A resolution that Sen. Pete Kelly has called a kind of war declaration on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders sailed through Alaska state Senate this week. The proposal is heavy on ambition and light on specifics for now. How exactly would the governor wipe out a generations-old epidemic? But look closely at the declaration and its companion, a […]
Driver accused of killing 2, injuring 23 at SXSW was wanted in Alaska
Friday noon update: Rashad Charjuan Owens was impaired by marijuana, not alcohol, when Fairbanks police arrested him on a DUI charge in 2011, Fairbanks District Court records show. Police were investigating a collision reported Oct. 17 at Chena Landings Loop when they arrested Owens. A Comfort Inn employee said Owens was driving a […]
Alaska families try to sever the link between sexual abuse and FASD
In a church-owned classroom circled by 58 acres of frosted spruce and frozen lakes, 10 children sat at a cafeteria table learning what to do if someone sexually abuses them. The kids, most born with a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder that may make them especially vulnerable to Alaska’s many sexual predators, had just watched an […]
Compass: Clear message, effective screening help against FASD
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 […]
Our View: Break silence about FASD, make awareness universal
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 […]
A diagnosis can change the life of a child with FASD
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 […]
4 families seek to confront, understand FASD
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 […]
Diagnosing FAS and FASD
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 […]
What you don’t know about drinking and pregnancy: Four mothers tell their stories
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 […]