Living Through FASD

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 Hello, if you're wondering what FASD is I will try to explain in regular words it stands for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, it all starts when you're in the womb and the mother drinks. No amount of alcohol is safe for the baby when you are pregnant. My birth mother drank while pregnant leaving me and my brother with a life long disability. FASD affects everyone differently as you will not be neurotypical as when the baby's brain is developing in the womb your brain will be wired differently than the general population. FASD is easiest to think of as brain damage. It can leave you with difficulty with daily living, self-regulation, executive functioning, learning disabilities and so much more. There is still a lot of misunderstanding around FASD not a lot of people understand when I am having trouble coping it will show as poor behaviour. Honest, I am not being bad I am just showing you in the only way I know how I am unable to cope. 

Many people wanna help us but they don't know what to do most of the time, most of the people trying to help us cope and calm down don't know what strategies to use with us. This because they get most of their strategies for typical people and with FASD and PTSD we are not like others; we can't just heal or calm from common strategies that work for others.

I get so frustrated with people saying they don't understand us and why we act so bad, I even tell them what goes on with us. I also hate the professionals who think they know shit I bet y'all feel the same, those know it alls who don't listen. It's just not right saying you know how to handle us, you professionals really don't. There should be actual in-depth courses, not just books that say facts that based on the rest of the population. You really want to complicate things mix FASD and trauma both conditions early in life affect the developing brain which is really scary as both these conditions will affect you for the rest of your life.

Now just because you have FASD or experienced trauma in your life does not mean there is no hope for you, it just means you will often try harder to succeed with your daily life, All I ask for is a little understanding and compassion that some days people like me need a break and a little empathy. I admit, I have picked up a school desk, swore at my friends smashed things or ran out of my class cause I was being bad I just couldn't cope then. People just don't understand how a smell, sound, flashing light or almost anything can put me at another time in your life where really bad things were happening to you. FASD, PTSD are not things that allow you to control your emotions all the time but with help and understanding I know I will be able to reach my full potential in my life.



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