The NOFAS Weekly Roundup features news articles, research, event
announcements, new materials and other highlights from around the world
of FASD. The Roundup also includes the latest news from NOFAS and a link
to the Calendar of Events page on the NOFAS website.

FEATURES

Alcohol During Pregnancy: More Dangerous Than We Can ‘Know’

Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Patti-Ann Bossert discusses the
issues that arise when popular press articles state alcohol-use during
pregnancy is not harmful.

Article, Huffington Post, May 19, 2011

Mom fears for walkaway inmate with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Nora Boesem of South Dakota worries for her FAS son who recently
went missing from a minimum security prison in Rapid City.  If you have
any information please contact Lynn Taylor Rick at
lynn.taylorrick@rapidcityjournal.com.

Article, Rapid City Journal, May 18, 2011

Reductions in the brain’s deep gray matter volumes help explain
fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

Recent research from the University of Alberta shows that
individuals with FASD have less deep gray matter in the brain than
children without the condition.
Article, Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, May 16,
2011

Dr. Lisa’s Parent Chat

Dr. Lisa Thornton, Medical Director of Pediatric and Adolescent
Rehabilitation for KidsRehab of Chicago, Illinois recently launched a
YouTube Channel for parents of children who have disabilities.

Video, YouTube, May 2011

AFFILIATES

Morgan Fawcett: A Flute Like Medicine for FASD

Join 2011 NOFAS Excellence Award recipient, Morgan Fawcett, for
an exciting free lecture and concert, Wednesday, May 25th from
5:00-6:30pm at the Indian Health Board of Minneapolis. This event is
sponsored by the Minnesota Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
(MOFAS) and the Indian Health Board of Minneapolis.

Fetal Alcohol Forum – May 2011

Recent issue of the Fetal Alcohol Forum from NOFAS United
Kingdom featuring the latest FASD research and articles from experts.

NOFAS

COH/BMN Members Gather at BFSS Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona

Recently COH/BMN members gathered for the SAMHSA FASD Center for
Excellence Building FASD State Systems (BFSS) meeting entitled Hope,
Faith, and Care: Rising to the challenge of FASD on May 11 -13 in
Phoenix.

Join us at the 2011 NOFAS Leadership Awards Benefit!

The 2011 NOFAS Leadership Awards Benefit reception will be held
on Tuesday, June 21 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.  The Honorary Chairs are Tom
and Linda Daschle and Senator Lisa Murkowski.  Among the honorees are
Senator Jeff Bingaman, Congressman Don Young, Dr. Philip A. May and
Morgan Fawcett.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Environmental Factors May Be to Blame for Increase in Developmental Disabilities

Fox news, By Dr. Manny Alvarez

Published May 23, 2011 | FoxNews.com

According to a government report, one in six children in the United States has some kind of developmental disability. The number has been steadily increasing over the course of the past decade.

The study was based on ongoing national surveys of children under the age of 18. It included a range of disabilities, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, blindness, cerebral palsy, hearing loss, seizures, stuttering or stammering and other developmental delays.

From 1997 to 2008, the proportion of children with at least one of the conditions increased from less than 13 percent to more than 15 percent. This translates to a rise of 1.8 million kids.

Government researchers are uncertain as to why the increase happened, but speculate that a number of factors may be responsible.

For example, there is a bigger emphasis on early treatment now, and parents are more likely to be aware of the conditions, which means that kids who may have gone undiagnosed previously are now being recognized.

On the other hand, the rise may also be due to a change in risk factors, such as parents having children later in life and having more preterm babies.

ADHD rates among children accounted for most of the rise, while autism rates showed the fastest growth. Hearing loss, meanwhile, dropped over the course of the study period.

Researchers say that it is important for medical professionals to be prepared to accommodate the increasing numbers of children with developmental disorders. They also encourage parents to continue to have their children screened, because it is possible that despite the noticeable increase, a number of children may still be going undiagnosed.

I agree with the government’s advice and want to emphasize how important early screening is. The earlier a developmental disability is caught, the less it will affect the course of a child’s life. I have seen this myself with my son, who was diagnosed with a very early age with autism and has made huge strides since.

