/didn+stand+chance+from/3050315/story.html Edmonton Journal News 'He didn't stand a chance from Day 1' Society again has failed a doomed child -- and doesn't want to talk about it By Paula Simons, Edmonton Journal May 20, 2010 [Photo] Paula Simons His name was ... well, actually, I can't tell you his name. I'm banned from printing any information that could identify him. The federal Youth Criminal Justice Act law prevents the publication of the name of any young offender. The provincial Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act prohibits the identification of anyone who ever "came to the attention" of provincial child welfare authorities. The bans are permanent. They endure even after a child in question reaches adulthood. They even survive death. And so, when a city worker discovered the body of a young man of 25 on the wooden staircase below the elegant Hotel Macdonald early Monday morning, we at The Journal had a hard choice. We could either print his name -- or tell you his story. The law, let it be said, is ridiculous. The putative purpose of the publication ban under the Youth Criminal Justice Act is to allow young people the chance to rehabilitate themselves, the chance to start a fresh life without the notoriety of a public criminal conviction. Whether or not you think that's a valid enough social policy reason to ban the publication of a criminal's name is one thing. But this particular criminal is dead. For him, there will be no rehabilitation, no fresh start. Protecting his privacy now defies common sense. As for the provincial Enhancement Act? It presupposes that being in foster care is so shameful, no one should ever know about it or talk about it. But while the ostensible reason for the provincial ban is to protect children's privacy, the real-life effect of the law is to protect those who abuse children -- and to shield our child welfare system from scrutiny. The name of Monday's homicide victim is no secret -- it has already been made public. But we made the tough decision not to print the name ourselves because we felt that it was more important to tell you this young man's story. The medical examiner says "John Doe" died of a single stab wound. It was an ugly, brutal end to a short and brutal life. John was of those kids damned from conception. His mother was an addict who abused alcohol, cocaine and LSD while she was pregnant. As a result, John suffered from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, chronic tantrums and somewhat below-average intelligence. According to court testimony, John's mother sometimes left her young son alone and without food. She was involved with a series of known child molesters -- and she effectively pimped the boy and his brother out to these boyfriends, who, it would appear, gave her alcohol and drugs in exchange for sexual access to the two children. John was taken into foster care not long before his sixth birthday and made a permanent ward of the province at eight. But our dysfunctional child welfare system provided him no happy haven. By the time he was 16, he'd lived in more than 25 different foster homes, group homes and treatment facilities. He was a chronic runaway, sometimes disappearing for months at a time. "These kids just go through a revolving door," says Ed O'Neill, John's former defence lawyer. "He didn't stand a chance from Day 1. I just remember him as being lost, ambitionless, all alone." At the same time, recalls O'Neill, the fetal alcohol exposure and the years of abuse had left the boy with poor impulse control and a lack of empathy for others. At 16, John ran away from the group home where he was supposed to be living and crashed with one of his mother's on-and-off boyfriends. One night, that boyfriend, 37-year-old Lief Ove Lundgren, was found beaten to death with a baseball bat. Police quickly discovered John sleeping in Lundgren's van, some 10 blocks away. John was originally charged with second-degree murder, but eventually pleaded guilty to manslaughter. The Crown and defence agreed to a sentence of two years, plus a year's probation, but the judge took the unusual step of rejecting the deal and imposed a sentence of three years, the maximum possible. "It's a crapshoot to guess what is going to be best for this young man," Judge Sydney Wood admitted during sentencing. To John, he added, "Young man, the rest of your life starts today and I hope you take advantage of the situation." There's precious little evidence that three years in the Edmonton Young Offenders Centre put the violent young killer on any magic path to redemption. At the time of his death, he was living in an inner-city homeless shelter. Those who knew him on the street say he was a loner, who abused drugs and alcohol and rarely backed down from a fight. At 25, it seems he was as lost a soul as he'd been at 16. In the crapshoot of life, he came up snake eyes -- one of Edmonton's throwaway children, one of those lost boys haunting our back alleys, ravines and library doorways, one of those scary street kids we'd rather pretend not to see. Youths like John Doe frighten us, not just because they're dangerous but because they shatter our comfortable illusion that this is a safe and happy city where everyone has an equal chance to succeed. Our laws, our systems will carefully protect John Doe's privacy and identity now that he's dead, now that his corpse has been carefully dissected and stowed away. Too bad we didn't exert the same kind of effort to protect and care for him -- and protect us from him -- in life, as in death. psimons@thejournal.canwest.comTwitter.com/Paulatics -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100527/6edd9550/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Thu May 27 12:00:02 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Thu May 27 11:05:29 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] FASD: Growing Awareness in Europe Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100527105955.03f708d0@ncf.ca> http://alcoholreports.blogspot.com/2010/05/fetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorders.html Alcohol Reports Thursday, May 20, 2010 Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: Growing Awareness in Europe Wednesday through Friday, November 3 to 5, 2010 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 More Conference Information [First European Conference on FASD Conference in the Netherlands Scientific Planning Committee members from Finland, Netherlands, Spain, France, U.K., Italy, USA, Germany, Sweden] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100527/092bee8e/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Thu May 27 12:00:17 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Thu May 27 11:05:44 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Child maltreatment concerns discussed at local conference: Wisconsin Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100527110010.03f70640@ncf.ca> "...Anne McKeig, a Minnesota Hennepin County judge....has worked in protective services for 16 years and spoke about the dangers of fetal alcohol abuse...." http://www.wxow.com/Global/story.asp?S=12497607 WXOW News 19 La Crosse, Wisconsin Child maltreatment concerns discussed at local conference Posted: May 17, 2010 11:24 PM EDT Monday, May 17, 2010 11:24 PM EST LA CROSSE, Wisconsin (WXOW)-- While most adults would intervene if they saw a child being abused, sometimes the abuse isn't so obvious. Professionals from across the nation are in La Crosse this week for the Child Maltreatment Conference. Franciscan Skemp has teamed up with the Mayo Clinic and the National Child Protection Training Center of Winona, for the 13th annual conference. The conference focuses on the latest treatment and prevention methods for child abuse. Nationally, around one million children lie victim to some form of child maltreatment each year. "You see almost a million children that are known to be victims of the abuse, either physical, sexual or neglect and for someone to say it doesn't happen in my backyard is kind of head in the sand,"said Phillip Nielson, a conference planning chair from Franciscan Skemp Healthcare. The Coulee Region has reports of physical abuse and sexual abuse, emotional damage, and even neglect as forms of maltreatment. On Monday, professionals from across the nation discussed the latest ways is to prevent, identify, and help communities that have child abuse. "This is a real problem. It is in your community. You might not think it is, but become involved and find out what is happening, so that you can be part of the prevention because our children are our greatest asset," said Anne McKeig, a Minnesota Hennepin County judge. McKeig has worked in protective services for 16 years and spoke about the dangers of fetal alcohol abuse. McKeig said drinking while pregnant is often misunderstood. Pregnant women should not drink at all, not even an occasional glass of wine. "Every women as she goes through her pregnancy goes through her pregnancy differently. So I think it is really unknown as to when it would ever be a safe time to have any amount of alcohol. So the education is just don't drink any alcohol at all," said McKeig. Fetal alcohol abuse can lead to physical and mental disabilities, birth defects, behavioral problems and slow the physical growth and development of infants. "So it really has an effect from birth all the way through," said McKeig. This form of abuse is preventable, if women simply do not drink while pregnant. It is one of many forms of child maltreatment that is found in our community, and McKeig said to reduce abuse, the public must become more educated and involved. The Child Maltreatment Conference is from May 17 through May 19 at the La Crosse Convention Center. Log onto www.franciscanskemp.org/childmaltreatment for more information. