11 Year Old Exposes Her Invisible World

Morasha, I am so proud of you. You are really going for your dream of making a difference for persons with fetal alcohol and preventing future generations from having this brain injury - Congratulations.

Poof --- And Then It Vanished!

Sorry guys our Toolbox Parent Radio vanished in midair -

the gentleman that gave us the opportunity said we needed more listeners and we weren't getting them. Deb and I learned a lot and had hoped we could link to archive them so families could listen - but he took everything off the air. A special thank you to all who participated in our programming

We are not defeated as it took me about 15 hours a week of preparation to do all the pieces to prepare - and no one was getting paid including our producer who at least trusted us to give it a go.

We are grateful for the opportunity and believe this form of media could work for families in the future. We will continue to do our newsletters with family friendly information.

49 Days Countdown to 09.09.09 FASDay Checklist

#49 Let's Knot to be Silent in 2009 -

INSTRUCTIONS TO TIE YOUR OWN FASKnots

By Bonnie Buxton, author Damaged Angels
co-founder International FASDay
Re-printed from December ICEBERG 2008

In January of 1999, while digging out from a Toronto snowstorm, my husband Brian Philcox and I realized that September 9, 1999 (9-9-99), would present an opportunity to inform the world that during the nine months of pregnancy, alcohol is dangerous to the baby.
Within 24 hours, Teresa Kellerman of Tucson, Arizona, had contributed her creativity and Internet genius by encouraging volunteers in seven countries and 11 time zones to participate in the first International FAS Awareness Day. Because every ribbon colour had been taken by other causes, Brian and I spent several hours developing the FASKnot symbol in honor of the first book about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Michael Dorris’s "The Broken Cord."

Ten years later, the events continue and now we challenge FASD advocates to take advantage of 2009 to build awareness all year long, particularly on 09-09-09. This year in Canada, FASDay events included a major conference, some candlelight vigils, “mocktail” competitions, breakfasts, luncheons, a play, and one brave woman with ARND speaking out for the first time to a group of university students. Many of these events brought media attention to FASD, building awareness in the community.

Join the movement to Build Better Baby Brains
Let's Raise the Standard

Jodee

50 Days Countdown to 09.09.09 FASDay Checklist

#50 Easy Ideas to Raise the Standard in Building Better Baby Brains

Ring Bells at 9:09 am on 09.09.09!

Search out bells in your community

• Church Bells
• School Bells
• High School Orchestra
• Cow Bells
• Government Bells
• Business Door Bells

Make connections today to schedule a special bell ringing ceremony of ringing out the warnings of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

Bells will begin ringing at 9:09 am on 09.09.09 in New Zealand and continue to ring their way around the world.

For more great grassroots ideas visit http://www.fasday.com/

Hundreds of crazy but wonderful people in communities in every time zone volunteer their time and energy to organize FASDAY activities, where parents and professionals alike join forces in this phenomenal grassroots movement that now involves thousands of participants.

Is the world listening?

We think so! The FAS Community Resource Center that provides the majority of the information for FASDAY activists has 50,000 people each month visit its web pages that contain a wealth of information on research, prevention, and intervention of fetal alcohol issues. Parents, professionals, teachers and students alike visit the popular web site to educate themselves and to share information with others by downloading the hundreds of articles and handouts available there. The FAS Center web site can be found here: http://fasstar.com/fas

Jodee Kulp, Executive Director
Better Endings New Beginnings
Join the Virtual Million Minds March to Build Better Baby Brains

Impatiens in my garden

Each year my garden is filled
with Impatiens in hues of
pink, and red, and orange
that I admire in their beauty
of remaining rooted into the earth
soaking up the rainwater
sipping the morning dew
facing the sun

Each day my garden is filled
with impatience in behavior hues
watching the upward growth
the beauty of longterm gain
versus a behavior snapshot

Seeing my daughter
reach new understanding of
who she is
and who she can be

Watching her soak up
reign water of self discipline
to protect her heart and soul

Listening to her share
her schedule and to do list
that provide her a safe path
for her day

Watching as she turns
herself around
her heart,
her soul,
her mind.

To reach out
to let the Sonshine
into her life
The strength of Spirit
Who becomes
her hope in a future
her faith that her past
can remain her past
and that she can use
her experiences as
a testimony to Life!

My Happy Mother's Day
has been many years
in becoming

A Budget Cut That Will Increase Spending

There is no doubt that funding cuts are necessary, and everyone will have a special program to address.

As a parent who has volunteered thousands of documented hours to MNASAP and daily provides 2-4 unpaid hours to adoptive families in crisis with tough kids I need to note that the infrastrucure these organizations provide me allow for efficient additional access to parents with children in crisis or handling complex issues. Families who adopt our Minnesota Waiting Children and Foster Families need supports to do a larger than typical life job. Behaviors due to genetic factors, prenatal factors and complex early life experiences are compounded when children are moved from family into new or established temporary family. These programs hired experienced, trained adoptive parents across the state to provide support, parenting skill development, and referrals to adoption-competent professionals and other community-based services to stabilize adoptive families and it was a place I could direct a family spinning out to gain parent to parent support - It has taken 10 years to get where we are today.

My daughter (diagnosed with fetal alcohol brain damage at 12.5 years) is in the first generation of this care - (one of the first three high-risk legal adoptions in 1986 - a foster baby at five months adopted at 14 months) She lead a successful life as a teen - graduated from high achool and passed her basic standards with a 70 IQ. This success happened because there were other organized families that surrounded us with ideas, compassion and directives to appropriate healthy supports. Other families we connected with who laughed and cried with us in this journey - developed friendships for respite. Challenging children need safe places to play with caregivers who understand their issues.

This is a chicken and egg issue - one could place blame on the child, or the new parents, or the system, or the original family. One could state this is an inappropriate funding priority that needs to be slashed.

OR one could say that this system is working for families and children and because of this program we are seeing less complex issues arise. Our infrastructure fell apart when she reached 18 and aged out of supports - just as it has for so so many of these kids.

My recommendation, and I am but one, would be to increase ASAP and Harambee funding to develop an continuing adult program so that transition to adulthood is smoother and successful. Minnesota has been a leader in this area - these are the most vulnerable of our children - tough on the outside and fragile on the inside.

I challenge you to:

1. check the number of adoptive children (or previous foster children) in adult mental health
2. check the number of adoptive children (or previous foster children) who are incarcerated

CHECK THE COST of our adult failing infrastructure and it will give heed to what is about to happen to the younger age group also.

Please look carefully at this issue. The answer is more complicated and it is perhaps because this sytem is working you do not see the total possible fallout. Parents are beginning to call and rely on other parents that is a real outcome, they also seek professionals when the issue become greater than what they understand.

In this time of economic trauma our young people suffer, our children suffers and our country suffers. The cost of adoptng a traumatized child is great. The cost of not allowing a child to have a healthy family is greater.

MN ASAP and Harambee have been instrumental in keeping families together - Personally I want to congratulate them on a job I hope they continue to do well.

Jodee Kulp

www.betterendings.org
www.toolboxparent.com

I have a dream . . .

That one day little children will not be born with brain damage because of the alcohol they were fed before they were even borm.
I have a dream. . .
That one day persons with inivisible disabilities will not be treated second-class citizens, but will be able to participate in their local communities accepted in their differences
I have a dream. . .
That one day predators and persecutors will not addionally victimize persons with fetal alcohol. That people will realize it is no joke. That the day - to - day struggle is real and cannot be kissed away, or bandaged or ignored.
I have a dream . . .
That one day we will see all people as mattering. As my young adult daughter says so profoundly, "You can't be handicapped if you are born like that. You just are."