Product Description
by Anne Hedelius (Author)
Parenting is an extraordinary job under the best of circumstances but becomes even more daunting when parents are attempting to parent children with a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Often they are parenting children that have come into their home via kinship, foster or adoptive placement. Parents may have been ill prepared to deal with the special challenges of parenting children with an FASD and the secondary disabilities that often accompany them. A majority of children with an FASD live in out of home placements and often are at high risk of placement disruption. By improving and implementing supports in the home, school and community, placements can be stabilized. Permanency is important for these children because frequent interruption in caregivers increases their risk of developing secondary disabilities and mental health disorders. Parents can find tremendous benefit from participating in a support group designed to address these unique challenges. This paper addresses the challenges of creating and sustaining a support network for parents of children with an FASD.
Author Biography
Anne Hedelius MA LSW has been working in social services with individuals with developmental disabilities since 1980. Anne began as a volunteer at a neighbourhood nursing home, worked briefly for Easter Seals, then entered college to earn her degree in Social Work under the supervision of Sister Benjamin Boyle at St. Mary's Catholic Hospital in Reno, Nevada. Anne is the mother of eight children, home grown and adopted. She has extensive experience with attachment disorders, trauma, and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.