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100527/a20a0ae5/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Thu May 27 12:00:33 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Thu May 27 11:05:51 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and The Justice System Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100527110026.03f703b0@ncf.ca> http://blog.whitesidemanor.com/2010/05/fetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorder.html Whiteside Manor Blog Topical information about addiction and recovery brought to you by Whiteside Manor in Riverside, California... Tuesday, May 18, 2010 Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and The Justice System "Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is a continuum of permanent birth defects caused by maternal consumption of alcohol during pregnancy", according to the Diagnostic Guide for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders(FASD). There is a wide range of problems that can appear in a child whose mother drank alcohol during the pregnancy, for many years fetal alcohol syndrome was considered to be something completely different from all the others. Recently, the name Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder was created to encompass all the developmental problems that may occur. We now understand that alcohol can damage the inside of a person without outward manifestations, making it very difficult for a doctor to discover that the mother had been drinking alcohol. The justice system seems to be struggling with cases that involve FASD, primarily the ambiguities of the disorder. This is not the first time that medical science has come head to head with the justice system, it seems like the topic of sanity is always being argued because insanity can be acted out in order to deceive. FASD sometimes manifests itself as an inability to understand the consequences of one's actions, which, means an adult with FASD would be just like a child who cannot understand the difference between right and wrong. The problem is that because there are varying degrees of the disability some people know the difference and don't care - a more sociopath side of the disorder. How does a court punish a person who has chosen FASD as their defense? Prosecutors and corrections officials know little about FASD which makes it even harder to rule in these matters. "Few states screen offenders for FASD, and those who break the law or rules are typically seen as intransigent, not victims of their disease. People with FASD can have normal intelligence but are immature and highly open to suggestion, experts say -- a mix that may make them seem more responsible for their actions than they really are", reported the Chicago Tribune . 60 percent of Americans with FASD have been in the criminal-justice system, a common disorder among prison inmates according to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University. The courts rarely recognize FASD as a defense, and there are many people who have been convicted of a crime who would be better served in a facility outside of prison where they can learn how to function in the world without getting into trouble. We need to better educate authorities within the justice system so that people can get the help they need. Labels: addiction, alcohol, drinking-alcohol, FASD, fetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorder, justice-system, pregnancy, prison posted by Whiteside Manor (800) 300-7326 2:57 PM From rosse at ncf.ca Thu May 27 12:00:54 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Thu May 27 11:05:59 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Justice System Struggles with Cases Involving FASD Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100527110048.03f70098@ncf.ca> Skipped content of type multipart/related-------------- next part -------------- From rosse at ncf.ca Thu May 27 12:01:09 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Thu May 27 11:06:25 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Light drinkers healthier: study Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100527110101.03f6fe08@ncf.ca> "...Excessive drinking is associated with chronic liver disease, many cancers, alcohol poisoning, fetal alcohol syndrome and heart disease...." www.canada.com 20 May 2010 Times Colonist Light drinkers healthier: study People who drink moderate amounts of alcohol have better health on average than those who abstain, French scientists said yesterday. Researchers found that most of the health benefits in drinkers were not a direct result of the alcohol, but due to indirect links such as being less stressed, engaging in more physical activity and enjoying a better social status. ?Moderate alcohol intake is a powerful marker of a higher social level, superior general health status and lower cardiovascular risk,? said Boris Hansel, of the Hospital of Pitie-Salpetri?re in Paris, who led the study. He stressed, however, that the study did not show any causal links, and should not be used as evidence to promote alcohol. Excessive drinking is associated with chronic liver disease, many cancers, alcohol poisoning, fetal alcohol syndrome and heart disease. Their findings were published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. ? Reuters -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100527/94c8b362/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Thu May 27 12:01:31 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Thu May 27 11:06:42 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Offender could change: doctor: Sask. Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100527110116.03f6fb78@ncf.ca> "...diagnosed her as having anti-social personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and possibly fetal alcohol syndrome...." www.canada.com 19 May 2010 Leader-Post By JANA G. PRUDEN Leader-Post Offender could change: doctor A forensic psychologist says Josephine Pelletier is ?a rather disturbed young woman? who suffers a wide range of problems stemming from an extremely dysfunctional upbringing, long-term substance abuse issues, and problems with impulsivity and violence. But Dr. Roger Holden said Pelletier could still have the potential to change if she tries. ?She?s treatable, and there is some hope of eventual management of her risk in the community,? Holden testified, appearing at Pelletier?s long-term offender hearing at Regina Court of Queen?s Bench on Tuesday. If declared a long-term offender, Pelletier would serve a fixed prison term followed by up to a decade of supervision in the community. It is a rare designation for a female in Saskatchewan, and Pelletier is only the second woman to face such a hearing in this jurisdiction. Holden testified he has assessed hundreds of male offenders, but only three women. Working with Pelletier in the fall of 2008, Holden says he found her to be ?quite a psychologically and emotionally damaged woman,? who was struggling with a number of past and current issues. Holden said Pelletier saw her parents and step-parents shooting intravenous drugs before the age of 10, and started using them herself before the age of 12 with the help of her stepfather. She was also subject to significant abuse and violence as a child, and was introduced early to a criminal lifestyle. Holden testified that Pelletier?s childhood was the foundation of a troubled life to follow, including self-harm, gang involvement and serious substance-abuse problems. He also diagnosed her as having anti-social personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and possibly fetal alcohol syndrome. ?Essentially, I think that the young woman that I interviewed was the product of a very, very unfortunate upbringing and then being involved in criminal activities, and so essentially she became a career criminal,? he said. He told court that Pelletier is a high risk to reoffend violently in the future. But Holden also testified there are some positive aspects of the young woman?s history, including that she hasn?t been involved in any lethally violent behaviour and that many of her assault convictions have been for relatively minor incidents. Some of Pelletier?s most serious offences ? including two convictions for arson and other assault convictions ? occurred within correctional institutions. A pair of robberies sparked the long-term offender application. Holden said that, when he saw Pelletier, she was basically untreated. He surmised she could make positive changes if she decides she wants to live a more prosocial life and applies herself to the programs and treatment offered to her. He said those kinds of changes would be a major challenge for Pelletier, and that she would probably struggle with substance abuse problems and impulsivity her entire life. ?She has a bunch do,? he said. The hearing is slated to continue throughout the week. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100527/23b226b8/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Thu May 27 12:19:33 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Thu May 27 11:22:25 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Two programs available to give FASD clients guidance & support: Alberta Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100527094455.03a13010@ncf.ca> [Sounds like a great program. We need more like this] http://www.edsonleader.