September 9 will be a day to celebrate, connect and create awareness around Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), with a family day event being hosted by Insight Support Services.
The event will feature crafts, games, friendly competitions, food and entertainment.
Jennifer Schultz of Insight Support Services is organizing the event. As a key worker, she provides support to those with FASD and similar neurodevelopmental conditions.
“The day is a celebration — mainly a way for everyone to come together in a sensory-friendly environment. It’s for caregivers, families and children impacted, to celebrate connection and joy, because sometimes it’s pretty heavy.
“This is a place to come and just have some fun,” Schultz told the Chronicle.
Schultz said FASD often goes undiagnosed because of the stigma attached to the diagnosis.
“Many health care providers, teachers and even social workers aren’t really trained to recognize it and it’s often misdiagnosed as ADHD, autism, or another developmental disability,” she said.
FASD impacts the brain and body and can occur when a woman consumes alcohol during pregnancy and the fetus is exposed, harming cell development. While the amount and frequency of alcohol consumed can increase the risk, Schultz said there is no known safe amount of alcohol a person can consume during pregnancy.
The spectrum disorder affects four percent of Canadians, meaning there are about 1.6 million people living with FASD in the country.
The prevalence of FASD is, at least in part, due to the stigma attached to it. Schultz said there are misconceptions about alcohol not being harmful, or about who can be affected by the disorder.
“It doesn’t discriminate based on race, religion or anything other than the mother’s consumption of alcohol,” she said.
Schultz said alcohol is consumed by 80 percent of the population and that most pregnancies go undetected until four to seven weeks. She also said about 50 percent of pregnancies are unplanned, meaning those drinking may not know they are pregnant while doing so.
“It happens all the time. We need to be putting those education pieces out there to young women who are drinking at bars and unaware they are pregnant. One drink might affect a life for a lifetime,” she said.
Despite being more prevalent than autism, families supporting children with FASD do not receive government funding. But Insight Support Services, which is ministry funded, is able to provide some support at no cost to families and clients can self-refer, even for a suspected diagnosis.
Insight also offers a support group for caregivers. Free virtual drop-in meetings will begin on Sept. 23 and those interested can contact group facilitator Janice at 250-574-3734.
The FASD Day celebration will take place from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9, at Pineridge elementary, 1770 Springview Pl.