The FASD Movement
Our mission it to create a grassroots movement of parents, caregivers and experts from across the nation to build awareness of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs), which are preventable, highly prevalent, and lifelong disabilities caused by prenatal alcohol exposure. Key to our mission is to unite fledgling organizations throughout the US that focus on supporting individuals with FASD to build a united coalition that provides educational training for all systems of care that intersect with this population across the lifespan. These includes doctors, therapists, teachers, social workers, addiction treatment counselors, law enforcement and other representatives of our criminal justice system. In educating these sectors of society, individuals with FASD, 85% of whom are unable to live successfully as adults, and their families, will be better understood, receive appropriate support services and become productive members of our society.
We aim to create a collaborative grass-roots movement with consolidated messaging that validates the existence and needs of this misunderstood and ignored population.
We are working with these organizations to accomplish comprehensive networking through coalition building with the goal of sector-specific FASD educational training modules being introduced across the nation.
With a solid societal understanding of the impact of prenatal alcohol exposure will come changes in legislation to support the needs of individuals with FASD based on better diagnostics, appropriate educational, therapeutic and pharmaceutical supports, more understanding of the role of organic brain damage as a factor in crime and an overall solid understanding of the danger of prenatal alcohol exposure.
We need to move past the shame and blame associated with FASD, focus on the understanding and validation of these disorders and provide support for this population.
Ongoing Initiatives:
FASD Communities is partnering with other FASD advocacy organizations and experts on a film project. For more information, check out The FASD Project at www.theFASDproject.org
FASD Communities is working with other FASD non-profit organizations and advocates to seek funding for a National Center on FASD Justice and Equity that will drive funding towards prevention and intervention, particularly in underserved populations.]
To help support this project click here to donate!
