In spite of efforts to prevent health problems and costs related to alcohol misuse, including fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), drinking problems continue to negatively impact individuals, families, and communities. Given that approximately one-third of U.S. adults has had an alcohol use disorder in their lifetime it is clear we need to take a population […]

Deb Evenson of Homer has worked in education about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) for 30 years. She’s still working for a wider awareness of those cruel afflictions, which are 100 percent preventable — but when not prevented, last for life. You’d think she might despair. Instead, she has […]

Most children and especially most adults with a fetal alcohol syndrome disorder will never be diagnosed. “Probably 1 percent of individuals who are walking around the state of Alaska right now who have this disability, 1 percent are getting a diagnosis and the other 99 percent are not,” said Marilyn Pierce-Bulger, a nurse practitioner and […]

Second of two parts. Read part one, What You Don’t Know About Drinking and Pregnancy: Four Mothers Tell Their Stories. Such an easy baby. Serenity only cried when someone held her. She looked healthy enough, her mother thought. A nine-pound newborn with a wisp of blond hair and cloudless blue eyes. But so quiet. What […]

Four experts work as a team to diagnose a child with FAS. A psychologist, a medical professional, a speech pathologist and an occupational therapist examine the child in a process that can last from hours to months. Diagnosing FAS is more complicated than simply looking for physical features caused by alcohol, although those can […]

About the time of her divorce, Susan Essary started meeting friends for beers and whiskey on the weekends. She normally only drank on holidays, Essary said, but two cans of Miller and two shots of Jack Daniels made it easier to talk. She vented about co-workers, her ex’s nosy family and the […]

Confused as to whether any amount of alcohol is safe for an expecting mom to drink? You’re not alone. Recent, well-publicized studies from researchers in Denmark downplay the risks of consuming alcohol during pregnancy. Such a suggestion is wrong, according to Dr. Susan Astley, a University of Washington fetal alcohol syndrome expert and […]

Autism or FASD? Autism and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are different disabilities with some similar symptoms. The causes of autism are not fully known, though most scientists agree genetics plays a role. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, including fetal alcohol syndrome, can only be found in children whose mothers drank during pregnancy. The […]