FAS & FAE or ARND or whatever you want to call it

Well, no changes at work, it's still work.

I saw a 7 month old with full-blown FAS yest. Even tho I don't think he's been diagnosed, he just didn't look right, poor little guy. This kid isn't the first one I've ever seen, just the first one I've worked with. His facial features gave it away. I have a picture on my wall of a normal 6 month old's brain, and the brain of the same age child with FAS. The FAS brain is obvioulsy malformed, kinda twisted to one side and small. So sad.

I have clients (both adult and youth) who have FAE but never FAS before this one. As a matter of fact, I just got an FAE diagnosis on a 17 yr old client last week. All he knows is that he went in for some testing and he's asking about the results. I think we're going to talk with him about it at his next therapy session. He's either going to hate his mother more, or defend her and say she would never do such a thing and it's all a lie.

I often wonder, what do folks with FAE who look just like the rest of us, think about their situation? I guess it just depends on the person. I can't imagine knowing that I would not need special ed classes, and would not have to have to struggle to learn if only my mother didn't drink while pregnant.

There was a lady who went to my college who carried around her baby that was so obviously FAS. She talked about him one day, saying "He has FAS, but he's OK." I wanted to shout at her "He is NOT OK." Hopefully this kid will have family to watch out for him his whole life because he won't be able to take care of himself.

FAS/FAE. Totally preventable.

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� mbwillow on
2003-08-01 at 7:33 a.m.
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