FASD Elephant™ Podcast & Blog

FASD Elephant™ #016: Interview with Jody Allen Crowe - Healthy Brains for Children

3 Mistakes To Avoid With FASD and Chronic Lateness - FASD Elephant™ Podcast #020

Do Your Kids Make You Late? More times than you can count? If you've struggled with constant lateness, this story is for you! After sharing a little about Podfest 2018, you can hear a short but not-so-simple experience I had that gave me some surprising insights into being late. Feel free to learn from my mistakes for more of your own parenting peace. Two mistakes to avoid are clearly labeled in the podcast, but the third is only alluded to. So, I'll state the third mistake clearly h...

Not Exactly As Planned: Interview with Linda Rosenbaum - FASD Elephant™ Podcast #019

See www.FASDElephant.com for show notes.

FASD Elephant™ Podcast #018: “I Am Why… FASD Matters”

FASD Elephant™ #016: Interview with Jody Allen Crowe - Health Brains for Children

Jody Allen Crowe - Healthy Brains for Children Starting the Podcast Relaunch with Jody Allen Crowe The 2013 FASD Matters Conference in November was a terrific experience! I met a lot of great new folks in the FASD community, and visited with old friends and acquaintances from over the years, too. One busy and interesting fellow I was finally able to meet and interview is Jody Allen Crowe, Executive Director of Healthy Brains for Children in Eagan, MN. This interview leads off the new year...

Relaunching the FASD Elephant Podcast & Blog 2014

This is a quick podcast announcement that the FASD Elephant™ is relaunching as a podcast AND blog. The podcasts will be more from my perspective as a psychologist, while the blogs will be a mix of psychology and also my experiences as a foster parent. Try it out and let me know what you think at FASDElepahnt.com and visit me on Facebook at Facebook.com/FASDWheel Michael

FASD Elephant™ #015: #FASD & Suicidality

FASD and Suicidality This podcast episode is an excerpt of my part speaking on a panel titled FASD and Suicidality at the 2011 IHS Action Summit for Suicide Prevention held in Scottsdale, AZ. Podcast Notes Here is the basic outline to my talk on the podcast: Be Aware Of Suicide Signs in Self and Others Be Connected to Self & Others Be Settled to connect to Self and Others Be Safe with Self and Others There are also two articles on FASD and suicide: Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders an...

FASD Elephant™ #014: Interview with Morgan Fawcett – A Flute Like Medicine: Part 2

Welcome to the FASD Elephant™ Podcast. Today we’re going to continue with the last half of my interview with Morgan Fawcett on May 25th, 2011. More details are in the previous podcast, number 13. Here are some websites to find more about Morgan, his CDs, and FASD: Morgan's website for FASD advocacy: One Heart Creations Morgan's CDs can be purchased from CD Baby or iTunes Morgan’s photography and music: www.morganfawcett.com Morgan’s videos: www.youtube.com/user/MorganFawcett Morgan on ...

FASD Elephant (TM) #013: Interview with Morgan Fawcett – A Flute Like Medicine: Part 1

Welcome to the FASD Elephant™ Podcast. After a hiatus for way too long, the podcast is back. I’ve had a very exciting year so far in the world of FASD. A major highlight in February 2011 was four days worth of workshops and talks I gave in Saskatchewan—for The Saskatoon Tribal Council in Saskatoon, for the Prince Albert Parkland Health Region way up in Prince Albert (in February), and for the FASD Support Network of Saskatchewan which had their annual conference called Communities of Hope i...

FASD Elephant (TM) #012a: Getting Back to Ready Hand-out

This is a supplementary hand-out that outlines all the information provided in Podcast #012 (FASD School Intervention: Getting Back to Ready). You may download this from the website, rss feed, or through your podcast player (e.g., iTunes). Please feel free to make and distribute copies, but please do not alter it in any way. If you have questions or comments, then contact me at Michael_at_FASDElephant_dot_com.  

FASD Elephant (TM) #012: FASD School Intervention: Getting Back to Ready

Students with FASD sometimes have “melt-downs” in school. These melt-downs can baffle and anger teachers, staff, and parents, but they are simply the student’s way of showing that they cannot cope with what is being asked of them or with what is going on at the moment. When a melt-down begins, all goals should change to “getting back to ready,” rather than trying to force compliance (which usually worsens the melt-down). Try the steps suggested in this podcast, and a free PDF hand-out comes...

FASD Elephant (TM) Re-Run: KTOO Interview with Morgan Fawcett, Flute Player

Feedback or comments may be sent to: Michael__at__FASDElephant__dot__com.

FASD Elephant (TM) #011: The Secondary Disabilities of FASD

People with FASD (including FAS) have both primary and secondary disabilities. Secondary disabilities are those disabilities that arise because of a mismatch between the brain damage and factors in the environment--they are not directly caused from the brain damage. Streissguth, et al (1996) conducted a four year study on the secondary disabilities of 415 individuals with FASD and found six secondary disabilites: Mental Health Problems - 90% of the 415 had mental health conditions of any t...