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2592826 The Edson Leader Edson, Alberta News - Local News Two programs available to give FASD clients guidance and support Posted 1 day ago [as of May 27, 2010] By Victoria Carnaghan The transition from youth to adulthood can be a difficult one at the best of times. For a person with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), it can be even more challenging. That's why, thanks to funding secured by the Hinton Friendship Centre, a program has been expanded to pair young people who have ? or suspect they have ? FASD with a trained mentor. Lena Greening is the FASD transitions mentor for Edson and Niton Junction. She has a broad mandate to help teens and young adults between the ages of 12 and 24 with all kinds of life challenges. She can help FASD clients find services, work through personal crises, or just hang out. "[I help people] transition from being kids, to being adults," she explained. "The age is recognized as a big transition for anybody." Whether a client needs help with drug addiction, unplanned pregnancies, budgeting or even reaching fitness goals, Greening's job is to mentor clients for up to three years. "I can help them find services in the community. If a person is addicted to drugs and needs help quitting, I would help them find that resource." She said although she is there to help up to eight clients with major problems, the mentor title also includes just being there to chat. "They don't always need to be at a crisis point in life. Simply sitting and having a conversation can be a comfort, or having that routine coffee outing a week can make more of a difference than people recognize." FASD is a form of brain damage that can result in a child whose mother drank alcohol while pregnant with him or her. The resulting brain damage to the child can manifest itself in many ways. Some of the symptoms are trouble predicting consequences and trouble making decisions, or a difficulty making good lifestyle choices, Greening said. She has been in the position since last December. The position has been around for a number of years, but the caseloads filled up quickly because a single position was split between Jasper, Hinton and Edson. There are now two people available in the same geographic area and Greening currently has spots for new clients. Once a mentor and client are matched up, it's up to the client how often and where the two meet, Greening said. "It depends on the client. I assist in attending doctor's appointments, or going to court. I've also gone and worked out with a client in the gym, gone for a walk in the park, helped with homework. It's very, very broad." A suspicion of FASD is all that is required to be considered for the mentor program. So, Greening for example, can actually help a person who thinks they or a family member have the affliction find help for the diagnosis process . Otherwise, referrals come from schools, children's services and other services. Also, women who are of child-bearing age and are at risk of having a FASD child or are struggling with addiction can find help through the Parent Child Assistance Program (PCAP), which seeks to prevent FASD as well as give women an advocate while working through life problems. It's a non-judgmental relationship, where clients can be connected with agencies and family members, Kelsey Coss said. FASD can result from a mother who, for example, drank while pregnant but didn't know she was with child ? there isn't necessarily an addictionn present. "There's a stigma, but realistically it can happen to anyone." Greening added, "No woman drinks to harm her baby." Call the Hinton Friendship Centre to learn more about either program at (780) 865?5189. Article ID# 2592826 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100527/2e403b34/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Thu May 27 17:32:15 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Thu May 27 16:34:16 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Cyclist death: Charges against former Ontario politician Bryant withdrawn Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100527163151.03fc3d68@ncf.ca> "...He and his brother were shuttled between some 30 foster homes between the ages of three and six - and were mistreated, Peck said. Sheppard had fetal alcohol syndrome and attention-deficit disorder, but neither condition was diagnosed,..." Cyclist death: Charges against former Ontario politician Bryant withdrawn MARIA BABBAGE. The Canadian Press. Toronto: May 25, 2010. TORONTO _ A former attorney general once considered to be a top contender for Ontario premier received a political reprieve Tuesday after criminal charges stemming from his fatal encounter with a bike courier were withdrawn. While he remained tight-lipped about his future, Michael Bryant has been spared the ordeal of a lengthy trial on charges of criminal negligence causing death and dangerous driving. An independent prosecutor determined there was little chance of conviction. ``To be honest, I haven't really thought about much other than getting through this experience one day at a time,'' Bryant said at a news conference convened after court. ``And I don't know what the future holds. I do know that I've got some legal bills to pay and that I will be going back to work.'' The charges were laid last September following the death of Darcy Allan Sheppard, 33, after a late-night altercation with Bryant in Toronto's tony Yorkville district. But in a rare show of co-operation between the defence and prosecution, new evidence was uncovered that made a conviction unlikely. Sheppard had a history of aggressive behaviour with drivers, including one alleged incident that happened just a few hours before his death, court heard. He also had about twice the legal limit of alcohol in his blood, according to a post-mortem toxicology report. Earlier that night, the Alberta native and father of four showed up intoxicated at his girlfriend's home, but police allowed him to ride off on his bike, said independent prosecutor Richard Peck. ``Our conclusion is that Mr. Bryant had been attacked by a man who unfortunately was in a rage,'' he said outside court. ``In such circumstances he was legally justified in attempting to get away. The case could not be proved.'' Bryant and his wife, lawyer Susan Abramovitch, were on their way home from celebrating their 12th anniversary that night. After a low-key dinner at a Lebanese restaurant, a walk on the beach and dessert at a Greek bakery to satisfy his wife's sweet tooth, the couple decided to forgo a trip to the bookstore and head straight home to their two children. Sheppard, a troubled man with alcohol and drug problems, latched onto Bryant's vehicle after an angry encounter with the former politician, causing him to panic, Peck said. The two struggled for control of the vehicle and Bryant's car swerved into the oncoming lane. Caught by a fire hydrant, Sheppard fell, hit his head and died. Bryant drove around the corner to a nearby hotel, where he called 911 about three minutes after the incident. The encounter with Sheppard lasted just 28 seconds, but changed his life forever, Bryant said. ``I was terrified. Panicked,'' he said. ``I wondered how Susan and I were suddenly in this situation. And all of a sudden, it changed. It just happened very quickly.'' Sheppard's father, who was brought in by the prosecution from Edmonton, said while he wasn't happy with the result, ``I don't know what would have made me happy.'' ``The people who made the decisions, they heard me, they listened to me, they talked to me with great respect,'' Allan Sheppard, Sr., said outside court. ``They reached a decision that I'll accept.'' But Sheppard's girlfriend and members of the city's cycling community were dismayed by the outcome. ``I think drivers, pedestrians and cyclists all will be frustrated with this,'' said Yvonne Bambrick, executive director of the Toronto Cyclists Union. ``Cyclists get a $110 ticket for not having a bell. A cyclist in this case was killed by a driver who made a wrong decision and there's no repercussion whatsoever. That just doesn't seem to make much sense or seem fair.'' A group of cyclists held a vigil at the scene of the altercation late Tuesday afternoon. Born in Alberta, Sheppard was the eldest of nine children and was taken by authorities when he was two years old. He and his brother were shuttled between some 30 foster homes between the ages of three and six _ and were mistreated, Peck said. Sheppard had fetal alcohol syndrome and attention-deficit disorder, but neither condition was diagnosed, Peck added. He was eventually adopted at age 6, but his past seemed to haunt him throughout his life. His adopted family described him as intelligent, resourceful and persuasive, but deeply scarred by his childhood. He had used crack cocaine and abused alcohol, the court heard. Sheppard also had prior criminal convictions for assault and uttering a threat. Bryant's arrest prompted questions about whether a man who once appointed judges and oversaw Crown prosecutors in the province would receive special treatment by the justice system. Those questions will continue to swirl because the decision to drop the charges wasn't made by a judge or jury, said NDP justice critic Peter Kormos. ``There's going to be a dark cloud over this case for many years to come,'' he said. ``Neither Mr. Sheppard got justice, nor _ what many would argue _ did Mr. Bryant. None of the evidence was put to a court.'' As Ontario's youngest attorney general, Bryant grabbed headlines by launching a public crusade to ban pit bulls in 2004 and crushing cars in a dramatic display of the province's crackdown on speeders. When he was shuffled to aboriginal affairs after the 2007 provincial election, Bryant took on the job with gusto, tackling the recommendations of the Ipperwash inquiry and brokering a $2-billion agreement with First Nations over gaming revenues. He moved to economic development, where he was the province's point man in negotiations to save Ontario's ailing auto industry with a multibillion-dollar bailout. After announcing his departure from politics in May 2009, many believed it wouldn't be long before Bryant made a comeback and took his long-awaited run at the top job. But if Bryant harbours any political ambitions, he didn't disclose them Tuesday. While he can never forget the ``unnecessary tragedy'' of that fateful night, the Harvard-educated lawyer said he's now seen the justice system from all angles. ``I now have a unique perspective, from its highest pedestal as attorney general to its pillory _ a defendant cuffed in the back of a squad car, accused of two very serious offences involving the tragic death of a man.'' -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100527/50ce0160/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Thu May 27 17:32:46 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Thu May 27 16:34:27 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] For Michael Bryant, an extraordinary kind of justice Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100527163237.03fc3ff8@ncf.ca> "...Mr. Sheppard?s unlucky background (aboriginal, probably undiagnosed fetal alcohol syndrome, seized by child welfare and placed with his brother David in a staggering 30 foster homes before being adopted)..." http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/christie-blatchford/for-michael-bryant-an-extraordinary-kind-of-justice/article1580911/ Globe & Mail Columnists For Michael Bryant, an extraordinary kind of justice From an outside special prosecutor to an extremely forthcoming defence lawyer, the case still involves preferential treatment Christie Blatchford Published on Tuesday, May. 25, 2010 10:39PM EDT Last updated on Wednesday, May. 26, 2010 6:09PM EDT Look, it?s the right result, but unless you were born yesterday, what Michael Bryant got by way of justice was not the ordinary sort, but the extra-fair sort. Charges of criminal negligence causing death and dangerous driving causing death against the former Ontario Liberal Party star in the Aug. 31 death last year of cyclist Darcy Sheppard were formally withdrawn at Old City Hall before the matter could proceed to a preliminary hearing or trial. Mr. Sheppard suffered a fatal head injury as he was dislodged from Mr. Bryant?s car, and died later in hospital. He was 33. What unfolded in Courtroom 121 at Old City Hall in Toronto yesterday was the final carefully handled stage in a case that was exceptional from the get-go. Curiously, the overriding concern was always that the former Ontario attorney-general would be seen to get preferential treatment because of his high profile and connections. Thus, the system kicked in with a variety of ostensible safeguards to ensure that didn?t happen. In the result, of course, what Mr. Bryant got was preferential treatment: How ironic is that? An outside special prosecutor, Richard Peck, was brought in from British Columbia to ensure the case was handled independently. Mr. Peck is one of the best criminal lawyers in the business; he was assisted by another top lawyer, Mark Sandler, who was Mr. Peck?s man on the ground in Toronto. Mr. Bryant?s lawyer, the formidable Marie Henein, provided to Mr. Peck and Mr. Sandler disclosure of her ?full file.? This is practically unheard of. Defence lawyers who howl like dogs in mid-castration at the slightest delay in prosecutorial disclosure routinely balk at even hinting at their planned strategy, let alone who their witnesses and experts are. This truth Ms. Henein acknowledged, saying it was unprecedented in her career. She credited it to her unwavering confidence in the strength of her case, but it could also be that this was the first time she had a client who was actually innocent. Presumably, Ms. Henein had hired a private detective ? certainly someone ? to dig into the sordid background of Mr. Sheppard and pull together the various accounts of other motorists who came forward after Mr. Bryant was arrested with their own horror stories about frightening encounters with Mr. Sheppard. Certainly, Mr. Peck said, much of the information uncovered by the continuing investigation came from the defence. There were, incidentally, a half-dozen of those horror stories, all dating from 2009, four from August that year, and one from earlier the same night Mr. Bryant encountered Mr. Sheppard. In one instance, the motorist had called 911; in another, Mr. Sheppard?s terrifying behaviour ? he leapt onto the car and had one arm in the open driver?s side window ? was captured by cameras on a nearby building. In any case, all of this information went, Ms. Henein said, ?to the Crown with no conditions.? Materials from defence expert witnesses were also handed over, and were subjected, Mr. Peck said, to ?independent review? by Crown experts hired for the occasion. Mr. Sandler and one of the Toronto Police detectives had the opportunity to interview Mr. Bryant and his lawyer wife, Susan Abramovitch, who was in the car with him that night. Mr. Peck said various forensic experts reviewed aspects of the evidence, including videotapes. Suffice to say it was a thorough review; even the ?luminosity? of Mr. Bryant?s headlights was noticed and analyzed. At the end of it all, Mr. Peck said, the Crown had no reasonable chance of convicting Mr. Bryant on either charge, or any lesser one (they looked at that possibility). Mr. Bryant?s defence would have been one of justification ? he was confronted by an aggressive, increasingly enraged younger man, was terrified for himself and his wife, and panicked, Mr. Sheppard?s tragic death the result. Even Mr. Sheppard?s adoptive father, 72-year-old Allan, reluctantly agreed outside the courtroom, that the case shouldn?t have gone to trial. You could have cut the self-satisfaction around Courtroom 121 with a chainsaw. Maybe. Mr. Peck thanked Ms. Henein for her splendid co-operation and the ?extremely able and insightful? Toronto detectives. He went out of his way to speak kindly about the dead man, noting that he brought up Mr. Sheppard?s unlucky background (aboriginal, probably undiagnosed fetal alcohol syndrome, seized by child welfare and placed with his brother David in a staggering 30 foster homes before being adopted) and highlights of his criminal record ?not to demonize Mr. Sheppard or for anyone to suggest he somehow deserved his fate,? but rather because in a case where self-defence was claimed, these were relevant facts. He praised the senior Mr. Sheppard, and finished off with a quote from John Donne: ?Any man?s death diminishes me.? Ms. Henein, for her part, praised Mr. Peck and the exhaustive review, ?months, days and hours? the prosecutors spent dissecting the evidence. She thanked the police for their ?thorough and even-handed investigation.? Everyone agreed the charges were appropriate when they were laid, but that now, after all that had been learned since, withdrawing them was also the right thing. Here?s what usually happens: the Crown gets the case if not the night before at best a couple of weeks before, has a quick read, and it goes to a preliminary hearing. There, the evidence is called, although not nearly as thoroughly as it was here, and the Crown might conclude, correctly, that it?s a weak case, but odds are he?d let it go to trial. At trial, the average guy probably would be acquitted. Mr. Bryant said at a press conference later Tuesday that, ?Nobody is above the law. But no one?s below the law, either.? He didn?t add that some folks get the old beater version, and some the Saab: T?was ever thus. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100527/ae9c987f/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Thu May 27 17:33:05 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Thu May 27 16:34:35 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Toronto's Heydon Park Secondary School is a haven for exceptional girls Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100527163256.03fc4288@ncf.ca> "...a dozen girls who have Down syndrome. Autism, Asperger's syndrome and fetal alcohol syndrome are other common conditions...." http://www.thestar.com/living/secretlifeofgirls/article/813372--toronto-s-heydon-park-secondary-school-is-a-haven-for-exceptional-girls Toronto Star Living Toronto's Heydon Park Secondary School is a haven for exceptional girls Toronto's only public high school for girls offers safety, community and learning Published On Sun May 23 2010 Laurie Monsebraaten Social Justice Reporter [Photo] A co-op program at Heydon Park Secondary School ? Toronto's only single-sex public high school ? has students read to seniors like Ruth Vellis, 94. RENE JOHNSTON/TORONTO STAR Video: Rachel reads her poem ?I don't want to go to class today,? complains the tall girl in black tights and a smock top upon arriving at Heydon Park Secondary School. ?All right, Jessica ? maybe Mr. Thomas needs some help in the kitchen,? suggests principal Iwona Kurman. Her ash-blond hair just so, stylish in a grey sweater set with ruffles and dark slacks, Kurman is greeting students in the foyer. This is something she does each morning as the yellow buses roll in just before 9. She knows every student's name ? and story. ?Hello miss, I brought my permission form,? one girl chirps as she rushes past. ?Good for you ? you don't want to miss White Pine Camp,? Kurman admonishes, referring to the school's popular three-day trip in June. ?My sister needs a TTC ticket to go to a job interview this afternoon. Miss, can I get one?? ?Okay, you see me later,? Kurman says. As the foyer empties, girls in the school's co-op program gather by the front door for a trip to a nearby seniors' home, where they will read to residents. But Chantal ? a 16-year-old with Down syndrome ? is missing. Kurman nods knowingly. ?I'll find her. I'll check the washrooms.? And so begins another typical day at Toronto's only single-sex public high school. ?In all the talk about a possible boys school, no one seems to realize that we have been here forever,? Kurman says. ?And what we do here is very special.? Heydon Park has existed since 1962 but dates back to 1923, when Toronto's public school board opened two vocational schools ? one for girls and another for boys ? on the grounds of Huron St. Public School in the Annex. It is unclear when the boy's school folded. But in 1926, the girl's school moved to the former Anglican Orphan's Home on Dovercourt Rd., south of College St. It was named Edith L. Groves Vocational School for Girls after a former school board trustee who had a passion for helping girls with special needs. In 1962, the school was rebuilt and renamed Heydon Park Secondary School. It moved to its current D'Arcy St. location near the Art Gallery of Ontario in 2000 when the Dovercourt site closed. About one-third of the school's 200 students have mild intellectual disabilities, including a dozen girls who have Down syndrome. Autism, Asperger's syndrome and fetal alcohol syndrome are other common conditions. The rest of the student body is made up of girls with average intelligence who are considered ?high risk? due to learning disabilities, mental health issues or behaviour problems. Many come from troubled families and tough neighbourhoods. Three are pregnant, a dozen are Children's Aid Society wards, and some have suffered sexual or emotional abuse and been exposed to violence and even murder in their homes. Many would be bullied, ostracized or just lost in a regular high school ? if they attended at all, Kurman says. Unless a surname is given, all the first names in this story have been changed. In addition