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Posted by Crystal Killion Jul 11, 2008 |
Note: Names have been changed to protect privacy.
I just completed a three part series on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). It sprung from personal experience with a family I know.
They adopted a baby boy, John, from a birth mother who claimed to only have drank “once in a while” during pregnancy. John was a beautiful baby and showed no signs of an FASD at birth. The only real sign was that he only weighed six pounds- full-term.
John always seemed younger than his age, potty trained at 4 ½, and was hyperactive. In school, the teachers felt he was “a little slower” than his peers, and could only follow simple directions even in third grade- after being held back twice. He had problems with attention, was easily over stimulated (often misbehaving as a result), and had a hard time going from one activity to another. Though he was eventually diagnosed with ADHD and mental retardation, it still seemed like something was being missed.
John’s mom came across literature about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and felt John fit much of the description. She took John to his pediatrician, who then referred John to a specialist with experience diagnosing FAS.
John was diagnosed with a FASD, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder- since he fit many of the symptoms, yet his facial features didn't completely match the diagnostic criteria for FAS. Once John was diagnosed, his parents and teachers were finally able to more accurately meet his specific needs as a child effected by FASD.
The moral of this story is:
If something seems wrong or incomplete with a diagnosis your child is given, don’t give up until you get the answers you both deserve.
For further reading:
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome & Adoption
Managing FAS Behaviors in Children