Our Wired World

Canada

• www.damagedangels.com reviews of Bonnie Buxton's book, Damaged Angels and information about how you can order copies in bulk at a discount for your organization.
• http://fasdjustice.on.ca is a new site reflecting news and current information about FASD and the Justice System in Canada.
• www.fasbookshelf.com The FAS Bookshelf provides FAS and related material for sale. They try to answer any questions or requests for special material regarding FAS. Check out their website or call 604-460-1050 or fax 604-459-2405.
• Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA) has a website (http://www.ccsa.ca) with an FASD topic page where you will find links to resources, recommended readings, the FASD directory of information and support services in Canada and the national database of FASD and substance use during pregnancy resources as well as a calendar of events. You can request information by calling 1-800-559-4514 (toll free in Canada) or by email kpalmer@ccsa.ca.
• http://www.preventioninstitute.sk.ca/media.php is the website for The Saskatchewan Prevention Institute’s new and newly revised FASD resources with many books,guides and other training resources for families and professionals
• http://www.acbr.com/fas/faslink.htm is a Canadian site operated by volunteer Bruce Ritchie, birth father of a son with FAS. This information-crammed site will enable you to join FASlink, the international online support group, moderated by Ritchie, and is also your access route to the FASlink archives...where you will find answers to almost any FASD questions you come up with.
• New CAMH manual helps health-care providers sort out the facts for mother and baby
  Is it ever safe to drink alcohol when breastfeeding? What are the risks to my baby if I smoke marijuana while carrying or breastfeeding? Is it safe for me to be on prescription medication while I’m pregnant? Expectant mothers always have questions when they discover they are pregnant, but when the use of psychotropic medication and other substances are involved, it has always been hard to get clear answers. Until now.
  
  A new manual published by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in partner ship with Motherisk entitled, Exposure to Psychotropic Medications and Other Substances during Pregnancy and Lactation, aims to help health care providers sort out the facts to help make better decisions for mother and baby. Statistics show that 25 per cent of Canadians smoke, five per cent drink alcohol daily and 10 per cent report symptoms consistent with alcohol or illegal drug dependence. Many of the over 400,000 Canadian women each year who give birth may have used such substances before they knew they were pregnant. In addition, one study showed that 6.6 per cent of women between the ages of 15 and 45 were on an antidepressant during the year prior to conception.
  
  While this manual discusses the use of antidepressants and pain medication - substances that people are more willing to accept - the guide also touches on illicit substances such as cocaine, club drugs and inhalants. Wende Wood, psychiatric pharmacist at CAMH and co-author of the manual, notes that although some topics may be controversial and hard to talk about, substance use in pregnant women is an issue that must be addressed.
  
  She adds: “These issues are complicated and people don’t like to think women will use substances during pregnancy, but issues of addiction and other substance use are a reality. The good news is that service providers can now use this resource to help guide patients in reducing the harms associated with use.”
  
  A lot of misinformation exists concerning drug use during pregnancy. Much of this information has been passed on to the general public through the media, well-meaning family and friends, and even health-care practitioners. Prior to the 1950s, it was thought that a pregnant woman developed a “placental barrier” through which nothing that would hurt the baby could pass. As a result, during that era, there was little concern over what a woman may be exposed to during pregnancy. Then, the thalidomide tragedy occurred and the common belief, as often happens, swung to the other extreme. Today, it is widely believed that women should not be exposed to any medication or other substance while pregnant, as most substances can harm the fetus. Common sense should tell us, however, that the truth lies somewhere in-between.
  
  Well known by many to be the leading preventable cause of neurodevelopmental deficits in Canada, alcohol was also thought to be harmful to the fetus during breastfeeding. This manual has developed an algorithm to calculate the amount of time needed between consuming alcohol and breastfeeding in order to avoid risks of passing alcohol onto the baby.
  
  Medications such as antidepressants and antipsychotics had been long thought to have a negative effect on the fetus and many women have been inclined to discontinue use. Dr. Adrienne Einarson, Motherisk, says: “While it is always best to consult with your doctor, in general, if a woman is being treated successfully with pharmacotherapy for mental illness before she becomes pregnant, her treatment should continue throughout pregnancy as well. Untreated depression and other mental illnesses – regardless of the severity – can harm both the mother and her baby.”
  
  The health care provider’s challenge is to know the true risks and benefits – to both the mother and her fetus or baby – of taking versus stopping the use of a medication or other substance. Yet the average health-care provider is not well equipped to give the best advice to women who are pregnant or breastfeeding and exposed to psychotropics. This manual will be available in this fall to help fill the gaps.
  
