Tomorrow is Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Prevention and Support Day in B.C. and community awareness activities are taking place in Squamish to help raise awareness about the disorder and the struggles that families living with FASD go through every day.

Sea to Sky Community Services, in partnership with the Ministry of Children and Family Development and the BC Liquor Distribution Board, will be distributing paper bags decorated by children in the community with customer purchases at the local BC Liquor Store. The "Think of Me" program is to raise public awareness about the impacts of FASD.

Sea to Sky Community Services will also be running media advertisements, and local restaurants and pubs are encouraged to display FASD awareness and prevention posters in their establishments.

Throughout the year, Sea to Sky Community Services runs Key Worker and Parent Support Programs, which provide direct support to families raising children and youth with FASD. Key workers provide family-centred support services to meet the needs of individual families. Services include providing information, educational workshops, parenting support programs, suggesting strategies or life skills and links to family services and advocacy.

The ministry developed Key Worker and Parent Support Programs in 2006 for families of children and youth with FASD. Thousands of children and their families have accessed services provided by 52 contracted agencies across the province.

Quick Facts:

• FASD is an umbrella term that describes the range of effects that can occur in a person whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. These effects can include physical, mental, behavioural and/or learning disabilities with lifelong implications.
• Health Canada estimates approximately nine in every 1,000 infants are born with FASD.
• B.C. is considered a world leader in the field of FASD prevention, diagnosis, assessment, intervention and support.
• In March 2008, B.C. released a 10-year provincial plan called Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Building on Strengths (2008-2018). The plan establishes a guide to provincial, regional and community efforts to address FASD.

Learn More:

For more information on Sea to Sky Community Services, go to: www.sscs.ca

Contact:

Cindy Rose
Media Relations Manager
Ministry of Children and Family Development
250 356-1639