Alcohol and trauma are a bad combination, but all too often
kids who have suffered prenatal trauma due to their mother’s stressful
circumstances also suffer neurological damage because of the way she used
alcohol to cope with the stress. Dr. Kodi and Dr. Kodi, neurobehavioral
psychologists from UNM, (and married tag-team instructors) explained to a group
of adoptive parents in Albuquerque that the consumption of alcohol by women who
are pregnant is still happening in spite of public education, service
announcements and media attention. Most women know that drinking alcohol when
they’re pregnant is a bad thing. Often instead of this knowledge resulting in
changed behavior however, it results in denial. The doctors said that many
women will readily admit to using a variety of drugs while pregnant, but few
will admit to using alcohol. That was one surprising fact among many- binge
drinking is worse than daily intake, thinner drinkers pass on more alcohol to
their babies than heavier ones, younger moms are at less risk than older moms
for having a child with FAS, alcohol is by far the most dangerous of drugs to
use when pregnant and a child can have FAS without the facial features that
accompany it, depending on when in the pregnancy the mother was drinking.
But this wasn’t just a training on neurology and interesting
facts, even though there were plenty of pictures of the brain, charts and graphs
and real science, and those things are important to know about. The best thing
about the training was the hope available to parents who are raising kids with
alcohol issues. Kids with FAS need their environments to be quiet and calm, not
stimulating. Their brains cannot take in too much at a time, so a parent needs
to slow down and give a child a chance to process a request. Social stories and
visual schedules are good techniques for these kids. They may have a hard time
understanding cause and effect, so teaching these things as early as possible
can prevent them from becoming a problem in the teen years. It’s good to know
that resources are available through UNM to get a good diagnosis, behavioral
strategies and gain better understanding of the condition. Please call me if
you want to learn more… (505) 270-6219
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