I also want to further question why this is happening. A part of me truly feels that we are metabolically poisoning ourselves from all the chemicals we get exposed to on a daily basis, whether it’s food, electronics or environmental pollutants.

I fear that we are going backwards in dealing with the complications that we typically have been trying to avoid in pregnant women for the past 15 years. I think part of the problem is that many women still don’t realize the significance of being healthy prior to pregnancy or don’t understand the advice of obstetricians and midwives.

To minimize the risk of a child being born with a disability, it is important curb risk factors such as maternal obesity and smoking. Good nutrition and mental stimulation is also key in encouraging healthy development.

By decreasing or eliminating these risk factors, hopefully we can see a decrease in childhood disabilities over the next decade.

Read more

Advocates for Children of New Jersey today released its annual New

Jersey Kids Count 2011 County Profiles and Rankings.

The rankings show Hunterdon County ranking number one out of all New
Jersey counties in overall child well-being and Cumberland County
ranking last. Kids Count compares counties on 15 measures, including
child poverty, health, safety and education.

Hunterdon, Morris, Bergen, Somerset and Middlesex were the top five
ranking counties, while Cumberland, Salem, Atlantic, Cape May and
Passaic were the five lowest.

View new county-level Kids Count data online.

In addition to the county profiles, which measure progress over a 1-year
period, ACNJ also released New Jersey Kids Count: The State of Our
Counties, a pocket guide that provides a 5-year comparison of various
measures of child well-being.

The NJ Kids Count Pocket Guide is attached. For hard copies of the
pocket guide, please e-mail toni@acnj.org, with the requested quantity
and mailing information.

Regional Kids Count Forums Being Developed

ACNJ is gearing up to hold Regional Kids Count Forums to help county
leaders and child-serving professionals learn more about the child
trends in their county and how they can use Kids Count data to improve
child well-being.

For more information, contact Reggie Dorsey at rdorsey@acnj.org.

NOFAS Weekly Roundup – Volume 2, Issue 20

The NOFAS Weekly Roundup features news articles, research, event

announcements, new materials and other highlights from around the world

of FASD. The Roundup also includes the latest news from NOFAS and a link

to the Calendar of Events page on the NOFAS website.

FEATURES

FAS: Is it a government plot?

Dr. Ira Chasnoff of the Children’s Research Triangle discusses

misconceptions about alcohol use during pregnancy due to recent studies

that show drinking alcohol during pregnancy may be beneficial to the

child.

Blog, Aristotle’s Child, May 6, 2011

Adoptive parents say province is in dire need of subsidy program

Many children with undiagnosed FASD are being adopted in Canada to

parents that are not prepared financially or emotionally to care for

children with such special needs.  These struggling parents are now

asking the Canadian government for support to help their children

succeed.

Article, The Star, May 13, 2011

International Child Adoption Study

A study is being conducted with families of internationally adopted

children, investigating the impact of prenatal alcohol exposure and

pre-adoption placement risk on current social-emotional, academic, and

adaptive behavior functioning.  The study seeks to recruit parents of

children aged 6 – 13 years old (inclusive) who were adopted from both

institutions and foster care placements outside of the United States.

Participants will be asked to complete a questionnaire and three

assessments, and no travel will be required.  If you are interested in

finding out more information about participating in this study, please

call Felicia Demchuk at, 216-361-7761 ext. 192, or email the link above.

NOFAS

NOFAS Topics: Legal System

NOFAS has recently produced a segment on the topic of FASD in the legal

system.  The video contains interviews with Anthony P. Wartnik, Retired

Judge and Legal Director of FASD Experts; Susan Fleisher, Executive

Director of NOFAS-UK; and Kathryn Kelly, Project Director of the FASD

Legal Issues Resource Center. Interviews were conducted at the recent

International FASD Conference in Vancouver.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

The Fetal Alcohol Forum E-letter is the first international medical e-letter devoted exclusively to Fetal Alcohol research and medical issues for doctors, scientists and health professionals. The first issue was published in May 2009,
followed by December 2009, May 2010, November 2010 and most recently in May 2011.

You can read the current issue and past issues by clicking on this link.

An article from the NY Times questions the use of fame retardant carcinagens in baby products.  To read about the new research click here.

Lack of vaccinations creates greater risk for NJ children. Read this article now on NJ.com