- Hey everybody, today I'm gonna talk
about fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
What are they, how can they feel to those
who struggle with them, and how can we get help
if we need it?
Before I jump into fetal alcohol spectrum disorders,
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For the sake of talking about fetal alcohol
spectrum disorders, from here on out, I'm gonna call it FASD
and what FASD really is is a blanket term
to cover all of the different effects
that a child may sustain if their mother drinks
during pregnancy, so there's a lot of different symptoms
that someone with FASD could have, and I'm gonna go
through the four diagnoses that fall under this umbrella.
The first diagnosis and the most severe,
is FAS, fetal alcohol syndrome, and I'm reading
from my notes, if you wonder what I'm looking at,
I made a ton of notes and I also am going to reference
a book that was sent to me by a fellow kinyin,
so if you want more information, I'll link
in the description a way for you to pick this up,
it's super helpful and I know that it has really
assisted me in better understanding FASD,
but let's get into FAS as a whole.
FAS is the most severe of the fetal alcohol spectrum
disorders, and as always, everyone's gonna have
a different experience and their symptoms
can vary but the most common are, and I'm just reading
from my notes, number one is distinctive facial features.
Now the best way I can describe it and I made some notes
as to what it really means,
is that someone with FAS could have small eyes
and head, have a very thin upper lip, a short,
upturned nose, and a smooth surface between their nose
and upper lip.
You know this little dip that we have?
That is not usually present in someone with FAS.
Also the second most common symptom of FAS
can be some deformities in their limbs,
their fingers, maybe one is shorter than the other,
maybe they don't have a full arm, because you have
to remember that when someone is developing in the womb,
we need all of the nutrients, we need all of the good things
that our mother can give us so that we can
develop properly and that we're given the time needed
to develop.
However, if a mother's drinking,
that's going to affect all development,
from our limbs of our body and bodily development
as well as our brain development.
The third most common symptom is vision or hearing
impairments, again just because we didn't have
all that we needed while we're developing.
A lot of people with FAS will struggle to hear
in noisy rooms or may have really bad vision
and need either corrective LASIK surgery
or have really thick glasses or contacts
as a way to combat that.
The fourth most common symptom is poor coordination
and balance, and again this is just a result
of development but they do say that getting a child
at a young age into like a Gymboree course
or maybe a little team sport can help them improve
and feel more confident playing with other children.
And the fifth and final symptom that I'm gonna talk about
in this video but like I said, there are long lists,
everyone's gonna be different,
there's a lot of different symptoms associated
with it but the last one I'm gonna talk about
is hyperactivity and jittery-ness.
This is why a lot of children who have FAS
are actually misdiagnosed with ADHD because it's really
difficult for them to sit still and it also means
that they'll struggle in school.
And before I get into the next diagnosis
associated with FASD, I wanna just let you know
what it can feel like for someone who falls
under this umbrella term.
When I was reading this book, the main point
that came through was that it's really difficult
for those who are diagnosed because they struggle
with impulse control, it can lead them to lashing out
at friends, and then they feel worse about themselves
but they legitimately are not able to control it,
and so I think the message that I want you to hear
is that if someone in your life has FASD,
understand that it's not that they won't do something
or that they won't stop doing something,
it's that they cannot.
And so understanding where they're at
and what they struggle with and how it feels for them
will be so beneficial to your relationship,
not only will they feel validated, heard, and understood
but then you can better understand where they're coming from
so you know that it has nothing to do with you
and it's them trying to work through their struggles
with FASD.
The first diagnosis I just talked about was FAS,
fetal alcohol syndrome, but we'll move into
the second one which is partial fetal alcohol syndrome
or PFAS, and I could go into a ton of detail
about all the different symptoms that fall under PFAS
but it's important for you just to know
that when it comes to PFAS, they can have all of
the symptoms as someone with FAS has,
however it's just not as severe.
And in order for these things to be properly diagnosed
you need to see a professional, you need to go
see a doctor, a psychiatrist, a therapist
who works with FASD so they can make sure
that you get the diagnosis that you need
so you can get the help that you deserve.
The third diagnosis I wanna address
and I'm gonna read from my notes 'cause it's
a long one, is neurobehavioral disorder
associated with prenatal alcohol exposure,
otherwise called ND-PAE.
Now ND-PAE is when a child or adult
will have issues in three areas.
The first is thinking and memory, and one of the ways
that can present itself is someone forgetting something
they just learned.
Those with ND-PAE will learn something in school,
try to go home and do their homework and have
no recollection, no memory of what they already
previously learned just a few hours before,
and this can be extremely frustrating for the person
who's struggling, as well as it can make it hard
for them to keep up in school or work.
