Nothing on files....

[Tatty43]

Hi, trying to pursue a diagnosis or at least an opinion for our 8 year old daughter, who 'seems' to fit the fasd profile. We want it so we can access better support and also so she is better understood at school and in social settings/clubs etc. GP has finally agreed to a referral to a paediatrician, which is good news. However we are currently accessing post adoption support and our social worker has retrieved and read all files, and there is nothing regarding maternal drinking, we knew she went out socially, but obviously that doesn't necessarily mean anything, she smoked incessantly throughout her pregnancy and her partner is an alcoholic. Obviously we are going ahead with the appointment, as we need answers regardless, just wondered if there is any similar stories/experiences out there? Thanks x

[hertsred]

Our son was diagnosed with FASD earlier this year although we have no access to his early records as he was adopted from Russia. His birth mother had no pre-natal care at all. He was diagnosed through facial features and a variety of other symptoms, so diagnosis is possible that way. Records showing there is no evidence the birth mother drank don;t prove she didn't, just prove it is not recorded. keep pushing.

[Tatty43 in reply to hertsred]

Thank you I appreciate your reply. Hope your son is doing ok x

[hertsred in reply to Tatty43]

Thanks. We got our diagnosis earlier this year and are making some progress now - it has especially helped at school. One thing I think we wish we had done is to be a bit more proactive at home. We could have done more to look at advice on managing difficult behaviours; learning etc in an FASD child and applied them to our son earlier even without diagnosis. Trial and error has been a good guide as to what works and what doesn't!! Good luck to you and your daughter.

[lankelly]

Hi there. Our AS is 8 now and we are sure b,mum drank thro pregnancy. As he has no facial signs to speak of we have to be content with possible fasd or other attachment stuff. He has had a barrage of tests recently the latest being cognitive assessment. Not had results but others showed significant needs. I was surprised at some of.his answers or lack of them. Even if you get no fasd result the process may help you discover what helps your lass to tick. I am going to ask for fasd assessment next year on back of other results.LA funded. What I don't understand is the very quick change around in him. From coping to fighting. We do have good weeks but I think a diagnosis would help him understand his difficulties too.

[jenniw]

Glad you are going to have the assessment it is import to FASD in or out, many local authorities do not have full details about the lifestyles of birth mothers. A diagnosis will help you parent your daughter in a different way the only way for children with the condition I contacted NOFAS they are very good. Susan runs a support group and they have produced an information booklet which is a must read for parents whose children are on the FASD spectrum. We have just commenced our his assessment but I know it will be confirmed so I am making plans to support him in education post diagnosis. Good luck with the assessment.

[Lilbill]

Our adopted daughter is 15 now - she has seen paediatrician who said that she has enough of the symptoms of FASD but as she has no absolute proof that birth mum drank alcohol when pregnant that she cannot give a diagnosis! Extremely frustrating as you can imagine as we are having tremendous problems with our daughter. Our post adoption social worker has trawled through their archives but could not find any proof for us as 14 years ago not much was known about this, they talked about "nurture over comes nature" which we now know is absolute rubbish in certain cases. (We have 2 other adopted children who are progressing age appropriately ). Our daughter has had an assessment by an educational psychologist at school who was supposed to put various helping strategies into place for her but school are not really supporting us.

Our major concern is that she doesn't (and never has) understood the consequences of her actions and doesn't learn from her experiences - a scary prospect as she gets older.

We have another appointment with the paediatrician and hope that possibly things may have altered with regard to diagnosing.

It has really helped to read the experiences of others, thank you x