Great resource

I just saw this resource today and I have been reading it for awhile, and am very impressed.  It is for educators who are working with our kids with FASD.  This is a huge need as one of the number one issues I hear from parents is frustration with the school.

We have been blessed with our school situation as our school team has been wonderful and patient with all of our unique issues we have had over the years.  I know this is rare.  FASD is something that is not covered in the education of our teachers, and rarely for psychologists, pediatricians, therapists, etc.  It is a huge challenge to find professionals who understand FASD.  Today I talked to a parent who has a great therapist who didn't think pursuing the diagnosis would be helpful.  This drives me nuts.  But I am not going to blog about that- again.

I am really looking forward to the MOFAS conference tomorrow, and meeting many of the parents I have talked to this past month.  Tomorrow marks the one month anniversary of my new job as the MOFAS Family Resource Coordinator (FRC) for Hennepin and Ramsey County.  Ten hours is not enough, I can already see that!  I have met individually with 7 parents, and spent time on the phone with 4 more.  Had a great one plus hour phone call today with an amazing mom.

I am so glad that MOFAS has these FRC positions and some of the resources they are offering now-a-days.  Seven years ago when we first started on this journey (or I should say, realized that we were on this journey- we have been on it for 13 years!), I couldn't find a support group through MOFAS.  I tried to start one up in partnership with them even, but it never really got off the ground.  Then I went to a training that Kari put on, who I now consider a friend, and started to read her blog.  Then I started this blog.  Then I started to make new friends, moms with children with FASD.  It took awhile, but I started to have hope, started to learn new strategies, new approaches.  Felt support during some of the darkest times.  We are not done in this journey, we are not done with the dark times, or the bright times, but I feel very blessed to be able to share my experiences and resources with other parents- and to learn from them as well.