What is FAS?

Dear readers,
Every year 40,000 babies are born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, but would you be able to recognize them in a crowded room? Like most people some children with FAS look normal on the outside. There are little differences in their facial expressions but they look like the everyday person. Their facial expressions are different, unique; it is what makes them beautiful.
To start I want to tell each of you about what Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is. FAS is what happens to a child both physically and mentally when an unborn fetus is subject to high doses of alcohol, in other words it is what happens when a mother drinks during pregnancy. People with FAS have a lot of different problems some of which my siblings have. Here are some listed symptoms of FAS:
Poor Growth
Poor muscle tone
Delayed developmental problems such as:
Thinking
Speech
Movement
Social Skills
Facial Abnormalities
Narrow/small eyes
Small Head
Small upper Jaw
Smooth groove in upper lip
Smooth and thin upper lip

There is no treatment for a child with FAS. That has always been the hardest thing for me to know. I watch my siblings every day and wish that I could change them, change what their biological mother made them. It’s hard knowing that there is nothing I can do for them, but there is something that I can do. This blog will follow the lives of my three younger siblings through my eyes. I will discuss different factors of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and talk about how we overcame the difficulties involved.
Sincerely,
Growing up with FAS

The Beginning.

Dear readers,
my story starts when I was eight years old. I was at the top of the world, happy care free and a kid. I was happy. Just like in everyone’s lives times’ change, people grow, attitudes change, and we lose that inner child. Growing up comes with many different changes. For some it may be maturing, for others becoming a mother or an employee, maybe it’s by having a coming out party, for me it was understanding. When I was nine years old my parents took in three young children. They were so cute I remember how happy I was to get to play with three more kids. Their names are irrelevant, but their impact interminable. They were the world’s most perfect kids in my eyes. I remember when my life changed. I cannot remember how my parents told me but I knew my life would forever be impacted. My three younger siblings had FAS. I remember being so afraid for the future, I didn't know what to expect. I was only nine years old.
We are constantly impacted by the voices of those all around us. Many people say FAS is bad, not "normal". What is "normal" because I certainly don't fit into that category. There are many people in the world that will tell you one thing, doctors are quick to diagnose but living with my siblings interacting with them helps me learn more and more about the disease every day. This blog is going to give all of you reader’s second hand knowledge of all of the things that I have learned over the years. I hope you enjoy.
Sincerely,
Growing up with FAS