#43 Days To FASDay - Write some letters

Write a Letter to the President or Your Country's Leader! Write to your mayor or the university president in your community

Write a Letter to the President
or Your Country's Leader!

This is a great summer family fun project...
Everyone can "make some noise" -
artwork, postcards and note cards are great from kids

Dear President Obama,
Let me tell you about fetal alcohol spectrum disorders or FASD,
.....go kids you can do it!!!
As part of International FASD Awareness Day,
please join us in this easy, free activity
to help raise awareness of FASD at the highest
levels of our government.

This idea originated with Tami Eller, a member of our local FASD Council.
Cheri Scott, FASD Family Support Project - Stone Soup
http://www.stonesoupgroup.org/

A knowledge of the path cannot be substituted for putting one foot in front of the other.
M.C. Richards

Dear President Obama...

Let me tell you about FASD...

International FASD Awareness Day Letter Writing Campaign.

Did you know that President Obama reads 10 letters each night written by everyday Americans? Imagine if every letter the President read was written by someone whose life is impacted by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.

If everyone affected by FASD writes to the President prior to September 9th then the probability of him opening even one letter regarding FASD is incredible. The more letters, the higher the probability that all ten letters he reads will be written by those affected by FASD.

• Are you a parent of a child with FASD?
• Are you an adult with FASD?
• Doesyour sibling have FASD?
• Do you teach a child or an adult with FASD?
• Are you a grandparent of a child with FASD?

For everyone person born affected by prenatal exposure to alcohol, everyone who loves that individual lives are also affected.

Join us in educating President Obama regarding the most prevalent of all birth defects: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.

Join us in asking President Obama to ring a bell at 9:09 am on September 9 to recognize the importance of Nine Months of an Alcohol Free Pregnancy.

Starting the week of September 1 send a letter to President Obama telling him your story of how Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders have affected yourself and those you love.

Send President Obama a letter to at:
President Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500

Must be mailed by August 17th!
OR
Send President Obama an email by filling out the form at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

Talking Points

The Facts:

• Fetal alcohol exposure is an international and national crisis
• Prenatal exposure to alcohol causes permanent brain damage
• Prenatal exposure to alcohol is the leading cause of mental retardation
• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders are 100% and easily preventable - simply no alcohol consumption during pregnancy
• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders are a life long disability - from cradle to grave
• More babies are born with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders than Autism Spectrum Disorders or Downs Syndrome
• There is no safe amount of alcohol to drink during pregnancy
• It is estimated that more than half of the prison population is affected by FASD
• Prenatal exposure to alcohol costs the United States millions of dollars a year to provide services to individuals affected by a FASD
• Early identification and intervention has huge impacts on the reduction of mental health concerns and behaviors resulting in legal intervention
• Even with early identification and intervention, individuals with a FASD will need to lifelong supports

The Daily Realities of Living with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
As a Parent:

• Struggles with you have raising your child with FASD
• Struggles you have explaining the invisible brain damage to others who deal with your child* Struggle finding appropriate services for your child
• The lesson you have learned in your journey of raising a child affected by FASD
• Your dreams for your child

As an Adult affected by FASD

• Struggles you had to overcome in your lifetime
• Strengths and talents you have
• Accommodations that enable you to be successful

As a Profession working with individuals affected byFASD

• What systematically is working for your clients
• What systematically is not working for your clients
• Struggles your clients face on a daily basis
• Struggles you face on a daily basis in obtaining resources for your clients
• What resources are necessary for your clients to be successful

What needs to happen

• Proclamation by the President of the United States recognizing September 9th as International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness Day and the importance of abstaining from alcohol during pregnancy
• Ask him to ring a bell at 9:09 am on September 9 in recognition of the individuals affected by FASD.
• Diagnostic teams in all 50 states to facilitate and identify early diagnosis and intervention
• More resources toward prevention and early intervention