to regular high school credit courses, Heydon Park offers an array of non-credit courses including hospitality, child care and cosmetology. An industrial kitchen teaches food preparation and provides a daily hot lunch for students and staff. All of the girls can attend until they are 21. The intellectually disabled girls are placed at Heydon Park by the board's special education department. The rest are referred by their elementary or high school. But some find the school on their own. Two years ago, three Afghan sisters called Kurman to say their family wouldn't let them attend a co-ed high school and begged her to let them come to Heydon Park. ?They found us on the Internet,? she says. ?Of course I let them come.? Kurman suspected one of the sisters was in her mid-20s. ?But I knew if I didn't accept them all, I would lose the 15-year-old.? Later, the CAS became involved when the 15-year-old confided that her family was forcing her to marry a man in the United States whom she didn't know. Although some are reluctant to attend a girls-only school, most end up embracing it. ?I love it,? says 17-year-old Milena, who is completing her second year. ?It's good because there are no guys to distract you so you can get your education over with. It's very laid-back and relaxed and all at your own pace.? Milena is taking parenting, nutrition, drama and cooking. After high school she says she'd like to go to university or college to study politics, ultrasound technology or pathology. Kurman, 51, grew up in Communist Poland where the disabled were shut away in institutions, schools were strictly academic, and authoritarian teachers brooked no debate. She escaped to Fredericton in 1981 and was working on her master's in geology when she discovered a love for teaching ? and switched to education. She moved to Toronto in 1988 to look for work. In 2003, after 15 years of teaching high school science and serving as vice-principal at two schools, Kurman was offered the VP position at Heydon Park. She has been principal for four years. ?Many people warned me against coming here with my academic background,? she says. ?But I love it. I just love these girls. ?Teaching at Heydon Park is like being a locksmith,? she continues. ?You are constantly designing keys to figure out how to reach these students and keep them engaged.? But finding resources and giving them the support they need is always a struggle, she says. ?You have to be a good teacher to teach here, because you create your own material,? says Kurman, whose tiny stature and soft accent belie a tough-as-nails demand for excellence in her staff. ?You have to have energy, patience and creativity. And I'm very lucky to have this in my staff.? ?When a student tells you to f--- off, you have to be able to accept that student back in the class,? she says. ?You can get away with being mediocre in another school. But not here.? Kurman recounts the story of Amanda. The troubled teen was sent to the office for answering a question in class with: ?Why should I bother to tell you, you f---ing b---ch?? Kurman asked Amanda why she responded that way. ?I was very angry. You wouldn't understand.? Kurman pressed ahead. ?That's right. I don't understand. So help me. What's going on?? Amanda began to tell Kurman how she missed her father, who had been deported due to an immigration problem. Kurman listened and related it back to the classroom incident. ?So you aren't angry with your teacher,? Kurman offered. ?I was just angry.? ?But being angry doesn't give you permission to say those things,? Kurman continued. ?I could apologize,? Amanda said, finally. Kurman: ?Yes. You could. Would you like to?? And so Kurman called the teacher and Amanda apologized. She was back in class the same day. In any other school, she might face suspension. ?It's continuous counselling ? it's being a parent, which I love,? says Kurman, who has a son completing medical school in Poland and a daughter studying biomedical science at the University of Guelph, as well as two step-sons: one a doctor and the other a nuclear medicine technician. ?But it's hard to become a parent at this stage,? she acknowledges. ?They have already been hurt so many times.? All Heydon Park students participate in the school's co-op program, including the girls who are reading at the seniors' home. The placements vary from helping out at nearby Beverley St. Public School, for severely disabled elementary students, to acting as sales staff at shops in the area. It is all about learning life skills and gaining future employment. There have been some incredible success stories. One girl had a co-op placement with the security detail at a hospital. During her placement, she observed several job interviews for a vacant position. When the student was asked for her impressions of the candidates, her response showed such powers of observation, the hospital ended up hiring her for the post, Kurman says. Two years ago, student Krystal Nausbaum, who has Down syndrome, landed a starring role in an ABC made-for-TV movie, The Memory Keeper's Daughter. She has been accepted into Humber College's Community Integration Through Co-operative Education program next fall and hopes to take film and television courses. A 2009 graduate is playing semi-professional women's hockey and has her eye on a spot on Canada's Olympic team. Cathy Mallove's 15-year-old daughter, Rebecca Geffen, is thriving at Heydon Park. Rebecca has Prader-Willi syndrome, a rare genetic disorder characterized by an insatiable appetite and often accompanied by learning, social and motor problems. She has attended neighbourhood schools in self-contained classes for students with intellectual disabilities since Grade 6. But Mallove was worried about sending her daughter to a mainstream high school. She chose Heydon Park for the security and sense of community it offers. ?It's not a prissy girls' school,? says Mallove. ?There is complexity about the population. It's the real world. Rebecca is here because she has to live in the world.? But there's a sense of understanding and solidarity that the real world often lacks. ?Rebecca looks at the high-risk girls and gets them,? Mallove says. In fact, Mallove thinks the ?special ed? girls understand their high-risk classmates better than anyone. ?They start out not very friendly, but they are really very friendly,? Rebecca tells her mother. ?They don't smile very much, Mom. But they are very smart.? Heydon Park offers many of these tough girls the chance to be leaders and role models for students like Rebecca, says Mallove. Where else would they get to be captain of the basketball team? Student council president? Or star of the school show? But there is heartbreak too. Back in the principal's office, Kurman prepares for a parent meeting. The student functions at the Grade 1 or 2 level. In addition, she is autistic and cries every day. ?It's very difficult when parents can't accept their daughter's limitations,? says Kurman. ?It's very stressful for the student when their parents insist on enrolling them in credit courses when it's just not appropriate. This is a girl who thrives in the non-credit courses. It's very sad to see . . . ? Mallove understands. ?When parents hear their son or daughter has a disability, it's a loss,? she says. ?And it continues to be a loss. Many parents and kids haven't dealt with that loss. ?But once you let go of the kid that you thought you were going to have, it's quite liberating. For some parents, moving their daughter into a school for difficult kids is a leap.? Mallove, who is chair of Heydon Park's parent council, says the differences extend to the parents, too. There are the generally well-educated, middle- and upper-middle class parents dealing disabled children. And there are the parents living in poverty, violence and disadvantage struggling to handle difficult children. Mallove recalls the weeks she spent with Rebecca in the neonatal ICU ward next to many such parents with their preemies and underweight newborns. ?I watched as these babies were discharged to homes with no food and no social service support . . . Then they show up in the school system.? Heydon Park tries to bridge that divide every day. ?When you grow up in a middle-class home, disability is the only problem,? Kurman says. ?Both parents are educated. There is structure, support. But that's just what these other girls lack. It's what we try to provide.? Only about one-third of Heydon Park girls will go on to post-secondary education. The school's job is to celebrate these girls for whom they are and ensure they have the tools they need to survive. At lunchtime, Kurman stops in hospitality teacher Mario Thomas' kitchen to grab a plate of lasagna and salad the girls have made. ?How are you doing Jessica?? Kurman asks the at-risk girl, who didn't want to go to class this morning. ?Great, miss,? she answers, stirring a pot of simmering tomato sauce. ?You're going to love the lasagna.? ?I'm sure I will.? In the gym, Suzanna, a girl with Down syndrome, is breakdancing to the soundtrack of High School Musical, playing through her iPod headphones. Her eyes light up when she sees Kurman. ?This is for you Miss Kurman. Watch.? Kurman waves her arms in the air and shakes her hips in encouragement as Suzanna boogies with abandon. Across the street, a 16-year-old who is already a mother to a 2-year-old boy smokes with her friends. The girl's mother cares for the boy while she is in school. Kurman tells them it is not healthy to smoke. ?Well, miss, at least it's not weed,? one of them offers. ?Yes, well, there's that,? Kurman says, not missing a beat as she summons them back to class. One girl who lives in a group home went missing for two months last spring. Police eventually found her outside Toronto and brought her back. Kurman believes the student was the victim of a sexual predator. She shudders. Another student was involved in a fight outside the school. She assaulted a girl with a broken bottle and was arrested. But she's back in school and working on her anger issues. At the end of the day school social worker Irene Au-Yeung arrives to take Juliana to Surrey Place children's mental health centre for a psycho-educational assessment. The