  To receive a copy of the manual call CAMH publications at 1 800-661-1111 or visit www.camh.net/publications .
• The Offord Centre for Child Studies, a leading Canadian centre for research in early child development, has just launched a new web site designed to make the best evidence-based information on children's mental health accessible to parents, teachers and others who need it most. The web site is called the Centre of Knowledge on Healthy Child Development and it can be found at www.knowledge.offordcentre.com.

• BC FamilyNet Society: e-mail:  info@bcfamilynet.org,  www.bcfamilynet.org
  Office of the Representative for Children and Youth: Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond. The Representative oversees the provincially-funded agencies responsible for delivering services and programs to children, youth and their families across B.C.   Responsibilities of the Representative include advocating for children and youth, protecting their rights, and improving the system for the protection and support of children and youth, particularly those who are most vulnerable.  The Representative doesn't work for the government. Rather, the Representative for Children and Youth is an independent office of the Legislature and does not report through a provincial ministry. The website for the Office of the Representative is:  http://www.rcybc.ca/content/home.asp
  
  
  

USA 

• http://come-over.to/FASCRC is run by FASDay co-founding co-coordinator Teresa Kellerman in Tucson, Arizona. Lots of articles, ideas, information and other links. As you move through this HUGE site, don't miss FASSTARS with photos of many beautiful children, teenagers, and adults who struggle with prenatal brain damage every day of their lives.

• FAS Times is the quarterly newsletter of the FAS Family Resource Institute. Current circulation is near 3500, approximately half parents and half professionals. This newsletter is 12 pages packed with practical information and education on everything related to FAS/E. It is written from the practical perspective and understanding of parents raising children with FAS/E and struggling to access services in multiple public and private systems. FAS Times has been described as a vital educational reference. Suggested annual donation: $20.00 ($25.00 Canadian) To subscribe or request back issues contact: vicky@fetalalcoholsyndrome.org
  

• NOFAS is the national organization advocating on behalf of FASD in Washington, DC: www.nofas.com

• In the U.S., go to the FASD National Directory, www.MOFAS.org  This national database contains up-to-date information on all 50 states and territories, and links to many national organizations dealing with FAS, alcohol addiction, and special needs adoptions.
• www.betterendings.org is operated by Minneapolis parent, activist, and author Jodee Kulp. Jodee and daughter Liz, with FAS, have written a book about their hard work in helping Liz to lead a normal life, and you can buy it here, That's just one of the inspiring things you'll find on this positive and enlightening site. Jodee is at (jodee@connetworks.com)
• http://depts.washington.edu/fadu/ is an excellent source of technical and academic material, most of it taken from research undertaken or supervised by the famous psychology professor, researcher, and authority on FAS, Dr. Ann Streissguth at University of Washington Faculty of Medicine in Seattle.
• www.fasiceberg.org/index.htm reports regularly on FASD activities around the world and provides a newsletter subscription upon request.
• www.fascenter.samhsa.gov will take you to the FASD Center for Excellence which provides information, resources and training.
• www.fammed.wisc.edu/fen.htm is the website of the Family Empowerment Network which is a national resource, referral, support and research program serving families and professionals.
• www.fetalalcoholsyndrome.org is the website for FAS Family Resource Institute -- also known as 'FAS FRI' -- is a parent-based organization in the State of Washington offering assistance, referrals and support, plus a quarterly newsletter: FAS Times.
• http://savemeadream.com is a renewed site sponsored by musician and songwriter Paul Williams. You will find information and links for women's issues, FASD, missing and abused children and much more.

• http://flnder.com  - An experimental search interface.

International 

Australia:

NOFASARD: National Organisation for Foetal Alcohol Syndrome and Related Disorders
Adelaide, South Australia - Sue Miers, sue@nofasard.org 
Mackay, Queensland, Anne Russell, nofasard@bigpond.com
Wynyard, Tasmania, Drug Education Network, Vicki Russell, vicki@den.org.au

Germany:

FASworld Deutschland, Irm Wills, www.fasworld.de   fasd@fasworld.de 

FASworld Hamburg, Inis Rosenke, www.fasworld-hamburg.de 

Japan:

To learn how the high rates of alcoholism in Japan are affecting many children, who have been unable to participate in that knowledge-based society, go to http://hometown.aol.com  and do a search for the name "psoba" minus the quotation marks.  

