What happens to a child who grows up with virtually no parenting, love, affection or human touch? “Nearly everything we learn about being human—how to speak, how to walk, everything—comes from the people who raise us,” Oprah says. “Today, we’re going to look at what happens when nobody does.”
This was my son.
Dr. Bruce Perry, a Child psychiatrist featured on the Oprah show states that neglect is the absence of necessary stimulation in order to build a certain part of the brain. In order for children to learn, to stimulate areas of their brain they NEED stimulation. Without stimulation they will …read more

Recently, a study on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome stated that babies of mothers who were light drinkers were not at a greater risk than other children. However, the medial reported differently. They stated that the light drinking could be beneficial to some children because there was no difference in their development by the time they turned three.
The problem with the study is that the children examined were only from a high socioeconomic group and these children (as reported) tend to do better developmentally than children from a lower economic group.
Additionally, the adverse effects of light drinking is subtle, unlike the effects …read more

Institutional Autism is not a genetically induced Autism like most diagnosed here in the States, but one learned from years of neglect and sensory deprivation. Dr. Federici, a renowned adoption psychologist has done a vast amount of research on this topic and written numerous articles. He and M. Rutter, am American Psychologist indicate some of the major symptoms of institutional autism as:
• Sensory and social deprivation can result in the autistic-like behaviors.
• These behaviors may diminish after the child is removed from the initial deprived environment.
• A substantial minority of children will continue to exhibit these difficult behavior patterns for …read more

As the holiday season approaches I know that I am becoming more nervous about dealing with crowds, family events, festivities, and even just holiday meals and having vacation time.
But, we can work to avoid the holiday meltdowns as much as we can. Ultimately, the meltdowns will come…we all know that but we can certainly try to avoid them.

What was the food like in the country you traveled to?
or
What do you think the food will be like in the country you are going to travel to?
Do you think that your child will like the food you have in your refrigerator? I know that we tried to keep AJ’s food the same but he took delight in some of the new foods. We fed him yogurt and bananas, baby rice cereal (he did not like our oatmeal), animal crackers, and graham crackers, etc. We tried to get him to eat meat and some cheeses but we found out that …read more

Now, it is safe to say that my opinion on this one is none but the verdict is still (unfortunately) out on this. The facts are that most Fetal Alcohol Children have birth mothers who are alcoholics (who drank at least 8-10 drinks a day) and that children with Fetal Alcohol Effects had birth mothers who probably drank 4-6 drinks a day and so forth on down the line.
However, where does ARND fit in? What happens to kids who are throroughly affected but their birth mother only drank 1-2 drinks a day?

Science is not always right.
Alcohol is always capable of …read more

Unfortunately, the brain is the one organ that is most affect by alcohol. Surprisingly though, many pregnant woman do not know this nor do they understand what damage they can do to their unborn child.
Alcohol damages parts of the brain that give us memory, self-control, coordination, and judgment (thus, cause/effect and consequences). Most children with FAS have problems with learning, attention spans, behavior, and fine motor skills because of this.

Okay, so lets get this straight (and I am going to be flippant here)…for all of you searching my site for information on just how much alcohol you can drink while you are pregnant I will answer you.
 National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome:
“No safe time. No safe amount. No safe alcohol. Period.”
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: “While it is apparent that children who meet the criteria for FAS are born only to those mothers who consume large amounts of alcohol during pregnancy, studies have reported neurobehavioral deficits and intrauterine growth retardation in infants born to …read more

Every year on September 9, International FASD Awareness Day is observed, the first day celebrated was 9/9/99.
The day was chosen on the 9th  so that women would remember that nine months of pregnancy is the most important nine months of their lives to abstain from alcohol.
In honor of this day please look back over this year at all the posts on FAS. Please take your time reading and learn!

 Classroom Strategies on FAS
Mom Fills Bottle with Wine 
How to Get Your Child an Aide 
Child With Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Dies 
Is There a Cure for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome?
Misinterpretations of Fetal Alcohol Children
Summer Struggles III: …read more

I spoke to one of my readers via email and she stated that she would LOVE some information on how to make her classroom more special needs friendly even through she has a regular education classroom.
I also thought that some of you would love some information for your children’s teachers…I know that finding information on FAS is difficult. Please print out some of these great resources to help your kids.
Classroom Strategies

Meet with parents, the student and professionals in the community to determine individual needs of the student.