girl has already missed two appointments. ?I'm driving her there,? Au-Yeung says. ?Otherwise, she wouldn't go.? Au-Yeung believes the 19-year-old may have an intellectual disability. A diagnosis will give her access to an income through the Ontario Disability Support Plan, supportive housing and an adult protective services worker when she leaves Heydon Park. ?This is not just a school, this is a safe place,? Au-Yeung says. ?Here they get attention, they learn, they get food, bus tickets, parenting, social interaction.? Au-Yeung can't imagine what would happen to Juliana and many other girls without Heydon Park. ?They may not ever go to class,? she says, ?but I'm glad they are here.? Kurman is glad too. ?Many of these girls travel two hours every morning to come here,? she says. ?There should be a school like this in every corner of the city. And the boys should get one too.? Comments (7) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100527/7e782307/attachment-0001.html From rosse at ncf.ca Thu May 27 17:33:25 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Thu May 27 16:34:43 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Majority of Britons want 'health warnings on alcohol packaging' Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100527163317.03fc4518@ncf.ca> [No specifics about what the health warnings would include] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7750239/Majority-of-Britons-want-health-warnings-on-alcohol-packaging.html Telegraph U.K. Lifestyle Majority of Britons want 'health warnings on alcohol packaging' Almost two in three adults believe alcohol packaging should come with health warnings, a survey has found. By Andrew Hough Published: 8:00AM BST 22 May 2010 [4 images] Currently, drinks companies are under no obligation to apply warnings to labels on packaging and do so only voluntarily. Photo: ALAMY Two in three adults said health warnings should be mandatory on alcohol products. Photo: PA The survey found a third had cut down their alcohol intake. Photo: PA The survey came in a week of a renewed government crackdown on alcohol, which critics said was the cause of an increasing number of bingeing adults. Photo: CHRISTOPHER PLEDGER Nearly half of Britons admitted that alcohol was bad for your health, the YouGov SixthSense study found. Those findings came despite the majority of those surveyed believing that a drink ?from time to time? was relatively harmless. The survey found 60 per cent of British adults believed that alcohol packaging should contain health warnings ? similar to those carried on cigarette packets - to ?warn people about the detrimental effects of alcohol use?. Currently, drinks companies are under no obligation to apply such labels to packaging and do so only voluntarily. The survey, of almost 2400 people, also found a significant ?stay at home? drinking culture. Almost half saying most of their drinks budget was spent consuming alcohol at home. But it also found that a third had cut down their alcohol intake, suggesting many Britons were changing their health habits. James McCoy, Research Director for YouGov SixthSense, said, the survey also found many people were shunning the ?old boozer? and ?long sessions?, towards drinking in Continental style caf?s. The survey came in a week of a renewed government crackdown on alcohol, which critics said was the cause of an increasing number of bingeing adults. Theresa May, the new Home Secretary, this week announced a ?complete review? for Labour?s 24-hour drinking laws, which she warned had led to violence and a binge drinking culture. The coalition government have also announced a ban on retailers selling alcohol at below cost price. It came as Sir Terry Leahy, the chief executive of Tesco, the country's largest retailer who was writing in The Daily Telegraph, calling on the Government to consider setting a minimum price for alcohol in shops in an attempt to end "binge drinking". Figures show that around 10million people in England drink more than the recommended limits, which is two to three units a day for women, about one large glass of wine, and three to four for men, equivalent to two pints of strong beer. Separate government figures show that the number of drink-related cases seen by accident and emergency departments in England since 2005 had increased by a third. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100527/ceebb994/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Sun May 30 23:10:58 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Sun May 30 22:16:16 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Italy launches foetus in cocktail glass poster to stop women drinking Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100530221050.040f77a0@ncf.ca> Skipped content of type multipart/related-------------- next part -------------- From rosse at ncf.ca Mon May 31 15:48:50 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Mon May 31 14:52:23 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] Workshop to educate employers about FASD: Regina June 2 Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100531144542.043012a8@ncf.ca> http://www.leaderpost.com/Workshop+educate+employers+about+FASD/3081017/story.html Leader Post Regina, Saskatchewan Workshop to educate employers about FASD By Pamela Roth, Leader-Post May 28, 2010 It might not be visible to the naked eye, but there's likely something special about the greeters at the local Wal-Mart store. A handful of people employed at Wal-Mart stores throughout the city have some form of a disability, such as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), which might come as a surprise to other employers. "It's just the right thing to be representing everybody in our community," said Cheryl Ginter, manager of the east-side Regina Wal-Mart, who noted the company provides additional support for those with disabilities. "You have to be able to see the good in everybody. There are positions throughout the store that allow us to integrate those individuals into the community and they do a great job for us." FASD describes a range of mental disabilities that result from prenatal alcohol exposure. According to Cheryl Charron with the FASD Centre at the Regina Community Clinic, there are many barriers that exist when it comes to employers hiring employees with FASD. Because it's a disorder that doesn't always have any physical signs, Charron said those who have FASD often hide it from their employer because they are ashamed or embarrassed. But their disability often shines through with their literacy, which is often at a Grade 2-4 level. With the right employer, Charron said those living with FASD can easily be trained for various forms of employment, maintain a regular work schedule and be groomed into a productive employee. The key is to educate employers and the public that FASD is different in every person who has it, she added. "We are trying to get employers and the community at large to understand that FASD is a really different disability and that illiteracy is huge in this population," said Charron. "It's more common than we realize. With the right support, they can become a valuable member of the workforce, but it's a slower learning curve and it does require a commitment." For the past three years, the FASD Centre has been running a program that matches employers with employees who have FASD. Charron said the program has been successful, with many of her clients finding jobs in bakeries, department stores or grocery stores, but it's becoming difficult to find employers who will commit to taking on an employee with the disability. That's why on June 2, the Regina Community Clinic will be hosting a free educational workshop for employers and provide basic information about FASD, along with strategies for supporting an individual in the workplace. Charron hopes the workshop will give employers a better understanding about the disability and break down a few barriers. "You have incredibly high functioning people who simply need a check every now and then, and you have others who will never be able to work," said Charron. "People don't understand this disability is so big. It just takes people who have a commitment to helping others." Employers who want to attend the workshop can pre-register by calling 543-7880 ext. 267. Read more: http://www.leaderpost.com/Workshop+educate+employers+about+FASD/3081017/story.html#ixzz0pXBW0pkp -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100531/e484f075/attachment.html From rosse at ncf.ca Mon May 31 17:01:34 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Mon May 31 16:04:19 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] 'Santa' beer on Ontario's naughty list Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100531160126.04319a38@ncf.ca> Skipped content of type multipart/related-------------- next part -------------- From rosse at ncf.ca Mon May 31 17:02:05 2010 From: rosse at ncf.ca (Elspeth Ross) Date: Mon May 31 16:04:29 2010 Subject: [Fasd_canadian_link] =?iso-8859-1?q?Canada=92s_inhumane_prison_p?= =?iso-8859-1?q?lan?= Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20100531160155.04319cc8@ncf.ca> www.canada.com 29 May 2010 National Post BY CONRAD BLACK Comment Canada?s inhumane prison plan In the past two years, as regular readers in this space would know, thanks to my gracious hosts in the U.S. government, I have had what could be called extensive hands-on experience of the American correctional system. I have been tutoring and teaching fellow prisoners in English, and in U.S. history. And some of them have taught me how to read music, play the piano, keep fit, diet sensibly and assimilate some local folkways, while I have been fighting my way through the courts toward a just disposition of the few remaining (unfounded) charges that bedevil me. The fact that all my life any definition of Canada?s virtue and distinctiveness has prominently included references to civility and decency explains my alarm and outrage at finally reading the three-year-old report on the Correctional Service of Canada, misleadingly titled ?A Roadmap to Strengthening Public Safety.? See page 10 29 May 2010 National Post Prison plan wrong for Canada It seeks to import much of the worst of American practice From page A1 As so often in other fields, this document seeks to import to Canada much of the worst of American practice, and none of the best, unless Canada now idealizes gratuitous official severity. I have not succumbed to an inverse Stockholm Syndrome, and become an apologist for the convicted community. But I disbelieve even more fervently than I did before my sojourn among them, in the Manichaean process of baiting, dehumanization and stigmatization promoted by the Roadmap, and similarly inspired correctional nostrums. In my present abode, I have met many rather dodgy people, but none whose ethics I consider inferior to some prosecutors and judges I have encountered in the last few years. And I have met many fine, as well as some mediocre and poor correctional officers, but few who rise above the level of benign non-skilled labour, profoundly under qualified to practise untrammeled social engineering on those entrusted to them. I believe, civilly and theologically, in the confession and repentance of wrongdoing; in the prosecution and punishment of crime, and in a maximum reasonable effort by the state to protect the public, especially from threats to person and property. But I also believe that everyone has rights, including the unborn, demented, incurably ill, military adversaries and the criminal, and that the rights of those whose entitlements are for any reason circumscribed, are not inferior for being narrower, and should be as great as they practically can be, without violating the rights of others. This Roadmap ? which was released in 2007, and which the Harper government began officially responding to in its budget in 2008, setting out a five-year plan ? turns the humane traditions of Canada upside down. It implicitly assumes that all who are convicted are guilty and have no remaining claim to decency from the state, and that treating confinees accordingly is in the interest of the legally unexceptionable majority. The Roadmap does not mention prisoners? rights, beyond basic food, shelter, clothing and medical care, and assumes that they are probably not recoverable for society and that the longer they are imprisoned, the better it is for society. Almost no distinction is made between violent and non-violent offenders. Of course, great caution must be shown in the reintegration into society of violent criminals. But the objective of the penal system must be to return those capable of functioning licitly in society as quickly as practical, allowing also for straight punitive or retributive penalties, but not for mindless vengeance. The whole system must be guided by the fact that the treatment of the accused and confined has been recognized by ethicists and cultural historians for centuries as one of the hallmarks of civilized society. The Roadmap holds that anything beyond the necessities for physical survival must be ?earned.? Traditionally, the punishment is supposed to be the imprisonment itself, not the additional oppressions of that regime, and the proverbial debt to society is paid when the sentence has been served; it does not continue as a permanent Sisyphean burden. In the interests of eliminating illegal drugs in prison, the authors of the Roadmap want all visits to be glass-segregated, no physical contact. This is just a pretext to assist in the destruction of families and friendships. The importation of contraband by prisoners? visitors can be stopped by strip-searching the prisoners before they leave the visitors centre, as happens to us here, unless the prison staff, who have the unfathomable delight of inspecting us au naturel, are on the take, which is, of course, the problem, as correctional officers in many prisons are frequently caught smuggling, and aren?t well enough trained to command higher salaries to make them more resistant to temptation. It is a problem, but it will not be solved by targeting unoffending relatives of inmates. The Roadmap also has naively exaggerated confidence in certain types of scanning devices. It also recommends unspecified concentration on generating employment skills, which is sensible, except that it is specifically foreseen that they will shoulder aside other programs of more general education, substance abuse avoidance and behavioural adaptation. I am no hemophiliac bleeding heart, but non-violent people can sometimes be helped to abandon illicit practices by some of these programs. No useful purposes will be served by cranking back into the world unreconstructed sociopaths who can fix an air conditioner or unclog a drain. The Roadmap even asks for research to be undertaken that will support this recommendation, an inversion of the usual sequence in the determination of policy. There is a demand for investment of over $1-billion in new and larger prisons, (an insane extravagance), and for sharply longer sentences, mandatory minimum sentences, and ?earned parole? in place of supervised release after two-thirds of the sentence, in the absence of misconduct that would militate against such comparative liberality. In practice, this means imprisonment at the pleasure of the carceral establishment for the maximum time possible. (Prisoners cost $40,000 per year to keep.) All of these draconian measures have been tried and have failed in the United States. As Michael Jackson and Graham Stewart point out in their excellent essay in the current Literary Review of Canada, ?Fear-Driven Policy,? this plan would fall especially heavily on native people, who already comprise nearly seven times the percentage of imprisoned Canadians than they do of the whole population. The Roadmap is the selfserving work of reactionary, authoritarian palookas, what we might have expected 40 years ago from a committee of southern U.S. police chiefs. It is counter-intuitive and contra-historical: The crime rate has been declining for years, and there is no evidence cited to support any of the repression that is requested. It appears to defy a number of Supreme Court decisions, and is an affront, at least to the spirit of the Charter of Rights. The Canada I remember and look forward to returning to should do exactly the opposite. Prison is an antiquarian and absurd treatment of nonviolent law-breakers. It only continues because it has. The whole concept of prison should be terminated, except for violent criminals and chronic non-violent recidivists, and replaced by closely supervised pro bono or subsistence-paid work by bonded convicts in the fields of their specialty. Swindlers and embezzlers, hackers and sleazy telemarketers are capable people and they should serve their sentences by contributing honest work to government-insured employers. Canada would save a billion dollars annually in prison costs and the employers of the penitent-workers would save $2-billion annually, a tremendous shot in the arm to national productivity. Many of the prisons could be reconfigured as assisted housing for the homeless and slum-dwellers. Canada would again be a model of the innovative public policy pursuit of institutionalized decency and social reform. The principle that the rape of the rights of the least is an assault on the rights of all is attributed to Jesus Christ and is at the core of Judeo-Christian civilization and the rule of law in both common and civil law jurisdictions. And it is not just a tradition; there are several million Canadians in families that have bitter memories of personal or close relatives? encounters with the vagaries of justice. They aren?t a visible bloc, but this is not a political free lunch. It is painful for me to write that with this garrote of a blueprint, the government I generally support is flirting with moral and political catastrophe. My respect for the Prime Minister prevents me from being any more explicit here about the implications of failure to reconsider the government?s course on this issue. The Roadmap is a bad plan to take Canada to a destination it should not wish to reach. 21 Comment(s) Simon Brooks 29 May 2010 07:17 My experience working for the Correctional Service tends to echo some of this. I used to consider a third of the guards humane and interested, a third neutral and there for the money and the remainder quite as psychopathic as any of the inmates. Some were clearly sadists in a low grade, seedy sort of way. I hated every minute of this job - but it was an education about how bad some 'good' folk are and how 'not bad' some convicts are. TSowell Fan 29 May 2010 09:11 Something doesn't smell right. Are we to believe that the all-controlling Stephen Harper, whom Mr. Black presumably respects for good reasons (which likely include rationality), approves of flushing best correctional practices down the drain? And reverting to methods proven to be ineffective and costly? That he and his responsible minister ignored every pleading of the professional experts in our public service? Mr. Black's main supporting statement that "... non-violent people can sometimes be helped to abandon illicit practices by some of these programs" seems to be an exceptionally weak justification for the rest of his column. I have come to expect more convincing arguments from him. I don't know enough about the composition of our prison population nor the outcomes produced by the existing system. But, labelling the investment of $1 billion in new and larger prisons an "insane extravagance" rings rather hollow in the wake of news about the security costs for two 15-hour photo ops in Toronto and Huntsville next month. andy 29 May 2010 09:46 I'm with you, TSowel Fan dude - this week's offering by Conrad-San looks like a bit of a hissy fit. And TOTALLY agree with your comparison of the investment in correctional services with the astonishing waste of a billion bux on the pointless bullshitfest coming our way shortly. Brian Smith 29 May 2010 10:03 C'mon people. So one waste of a billion dollars makes another one sort of okay then? As to some programs working on some people, how would you have it stated instead? The programs' effectiveness would seem to be such that substituting "few","many","none" or "all" would be inaccurate. As to Stephen Harper being a cold, calculating, pragmatist, hmmm. I