New Zealand:

• Alcohol Health Watch, Auckland - Christine Rogan, christine@ahw.co.nz
• Fetal Alcohol Trust, Hamilton - Shirley Winikerei, fast@xtra.co.nz

South Africa:

• Pebbles Project, Sophia Warner, sophia@pebblesproject.co.za
• Peter & Vivien Lourens, plourens@mweb.co.za
• FASfacts, Francois Grobbelaar, fasfacts@metroweb.co.za

United Kingdom:

• NOFAS UK, Susan Fleisher, susan@midlantic.co.uk
• FASworld UK Gloria & Peter Armistead, fasawareuk@blueyonder.co.uk   www.fasaware.co.uk 
• Sarah Bassett, http://groups.msn.com/FASDonthenet/ -- Sarah is hosting a new website for FASD peers. Caregivers & friends are also welcome.
• www.fasdtrust.co.uk , provides support for parents and caregivers in many coommunities in England. for info, please comntact Julia Brown at juliabrown@fasdtrust.co.uk

Want to find out about FAS resources nationally, in your U.S. state, Canadian province, or community? For international connections, please check our FASFriends page.

More international addresses are in the works. Please stay tuned!

Videos & DVDs

Recent programs produced by Global Television Network and Vison TV are useful for introducing FASD issues to families and interested groups and feature Colette Philcox and her family: available on DVD for C$20 from FASworld Canada (see FASDeals Online Store).

Books and Printed Material

• Damaged Angels by Bonnie Buxton has received rave reviews (www.damagedangels.com) around the world and has become the definitive FASD reference for families and professionals alike. Available at most major bookstores and at a discount from www.amazon.ca (Cdn edition) and www.amazon.com (US edition).
  
• Excellent material available from B.C. FAS/E Support Network, phone (604) 589-1854,
  or e-mail <fasnet@istar.ca>
  
• FASD Strategies not Solutions is a booklet with great techniques for coping with individuals struggling with ARND and is available from Success By 6 (sx6fas1@telus.net ) or Well Community Well Family (780) 425-6594. The booklet may also be downloaded from www.region6fasd.ca
  
• Parenting Children Affected by Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, ed. by Sara Graefe, Society of Special Needs Adoption Parents, 409 Granville St., Suite 1150, Vancouver, BC V6C 1T2, (604) 687-3114, toll-free (BC only) 1-800-663-7627; French-language version available from
  Adoption Council of Canada, phone Elspeth Ross (613) 446-4144. $10 Canadian.
  

• Fantastic Antone Succeeds (1993) and Fantastic Antone Grows Up (2000), Judith Kleinfeld and Siobhan Westcott, University of Alaska Press - try Amazon, Chapters or Indigo. Also available at the University of Alaska Bookstore (907) 474-6511 <fnjss@uaf.edu> Cost is about $20 US plus shipping/handling.
  

• Peggy Lasser, Challenges and Opportunities: a Handbook For Teachers of Students with Special Needs With a Focus on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome... Vancouver School Board, 1999. Available from FAS Bookshelf Inc., (604) 942-2024. $22 Canadian, plus 17% shipping, handling, GST.
  
• FAS/E: A Standard of Care for Toddlers, Children, Adolescents and Adults, FAS Family Research Institute, Lynnwood WA, $10 US. "FAS FRI" also has produced The Best of FAS Times, articles from their popular newsletter, . (253) 531-2878 or email <vicfas@hotmail.com>
  
• Understanding the Occurrence of Secondary Disabilities in Clients with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE), Final Report, August 1996," University of Washington School of Medicine, Fetal Alcohol and Drug Unit. (206) 543-7155. A ground-breaking longitudinal study on the risks and preventive factors of people struggling with prenatal alcohol damage. 72 pages, mostly charts and graphs and very easy to understand -- a bargain at only $5 US.
  
• Tough Kids and Substance Abuse: a drug awareness program for children and adolescents with ARND, FAS, FAE and cognitive disabilities. Authors are Paula Cook, Richard Kellie, Kathy Jones, and Laura Goosen, published by Manitoba Community Services Council, Inc., a 292-page bargain at only $15 Canadian. This useful workbook for adolescents, designed to be photocopied for students, could have saved our family much heartbreak if it had been available when our daughter with FAS was in her teens. Available from the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba Library, (204) 944-6233, fax (204) 772-0225. 
  
• Substance Abuse article: http://www.quickoverview.com/overviews/substance-addiction-overview.html