Surprised by FASD
Embrace, Truth About FASD came out of a passion to help my son (Joel, the director/Producer), Sam, who was diagnosed with ARND — Alcohol Related Neurological Disorders — a specific diagnosis under the FASD umbrella a few years ago. It took my wife and I fourteen years to find the correct diagnoses for him and identify the why behind his disruptive behaviors. We were in the dark about FASD like the major of the general population. However, as a filmmaker I could not sit idle because FASD is reported to be the number one birth defect in the Western Hemisphere, yet people are in the dark and light needs to be shed on this important topic. So from our kitchen table to yours, we are on mission to deliver a compelling story to change the conversation on a national scale to help prevent a brain injury that is entirely preventable and to help our children succeed.
Thanks for taking time to explore the Embraced project,
Joel W. Sheagren
Director | Producer
More about FASD you wish to keep reading: FASD is invisible (for the majority of those affected)—kids and adults affected by alcohol in utero look “normal,” which makes caregiving very hard—by parents, teachers, people in the criminal justice system, etc. The mindset is, they should “get it,” because there is no physical reminder that the person affected is honestly struggling to get it. Their brain cells and pathways are not connected the same as a neuro-typical person. They process information slower, they are very challenged by the concept of how their behaviors are connected to cause and effect, etc. FASD can affect a child physically, but the majority of children don’t show noticeable physical traits. Outward physically traits or not, FASD is a physical disability that is more common than Autism and yet, very misunderstood and under diagnosed.
In every day life, we think the kiddo just won’t do what we ask, or they will not apply themselves, or, they did well yesterday, so why are they not remembering today? We give them labels like, depression, ODD, ADHD, a Learning Disabilities of some sort, and the list goes on. These diagnosis may not be wrong, but it does not tell the whole story behind someone affected by FASD. The reality is FASD is an alphabet soup diagnosis, with up to 400 possible variations—including Bipolar, Schizophrenia, Autism (because of the ridge thinking and lack of social skillsets) but it is much more complex.
We had professionals providing treatment after treatment during the fourteen years in our search to find help and understanding for our son. Not one professional even hinted that we explore FASD, even when we knew and shared that the birth-mom’s drank during the time she carried Sam. Was it stigma around receiving a diagnosis? Was it our lack of awareness by us and the professionals of what FASD is and how it presences itself? I know for us and many people we have talked with both of the above questions are true.
Part of the mask was/is Sam is smart, athletic, creative, funny, makes friends easily, along with having a number of other great gifts. Sam presents himself very well in public, but he has struggled in school and our home with “unexplained” behaviors. Sam’s wonderful gifts, masked the truth about FASD, but so did the darkness of this condition.
As a father and filmmaker, it became clear for the need to produce a documentary to shed light on the such a critical issue to help others understand and to start a meaningful conversation about FASD.
This is by far the most exciting project I’ve ever been involved with, because it has the potential to be the catalyst for change in the lives of children and adults. FASD is preventable, and if one child is spared from the risk of permanent brain damage due to prenatal alcohol exposure, I rejoice.