think he's got some cold, calculating, rabble-rousing, vote-getting instincts. That's what we're seeing at work here. [] RAY 29 May 2010 10:20 I've read that Canada's population will grow to over 40 million in the next couple of decades. Building a few modern prisons now will be a great investment. The percentage of people unable to deal with society is probably not going to change. I believe Harper is looking forward and in the end will save us money. BTW, To say nothing about violent offenders but I've never met a reformed con artist, have you? Once a Bernie always a Bernie. RWM 29 May 2010 11:13 " In the past two years, as regular readers in this space would know, thanks to my gracious hosts in the U.S. government, I have had what could be called extensive hands-on experience of the American correctional system." I think you mean prison, Lord Black, courtesy of your arrogance and greed and the American judicial system, not evil gov't bureaucrats. J Milligan 29 May 2010 12:03 I'm not convinced that Conrad Black can offer an unbiased reasoned crticism in the area of imprisonment. mb 29 May 2010 12:14 Self serving rubbish. Why is this a front page story??? John54 29 May 2010 12:31 While some interesting thoughts are presented the Charter of Rights would probably prevent the routine strip searching of prisoners after a visit from someone from the outside. From what I've been given to understand drugs are a recurring problem within prisons. It is amazing, we can clamp down on something legal, cigarettes and smoking, but cannot stop illicit drugs. murray blanchard 29 May 2010 12:48 Mr. Black has had experience that few of us can claim. The US system is replete with prosecuters with lawyers who use the position as a stepping stone to further political advancement My problem is how do we sort out those that can be rehabilitated from those that can not. Consider the case of one Larry Takahashi. Larry was convicted of serial rapes in Calagary and sentenced to six (or was it eight) life sentences. The judge intended to put him an prison and keep him there. One fine day Larry was recognized on a golf course with two other prisoners and unarmed guard. The reason for letting him out was to prepare him for a return to society. After all, he was a model prisoner. He was in for rape and apparently there were no women in the prison for him to practice his art. This astonishing reasoning was put forth with a straight face by the social "scientists" employed to deal with such matters. I do not know where Larry is now but I would not like to be a woman where ever he may be should he be released against the judge's wishes weird world 29 May 2010 13:51 remember.. that Seniors will outnumber children by 2030......so make sure these new prisons are Senior proof..ie, attends in every wash room and lots of additional wash rooms, and vials of vitamins, and dementia rooms at each interval, also suggest buliding changes, no steps higher than 5 feet, and cells be enlarged for grouping,and fences and compounds reduced to 3 ft high...as these guys are not good jumpers and really there is no need for guards. Terrorist seniors to be separated of course...and white collar guys like namby- pambies like Conrad...wouln't last in the public areas. These suggestions would save a lot of construction costs. John Henderson 29 May 2010 14:12 It is insanity to put yet an even higher percentage of people into the universities of crime. The USA already incarcerates significantly more people per capita and endures consequently more violent crime. Can't you guys see the writing on the wall? Wouldn't it be better to save tax dollars and have the non-violent transgressors working for society rather than getting free room and board at our expense. I never thought I would see so many people willing to have their taxes increased to pay for all this rubbish. Robert Foley 29 May 2010 14:32 If there's no fear in apprehension, how many more offenders would exist, and furthermore, how much worse would be their crimes? Unfortunately, there must be unappetizing consequences for one's anti-social actions. Personally, I believe in the incarceration of serious offenders and of even less serious 'repeat' offenders to maximum security institutions, wherein they must live disciplined hardworking lives, though equally importantly, must actually be afforded legitimate hope for lawabiding futures beyond bars. In short, incarceration stressing rehabilitation (tangible hope) over punishment, replaced by compassionate discipline. Self-esteem must be encouraged, and 'Groundhog Day' existences cannot be tolerated, while exposure to the outside world should be available on merit. Blackangus 29 May 2010 15:35 Have transgressors working for society! really, at what Union wages? or as scabs. In any case you can't even get road gangs to clean up our highways or qwork on farms anymore. Also, why would Conrad be able to come back to Canada, as a Brit with a prison record. Jane Doe 29 May 2010 16:31 I don't like to think of myself as vindictive or cruel but I am of the opinion that the prisons are too posh and the prisoners too pampered. Less inviting surroundings would be a good deterrent to would-be offenders and a lesson to those who are there. [] A D M 29 May 2010 17:17 There is one item I have not seen touched either by Conrad Black or any of the above commentators. What about victim's rights and some satisfaction for them in knowing that someone has at least been punished for the crime done to them? From what I have read, Karla Hamolka is now ready for a pardon, after spending a rather soft prison sentence in relation to the crime. Conrad Black will soon be out enjoying his millions which he embezzled .Fear of retribution and punishment is an effective deterrent, as it can put a damper on the criminal intentions before the act is committed. Criminals should also pay for their sins, and be treated the way they treated their victims. John Binoy Philip 29 May 2010 18:22 i am a Canadian Citizen from 2006 and I have great shame to say that the abuses in Canadas Justice system is deplorable, I and my family came aon Points system as Permanent resident Landed Immigrants and the Government of Jean Chretian appointed a governor general who was a refugee from China in October 1999 which set forth a precedent of pottymouthing verbal abuses by the media against newcomers in Canada, The RCMP on its part added more insults in the form of taser display and there is proof in Swift Current where I first resided in the form of Casino light display and the the Premiers of Saskatchewan joining the chorus of Ukranian internment first by Premier Roy Romanov on January 27, 2001 and as for the reason on two Governor Generals being attached by February 8 namely tha 67th Governor General and 68th Governor General the resignation of the Premier of Saskatchewan gave a methodist minister from Moose Jaw who earlier in 1995 resigned on his sons girl friend being pregnant was sworn in on February 8 , 2001 and the policy of Residential school abuses being done against my son mainly by RCMP constable John Stewart Swain in Swift Current detachment and later appointing him as the court Security Guard in Swift Current and to provide complete residential school treatment my son was sent to Alvin buckwol fed him with drugs that is not fit for children banned by Health Canada for children under 18 from 2005 to 2009, and when I filed this evidence as a notice of motion in Court the represetativ or lawyer of Alvin Buckwold didnot come to the court and the Judge threw my case out of court and cancelled my child visitation rights and providing all assistance for the medical doctor who was providing and recommending an administration called Respiradol administration for my son from 2005. I have been threatened with abuses, physical violance, job loss, loss of residence etc. What a great country we live in with all charter of rights and Criminal codes and Court system and opposition leader encouraging taser display for hate propaganda which is represented by our nominal head of state. [] LOVEUNITY 29 May 2010 18:59 So he thinks sociopaths can be reconstructed? How could we force someone to work for two dollars an hour outside prison? It is felons who choose not to be part of civilized society. Black and almost everyone else forgets that fact in rushing to coddle prisoners and give them all sorts of undeserved favors. Contrary to his inversion, traditionally imprisonment is supposed to be punishment, not reward. A law-abiding citizen cannot go to a nearby cafeteria and get three squares for free every day. Bread and water and a bed and sink and toilet in an individual cell with no free time from true confinement would cut the costs a lot, especially for guards. Almost total isolation might be mitigated by an occasional telephone call - certainly no visitation. Real truth in sentencing could prevail, and also much rehabilitation work as part of a mandatory probation for all after serving their FULL sentence. Michael T 30 May 2010 08:39 Let's face it. The prison system in most countries stinks. They are little more than schools of crime and have litttle if any rehabilitatuve function or capacity to do so. But the laissez faire system, that dominates the Canadian system, doesn't work either. a case in point is the seriously flawed Youth Offenders Act, or whatever it's called now. This is a joke and little more than a revolving door system for bad kids to be let out to repeat thier crimes again and again. Part of the problem is at the other end,ie. the immigration frace we have here that allows large numbers of criminals to land on our shores and then we have to endure them. I guess the best solution in dealing with the so-called justice system in Canada, is to not commit offences that might put in peril of being a recipient of her Majesty's hospitality system. Windsor Castle it ain't. tml4evr 30 May 2010 11:49 Sure white collar criminals can work for society. Fortunately in this age they can work from home (their prison cell). Redbeard 30 May 2010 12:00 Black is wrong on this one. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/fasd_canadian_link/attachments/20100531/dc322045/attachment-0001.html