As I sit here and digest the details of the latest school shooting I am struck with a question. Is this the work of a brain damaged by alcohol? Is this boy a psychopath or another victim of poor diagnosis and lack of education and awareness around FASD? Is this the result of a lifetime of good strategies and good intentions that were ultimately a poor fit because of undiagnosed brain damage? My heart says yes, so I’ve been aching with the possibility. We know the signs…academic challenges/learning disabilities, trouble at school, trouble making friends and connecting with others, perseverations…multiple diagnoses including mental health…
I read Mom tried many different schools, purported to be very involved and as being “probably too good to him” who went “over and above” for him. Good strategies->poor fit
Without his external brain there for him and all of the comforts he had used up to that point to help him manage…the perseveration couldn’t be stopped…? An extreme case to be sure. I don’t know. This is just where my brain goes.
I know more will come out and ultimately we may never know what led to this terrible massacre and…my feelings are about so much more than this one preventable tragedy. My feelings are about all of the preventable tragedies that often end up being the lives of people with FASD. A lifetime of being misunderstood, not “fitting”, and not getting the appropriate supports needed to live a functional and healthy life…leads to tragedy. Homelessness, drug and alcohol abuse, sex abuse, anxiety and depression, suicide, mental health issues, violence, financial insecurity, incarceration…a tragic list to be sure.
FASD affects us all. It’s not a woman’s issue or just a birth mothers cross to bear…this is on all of us. It affects all of our society. And until more people start talking about it, start yelling about it…we won’t get want they, and we as caregivers need…proper diagnosis and supports.
Without proper diagnosis and supports, what chance does this enormous segment of our population have to live healthy and functional lives? Our prison systems and homeless shelters are filled with the answer. Not much.
I’m ready for a different outcome for my children and for all of our children. I believe the neurobehavioral model is the key to a better future. I want so desperately for this to be mainstream information. I want a better future.