FASFlight started as an idea born in the hearts of an R.N. & Her Husband (with FASD) who do not want to see any more children, teenagers and adults struggle with birth defects caused by exposure to alcohol when their mothers drank during pregnancy. The new Washington State organization, FASFlight, will work to educate the public on the dangers of drinking Alcohol while pregnant.
What the members of FASFlight want:
We want to make the world aware that no amount of alcohol in pregnancy is safe for the baby.
We want to make the world aware of the millions of people internationally who can never live normally, because their brains - and often their bodies - have been damaged by alcohol before they were born.
We want our governments to invest in educational programs; rehabilitation facilities for women with alcohol addiction problems, and their families; adequate diagnostic facilities, special education, and other support for individuals with FAS, and their families.
Barbara Neafcy, an R.N. in Washington State, will share her expertise on alcohol’s damage to the unborn baby’s brain as well as help those who have a drinking problem realize what how this will impact their unborn Miracle! Recently moved to this area from Chicago, Mrs. Neafcy served as Fetal Alcohol Specialist for SHORE Community Services and brings her expertise to this new organization. Her husband, Stephen Neafcy, who himself has been diagnosed with FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) has developed a program that he applies daily that involves music therapy, meditation, and faith that has worked for him for more than six years now. Mr. Neafcy will share this process with victims of FASD. He has also worked in the area of research for FASD victims and their families to help them access services and information pertinent to this troubling disability.
FASFlight teaches FASD victims to soar above their limitations like a seagull learning to fly.
A quote from Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach ,“When you step to the edge of light you have known, and are about to step out into darkness, faith is knowing one of two things will happen; there will be something to stand on or you will be taught to fly.”
What is FASDAY?
On the ninth minute of the ninth hour of the ninth day of the ninth month, we ask the world to remember
that during the nine months of pregnancy, alcohol can be very dangerous to the baby. We also ask the world to remember the millions of people worldwide who will struggle lifelong with intellectual disabilities caused by prenatal alcohol.
Volunteers from around the world work together year-round to build awareness. Each year, on September
9, we observe International FAS Awareness Day with its "Minute of Reflection" at 9:09 a.m. On September 9, 2000, volunteers the U.S. in Canada, England, Scotland, Germany, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Bermuda and Costa Rica participated.
FASD The Alphabet Soup Diagnosis
Individuals struggling with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder may be diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE), Alcohol-Related Neuro developmental Disorder (ARND), Alcohol-Related Birth Defects (ARBD), Alcohol-Related Birth Injury (ARBI) or Partial Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (PFAS). (In New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and other parts of the world, these conditions are spelled, "Foetal Alcohol Syndrome," etc.) Psychologists and psychiatrists often assess individuals with FAS disorders as having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), Conduct Disorder or Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) -- but are often unaware that the real problem is permanent neurological damage caused by prenatal alcohol.
People with prenatal alcohol exposure have a high risk of mental disabilities, learning disabilities, early school drop-out, juvenile delinquency, trouble with the law, alcoholism, drug addiction, unemployment,
homelessness, poverty, incarceration, and mental illness. With early diagnosis and treatment, many of these "secondary disabilities" could be prevented.
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