Also because memory's an issue, it can make it hard for them
to plan things, to remember the things that they
were supposed to do or things they told people
they'd show up for, so planning is another issue
that they struggle with.
The second area that they'll struggle with
is behavior issues.
People with ND-PAE can throw huge tantrums,
they can have a really difficult time switching
from one task to another and that is why
having an IEP, an individualized education program,
in place at the school is so important.
It's really pivotal to their success because
when someone is struggling, people might not understand why
and if they're expecting them to transition from one
subject matter to another really quickly,
let's say they only have three to five minutes
in between classes, that can be really overwhelming
and that can cause a tantrum, it can cause them
to lash out and be extremely angry and frustrated.
The third area that they'll struggle with
is just day to day living, meaning it's hard
to bathe ourselves and to get up on time
and to plan with other children, other parents,
other families and to dress appropriately for the day,
for the weather, for whatever's expected of them.
They can struggle so much with this,
it can cause them to be late to work or school,
forget that they're supposed to have a play date
with that child or all of the above.
And just as a side note, in order for this
to be diagnosed as per the DSM, the mom who was pregnant
with this child must have had at least 13 drinks
per month or more than two in a sitting,
and I only say that because it's important for those of us
out there who maybe want to have children
or may become pregnant or maybe we already think
we are pregnant, there is no amount of alcohol
that is safe for you to consume while you're pregnant.
Having two or more drinks in a sitting is not a lot
for a normal adult, however, if we are pregnant
or we're trying to become pregnant, please do not drink.
You can do so much harm to your baby developmentally
and it can make things so much more difficult
for your child and for yourself.
And so I just wanna bring that up because I think
there's a lot of misconceptions out there
about oh, it's fine if it's early on in the pregnancy
or if it's not too much or it's just a couple glasses
of wine, there is no amount of alcohol
that they know to be safe to consume while we're pregnant.
And the fourth and final diagnosis I'm gonna touch on
in this video is alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder
or ARNDD.
Those diagnosed with ARNDD will not have the facial features
associated with FAS, meaning those small eyes
or the thin lips, the things we talked about before,
they don't find those with ARNDD to have that,
however, what they do find is those diagnosed with ARNDD
do have developmental disabilities associated
with their central nervous system, which what
that really means is they have brain damage
and that can cause behavioral and learning disabilities.
I was asked by many kinyons to create this video
and my hope for it is to remove the stigma
associated with FASD.
There's so much shame involved from a parent's perspective
I mean if I drank when I was pregnant
because maybe I didn't know right away
or maybe I had an alcohol problem, a lot of mothers
feel shame for causing this in their children
and those with FASD because it's so unknown
and not talked about and not dealt with at the school level
in many cases can lead to more shame
because we get irritable, we lash out
and then we feel worse about ourselves,
but legitimately we don't have control over that
and so the more that we talk about it,
the more understanding, the better.
Maybe you've been diagnosed with FASD,
what do we do?
The first thing we can do, set realistic expectations
for ourselves.
That means no comparison, don't even think about it.
Everyone is different.
Like I said even in the FASD umbrella,
everyone's gonna experience it different
and so know that your situation is unique to you
and you have to set expectations that fit you
and meet you where you're at.
The second thing we can do is get support as needed.
Because this can cause so many issues for us
in learning and school, it's so important that we make sure
we have an IEP if we need one.
I'll link in the description, I have a video
about IEPs and what those are and how we can get those
in place.
Also if you need a tutor, make sure that
you set that up.
Check in one on one with your teacher to see
how they feel you're doing, what other support
they can give you.
Also check in with your disabilities office
and the services they offer.
Make sure that you're getting your needs met
and if needed, get a social worker or a therapist.
We can fight on your behalf and make sure
that you get the help you need when you need it most.
And the third thing is support groups.
Like I said there's so much shame and embarrassment
associated with FASD, it can be healing and validating
to hear from other people going through something similar,
and I'll link in the description a resource
so you can find a support group in your area.
And the fourth and final thing we can do
is get in therapy.
Having FASD can put us at a higher risk
for trauma, for getting in trouble with the law,
for keeping up with life expectations like sleep,
hygiene, et cetera, and also adoption and foster care
is so common.
Make sure that you get in therapy as soon as possible
so you have support when you need it.
Through all my research and reading articles about FASD,
it only taught me more and more that there is
no amount of alcohol that is safe for us to consume
when we're pregnant so please, if you're not using
protection, please don't drink.
I hope you found this video helpful and informative.
In all honesty, all through my training,
no one really talked that much about it.
I think I learned about it in one class
and so it's important that we have this conversation.
Are there other topics you want me to address?
Let me know in the comments.
Are there things that I forgot or something else
that you wanna mention about your experience?
Let us know because we're working together
towards a healthy mind and a healthy body.
And I will see you next time, bye.