More than 50 percent of the children in the care of the Ministry For Children and Family Development available for adoption are drug- and/or alcohol affected. Thirty percent are considered to be severely affected. Here are some facts about alcohol affected children:
- Alcohol-affected children have organic brain damage that cannot be fixed. They cannot be cured.
- Alcohol-affected children often have high IQs and advanced verbal skills. They can be highly poetic and creative.
- Alcohol-affected children have difficulty processing information. They may understand the instructions, but be unable to carry them out.
- Alcohol-affected children cannot be measured and labeled with the same yardstick as other children. They do not suffer from Tourettes, autism, attention deficit disorder, attachment disorder, pervasive development disorder, oppositional defiance disorder, or conduct disorder. They are alcohol-affected.
- Alcohol-affected children are not hung up on belonging. They have no stranger anxiety and may act unattached. The difference is an attachment disordered child behaves as he does on purpose; an alcohol-affected child doesn’t know what he or she did wrong.
- Alcohol-affected children have little understanding of cause and effect and consequence. They need concrete, step-by-step instructions, and repetition of requests every day. They do best with undivided attention and constant supervision.
- Alcohol-affected children have little understanding of abstract concepts such as trust, lying, ownership, and stealing. Stealing is not a moral issue for them. Parents need to prevent children from “collecting” in the first place. Valuables need to be locked up or hidden.
- Alcohol-affected children can be very loving, kind, and generous.
- Alcohol-affected children in care may be victims of a “stack attack,” where they not only suffer brain damage but have experienced multiple placements as well as sexual or physical abuse.
- Alcohol-affected children who don’t have the markings of FAS look good and speak well. They suffer from an invisible disability.
- Birth to six years are the golden years for alcohol-affected children, where their developmental lags fall within the normal range, anywhere from 8 to18 months.
- Six- to 12-year-olds can be two to four years behind. This is the time when educators start asking what the child’s home environment is like.
- For 13- to 18-year-olds, the lag is four to six years behind normal, but their physical and verbal abilities are very high.
- Alcohol-affected children are susceptible to depression, suicide, substance abuse, mental illness, school problems, homelessness, and crime.
- Many alcohol-affected children marry, have children, and do very well in a structured environment with organized partners.
Download our All about FASD: A guide for adoptive and permanency families digital guide for adoptive and permanency families that covers topics such as FASD 101, seeking an FASD diagnosis, advocating for your child, true stories from adoptees living with FASD, and more!
