My good friend Aliy Brown from FASD Hub Scotland reached out to let me know about some interesting research going on right now in Scotland with young people with FASD. In addition, the researcher is an Educational Psychologist so I get all the details on school assessments, interventions and how to work as a team to implement accommodations in the school setting. 

Miranda Eodanable is anEducational Psychologist in Scotland with responsibility for neurodevelopmental assessment pathways with health services in areas of FASD and Intellectual Disabilities. Miranda has worked in education systems for the last 20 years and has guest lectured on the Scottish Masters in Educational Psychology courses. Currently, she is working on a Ph.D. at the University of Edinburgh on the value and impact of an FASD diagnosis.  

Lots of research talks about professional views about diagnosis and I was like, where is...

How do I keep my child/teen/adult safe online is a frequent question I get from caregivers. 

In fact, just a couple of days ago in our private Facebook Caregiver group, someone asked that very question.  Caregivers responded with everything from, we never allow access, lock it up, only supervised use, to parental controls. I get it. We want to keep our kids safe. And for some this may still be the answer … but today’s guest is going to challenge your thinking a little. She sure did mine. She says the most important parental control is you … but it might not be in the way you think.  

Jess McBeath is an online safety specialist in Scotland, who believes everyone should be empowered to live a good life online. She has trained thousands of people, including teachers, social workers, foster carers, and police across the UK, to keep children, vulnerable adults and themselves safe online.   

Online safety is so fascinating...

We know our active audience has a higher percentage of moms over dads … but we know the dads are out there. Whether they are in the main caregiving role or behind the scenes with their partner, dads or male influences are an important part of the caregiving journey for many families. That’s why I’m super stoked to have my next guest Bill Michaud talk about his FASD journey. And it just so happens to be Father's Day on the day we release this episode.

Bill is a husband (to previous podcast guest Debbie Michaud), a foster and adoptive dad, works in the developmental services sector, and as he reveals on the show today, suspects he is also on the Spectrum. This guy gets it. 

We don't take on what's going on internally for (our kids) and apply it to what's going on externally, because we don't know and they don't have the ability to tell us. So, everyone is going around...

Today’s guest is a little bit different from the others. Her specialty is an area caregivers ask a lot of questions about (eating, food and therapy). Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot of specific FASD knowledge about treatment. When we discovered Dr. Federici through a webinar on eating disorders and saw the intersection between FASD and Eating Disorders was so great, we knew we had to get her on the show.

Dr. Federici is a Clinical Psychologist and the Owner of The Centre for Psychology and Emotion Regulation. She holds an Adjunct Faculty position at York University and is a distinguished Fellow of the Academy for Eating Disorders.  

You have to be able to combine what you know to be true about working with people who have FASD and what you know to be true about eating disorders and emotion regulation – and that’s what I love to do in my career. Adapting and fine-tuning treatment for people who are often missed. 

We know FASD is a...

Anyone that has followed me for a while knows about Amanda Burley – Amanda and her family were the first family I coached after graduating from the FASD Program at the Toronto CAS Child Welfare Institute.

Tara and I have the privilege and the honour to have remained friends with her and her family. I love sharing updates for caregivers so they can follow her journey.  

I am here for a reason. It’s to help kids with FASD who can’t speak like I speak.

Amanda candidly shares some of her struggles, achievements, philosophy and letting us know what is new, including: 

• Sharing the difference between school experiences from those when supported, understood, and accommodated, to those when supports were not provided, and how she advocates for herself. 
• Providing tips and tricks that helped her cope with her disability, including a highly creative PITA and PANDA method. 
• Giving suggestions for how caregivers can support their...

Do you know what uncinate fasciculus means? I didn't. Do you ever start reading a recently published research paper and you find it written in such a way you don't understand what it is about but you want to? Me too! That is why I am so pumped to have this returning guest to the FASD Success Show, Dr. Catherine Lebel.  

Catherine Lebel, PhD is a Principal Investigator,  and Associate Professor in Department of Radiology at the University of Calgary.

Today, we dig deep into science by not only dissecting a recent research paper Dr. Lebel and her Lab published but also reviewing a study on mental health and individuals with FASD. But don't worry, I help make it all accessible. In fact, I read line by line the abstract of the research paper and Dr. Lebel translates it so you and I can understand it. We talk about how this recent research differs from previous, as well as:

• the importance of brain research and what MRIs and EEGs can and can't do.
• what they were...

The episode this week is a chat with three cool and awesome advocates who are doing great things for caregivers and individuals with FASD. It may be in my home province of Ontario, but what they have to say and are doing can inspire and help where you are. 

Today I’m talking to Sharron Richards, Mary Hutchings and Mary Ann Bunkowsky about social work, advocating for system change, building support teams and The Parents Helping Parents Project, a phone support resource provided by parent Mentors for parents and caregivers of individuals with FASD in Ontario. 

Sharron Richards received her Master of Social Work degree from Carleton University and worked in child welfare for close to 40 years, primarily as a community development worker. She chairs the Toronto FASD Network and is committed to bringing her knowledge, experience, resources, and social privilege to ensuring that individuals and families affected by FASD have access to the resources and supports...

Language Warning 

Imagine living five decades thinking you didn’t fit in, but not quite sure why? Despite having a high IQ, you feel like you are a ‘problem child’ because of your behaviours.

Today I talk to Reinier deSmit, an adult on the spectrum: a videographer, photographer, life counsellor, philosopher and storyteller. He weaves stories through his words, music, and photography. He is a super cool dude, and I can’t wait for you to hear about him and his outlook. 

As much as I’m an absolute advocate for being who you are, I still in my deep gut and heart know that we all have to modify a bit to relate to each other. It doesn’t make it wrong. To be authentic. (I moved) from being a victim to it’s a choice how I interact. 

Reinier has led an interesting life and has a unique perspective. We talk about his journey of self-reflection. How his high IQ masked his disability and the...

What do you think prevents people from getting the message about no safe amount of alcohol during pregnancy? Do you think it is even possible to prevent FASD? Why do we support individuals with FASD but not moms? What about messages geared only to women?

These are questions I get answers to with today’s guest, Dr. Nancy Poole, who talks about the 4 Part FASD Prevention Model she was part of developing.

Nancy is the Director of the Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health, a research and knowledge exchange centre hosted by BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre in Vancouver and is the Prevention Lead for the CanFASD Research Network. She has published over 125 academic papers, book chapters and technical reports over the past decade, and co-edited five books. She has a doctorate in education and recently was awarded a Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) by the Justice Institute of BC in recognition of her contributions to women’s health, including...

I’ve never done this before, a bonus episode of the show. I didn’t plan on creating one, it just turned into one. Here, let me give you some insight.  

I’m not going to be doing any more workshops or trainings for the near future. I have a project that I'm working on, that’s going to need all of my attention. I give more details during the show. 

Having said that, I will be doing one more “live” workshop before I turn my focus on this project.  And that will be the upcoming 2-day virtual Insight Conference organized by The Honestly Adoption Company. Yours truly will be one of the 12 leading presenters in the medical, therapeutic and parenting strategies field.  

Instead of me giving vague details, I reached out to Mike and Kristin Berry, co-founders of the conference on why you should attend. According to Mike, you will: 

“gain practical insight and wisdom into how trauma impacts your children, but most...