FASD Speech

I’m giving this within the hour and just finished it.

It won’t come out exactly like this, but it will be similar....

Why do we ring?

We ring so that the world will listen to our message:

That no amount of alcohol is safe during pregnancy;

That while behaviors improve over time as our children learn to function in spite of their disability, their brains are not going to heal and they won’t “GET BETTER;”

That when our children cannot control their impulses, cannot make good decisions, cannot sit still, and can’t focus, that strict consequence based systems, and a good “talking to” are not going to make them change;

That even the most educated, well-trained, invested and committed parents using all of their skills and abilities, cannot fix our children and we need support, not criticism or blame.

That prison is not the cheapest nor the best way to keep our children safe when they become adults, but that funds spent on early prevention, education, and support for families can prepare our children to live in such a way that prison will not be their only option.

Today we Ring for the Past, the Present and the Future.

Today we ring in honor of those in the past who have lived and died, unknowingly, battling the effects of FASD without education, support or services. We ring in honor of their caregivers who lived in guilt, blaming themselves, without the education or support we now experience.

We ring in the present for those connected in some way to FASD today across our world.

We ring for birthmothers who unknowingly affected a child in the womb and are daily struggling to find their own emotional healing while raising a child with FASD;

We ring for those birthmothers, many of them affected themselves, who are not able to parent their children and who often turn to chemicals to relieve their pain;

We ring for foster and adoptive parents who are correcting, supervising, admonishing, redirecting, reframing, and creatively educating children about the same exact issue several times every day for years. We ring for them as they seek services for their children and as they love them for who they are. We applaud their bravery, we are in awe of their tenacity, we admire their courage, and we cheer them on as they run this difficult marathon.

We ring for the siblings of children with FASD who love their brother or sister even when they are embarrassing. We are grateful for the help they provide, for the way they gently, or not so gently, redirect them and help to keep them safe. WE are touched by the ways in which they are developing into more sensitive, knowledgeable, caring people because of the time they are spending with a sibling who is different from everyone else.

We ring for educators, physicians, public speakers, legislators, writers, therapists, group home staff and social workers who “get it” and are doing their best to educate others around them while pouring their lives into children with FASD and supporting their caregivers;

But most importantly we ring for the children and adults affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. We chuckle at their idiocyncracies. We are amazed at their ability to find wonder in the most simple things in life, are charmed by their personalities, are warmed by their smiles. We laugh at memories of the joy they bring us with their unusual perspective of life. We celebrate them for who they are -- unique gifts of God with unlimited potential to improve the lives of people around them if others will simply take the time to learn, to listen, to observe, and to open their hearts.

And finally we ring for the future.

We work towards a day when the message is heard and internalized by women everywhere that drinking while pregnant will cause brain damage in their children.

We join together, fighting for a day when those in society will understand the issue, support instead of blame parents, provide services instead of detention centers, and not criticize but love our children.

And finally, we hold on to our hope, to our courage, to our determination to do our best in loving our children, educating our world, and without giving up, dream and plan for a day when Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder is no longer an epidemic, and the number of individuals effected decreases each year.

And finally, we pray for a future for our children and others affected by FASD, that all we have learned and are attempting to put into practice will give them a higher quality of life than we’ve ever dreamed possible.