Youth Help Raise Awareness for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

Poster Contest Will Kick Off FASD Awareness Day Activities

Comox Valley, BC: On June 25th the Comox Valley FASD Action Network will announce the winner of a poster contest organized by Ravenback Youth and the FASD Mobile Prevention Project at the Wachiay Friendship Centre.

The youth participating in this contest have been charged with the task of creating a poster with a message to the community about FASD. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder is a disability caused by prenatal consumption of alcohol. When asked, “If you could teach your community one thing about FASD, what would it be?” One young female participant answered, “That someone could have FASD and you wouldn’t even know it because they look and seem like everyone else. They don’t have like, a wheelchair or anything like that.”

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder is often referred to as an ‘invisible disability’ because many people affected do not have the obvious physical characteristics that are more easily recognized in children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Characteristics such as abnormal facial features, impaired motor development and profound brain damage are associated with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, which comprises only 10% of the spectrum.

The other 90% of the spectrum is comprised of able bodied people who often have average or above average IQs. The primary characteristics of their disability reflect brain function or dysfunction. These characteristics include inconsistent memory and recall, inability to filter out environmental or emotional distractions and sensory stimuli, slower, inconsistent cognitive and auditory processing, decreased mental stamina, difficulty interpreting, and applying abstract concepts (i.e. managing money & time), inability to control impulses, inability to predict outcomes (as a result of their own or others' actions), difficulty changing modalities (i.e. shifting from one context to another), rigidity (unable to move on prior to completion), inability to see another person's perspective, and inability to recognise indirect social cues (Whitecrow Village).

Several young people came together on June 10th to brainstorm ideas for their posters. Another message idea came from a youth who mentioned that, “FASD is for life. A kid born with FASD doesn’t grow out of it.” This is one of the common myths the kids hope to dispel with their artwork.

This contest is the first of many activities this year that will help build community awareness of the disability. The winner will receive a gift card to a store of their choosing. The winning poster will be reprinted and used for promoting Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Day which is on September 9th. All posters created by the youth will be displayed for the community to view before the fall.

During the week of September 9th several workshops and activities will be taking place in the Comox Valley. Events scheduled for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Day will take place on Saturday, September 12th in Simms Park starting at 9am. For more information contact Georgia O’Brien at georgiawachiay.com.