Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Resources, Education, Stress...Oh My!

I think I have mentioned before that I co-teach a wonderful class for parents and/or teachers with kids with mental illness/disabilities, etc.  And I was at this class tonight and we were talking about thought and mood disorders, going through the list of schzophrenia, ADHD, eating disorders, etc and the thought hit me like a ton of bricks, we should also be talking about FASD.  It is as real as any other disorder but there isn't much awareness.  I am going to contact our program director and bring this up to her.  Where else can parents go now a days to learn more about FASD?  There are times I am at a total loss for information and I crave it like a Pepsi over chipped ice (which is a lot of times)!  I love the state I live in, Utah, but Utah is not really a user-friendly state when it comes to FASD.  There is more research going on here for Autism/Aspergers and others but not FASD.  How do I get that awareness out there?  Where do I begin?  I guess baby steps, one step at a time because everything I do will affect the future of my daughter...

2 comments:

Kari said...

I recognize this feeling, it was me several years ago. Blessed with a burden- that is how I feel about teaching people about FASD. I have to do it because they need to know and I need to talk about it.

You can find resources on nofas.org (National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome) and look at the list of state resources to see who you can connect with there for training. I would recommend reading "Damaged Angels" by Bonnie Buxton and having a copy to lend to people. It helps them understand what families living with FASD experience.

Let me know if I can help! ~Kari

GB's Mom said...

I still don't know nearly enough about FASD. I am a walking encyclopedia when it comes to Early Onset Bipolar Disorder. I read "Damaged Angels" and found it eye opening! Right now I have my husband reading it. It is not just Utah- people in New York would prefer to think it doesn't exist or it is just another learning disability. Good luck on your journey!


Laurie