Helping your child with FASD and yourself

Ask questions

If you are thinking of adopting or permanently fostering a child or a group of brothers and sisters and you are concerned that they may have been affected by their birth mother using alcohol while pregnant, it is important that you ask questions from your social worker and obtain as much health information and background as you can.

You should be able to see a full record of the child or children’s medical history, and have the opportunity to speak with the agency’s medical adviser or other specialist staff if needed.

Remember, though, that FASD is not always visible so it might be difficult to get an exact diagnosis, especially if the child is very young.

Find out more

A wide range of information is available from various organisations regarding FAS and FASD:

• Contact a Family, which provides support, advice and information for families with disabled children, including those with FASD

• FASawareUK, which raises awareness, gives informed choice, and providesinformation and support for people affected by or interested in FAS:

• FASD Connections, a Canadian organisation committed to building a community in which adolescents and adults with FASD are included and encouraged and where the experience of families is understood, acknowledged, and accepted

• FASD Trust, a charity aiming to raise awareness of FASD by improving people’s understanding of it and increasing support to those affected by it

• National Organisation on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome – UK, committed to helping individuals with FASD, their families and carers.

Get support

If you suspect that the child you have adopted or are fostering has FASD, you may find it useful to share your experiences with other carers in similar situations. Adoption UK, helpline 0844 8487900) is a great source of shared information and support for adopters and long-term foster carers. There is a message board where you can read about others’ experiences, and ask for support. They also run a one-day workshop on parental substance misuse for carers.

Further reading

Children exposed to parental substance misuse. Implications for family placement, edited by Rena Phillips, examines the effects of drugs, alcohol and tobacco misuse in pregnancy and beyond. It includes the views of those directly affected: children, adopters and foster carers. Published by BAAF 2004 £16.95 + p&p. Available from BAAF publications online on 020 7421 2604.

Originally published in the Be My Parent newspaper in January 2009.

This article is published with the kind permission of the people involved. You may download it for your own reference but if you wish to use it for any other purpose, please contact Be My Parent for authorisation: Be My Parent, BAAF, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Telephone: 020 7421 2666/5/4.

Last updated: 08 January 09

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