Alcohol & Me: Five things you should know about FASD

(Video by Marc Lester / Anchorage Daily News)

If you think FASD doesn’t affect you and your family, Deb Evensen wants you to think again.

Evensen has been educating Alaskans about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders for more than 30 years. She works with school districts and organizations across Alaska and the U.S. to address the issue. In this video, she explains the five things everyone should know about FASD.

“We cannot deal with bullying and violence in schools, recidivism in the correctional system or dropout rates until the community looks at the number of kids prenatally exposed to alcohol,” she says.

“It’s the elephant in the living room, the whale in our umiak.”

Evensen shares links to several resources for more information about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders:

University of New Mexico researcher Philip May discusses his findings on the prevalence of FASD in school populations.

NOFAS is a national organization that believes the US is facing a public health crisis that society doesn’t understand.

Alaska Division of Behavioral Health Office of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

University of Washington FAS Diagnostic and Prevention Network conducts screening, diagnosis, intervention and research in Washington state.

Originally published February 21, 2014 by Marc Lester in Anchorage Daily News.