FASD Elephant (TM) #010: The Primary Disabilities of FASD

People with FASD (including FAS) have both primary and secondary disabilities. Primary disabilities are those with which the person is born, such as seizures, sensory integration problems, etc. These are a direct result of the brain damage from prenatal alcohol exposure, and the topic of today's podcast. Feedback or comments may be sent to: Michael__at__FASDElephant__dot__com.

FASD Elephant (TM) Special Article #002: Evaluation Preparation Checklist

Sorry folks, but I have laryngitis this week. Tune in next Wednesday for the next installment of the FASD Elephant Podcast. In the meantime, I found an interesting website from Germany that has an animated FAS Facial Feature program, in which you can manipulate the various FAS Facial Features and visually compare them to an unaffected face. The program also allows for other facial features that are sometimes common to FASD, but not diagnostic. The website link is: http://www.fasworld.de/in...

FASD Elephant (TM) #009: Preparing for an FASD Evaluation

Thinking about obtaining an FASD Evaluation? Today's podcast talks about how to prepare for one. These evaluations often have long waiting lists and take just as long to complete. Here is a guide on how you can prepare for an evaluation, make it as thorough as possible, and hopefully speed the process up a bit. More details at www.FASDElephant.com Feedback or comments may be sent to: Michael__at__FASDElephant__dot__com.

FASD Elephant (TM) #008: The FASD Wheel (TM) - The Ten Brain Domains of FAS and FASD

Today's podcast reviews the Ten Brain Domains of FAS and FASD in a little more depth; it is still an overview but gives more flesh to the domains in the context of completing an FASD Wheel. This is the third of a multi-part series edited from a workshop on the FASD Wheel (TM) presented at the 2007 Brain Conference on the White Earth Indian Reservation in Mahnomen, MN... one of the largest annual conferences held in Minnesota. Feedback or comments may be sent to: Michael__at__FASDElephant__...

FASD Elephant (TM) #007: The FASD Wheel (TM) - Brain Functioning

Today's podcast reviews brain functioning and how it can be affected by FASD. This is the second of a multi-part series edited from a workshop on the FASD Wheel (TM) presented at the 2007 Brain Conference on the White Earth Indian Reservation in Mahnomen, MN... one of the largest annual conferences held in Minnesota. Feedback or comments may be sent to: Michael__at__FASDElephant__dot__com.

FASD Elephant (TM) #006: The FASD Wheel (TM) - Misattributions and Metaphors

Today's podcast reviews useful metaphors and non-useful misattributions regarding FASD. This is the first of a multi-part series edited from a workshop on the FASD Wheel (TM) presented at the 2007 Brain Conference on the White Earth Indian Reservation in Mahnomen, MN... one of the largest annual conferences held in Minnesota. See www.FASDElephant.com for more details. Feedback or comments may be sent to: Michael__at__FASDElephant__dot__com.

FASD Elephant (TM) Special Article #001: The Ten Brain Domains

This week, I am sending the original article on the Ten Brain Domains from the Journal of FAS International for your review. The regular audio podcast will return next week. Feedback or comments may be sent to: Michael__at__FASDElephant__dot__com.

FASD Elephant (TM) #005: The Ten Brain Domains

The Fetal Alcohol Diagnostic Program (FADP), in Duluth, MN, spearheaded by the Executive Director, Jeanette Lang, and her crack team, has developed the Ten Brain Domains, which provides clear definitions of brain dysfunction, specifies empirical data needed for accurate diagnosis, and defines intervention considerations that address the complex nature of FASD. The Ten Brain Domains include functional skills in the following areas: Achievement, Adaptive behavior, Attention, Cognition, Ex...

FASD Elephant (TM) #004: Other FASD Diagnoses

Each key feature of FASD can vary widely across individuals exposed to prenatal alcohol. While consensus exists for the diagnosis of FAS across diagnostic systems (see last podcast), minor variations among the systems lead to differences in definitions and cut-off criteria for other diagnoses across the FASD continuum. The FASD conditions of Partial FAS (PFAS) and Alcohol-Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder (ARND) are reviewed today, as well as the University of Washington's 4-Digit Code desi...

FASD Elephant (TM) #003: The Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Diagnosis

Any Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is diagnosed by assessing the four key features that were first identified in Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) in 1973. FAS requires a positive and severe finding in all four key features, but other FASD conditions may vary across a continuum of severity. FAS is the only expression of FASD that has garnered consensus among experts to become an official ICD-9 and ICD-10 diagnosis. The four key features of FASD that are assessed with any diagnostic syst...

FASD Elephant (TM) #002: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) History and Diagnostic Introduction

History The earliest known observation of possible links between maternal alcohol use and fetal damage may have been made in 1899 by Dr. William Sullivan, a Liverpool prison physician who noted higher rates of stillbirth for 120 alcoholic female prisoners than their sober female relatives and suggested the causal agent to be alcohol use (Sullivan, 1899). This view contradicted the predominant theories of the day, which were that genetics caused mental retardation, poverty, and criminal beh...

FASD Elephant (TM) #001: Definitions and Terminology

Today's episode covers the definiton of FASD and attempts to clear up the confusing terminology that has been used in the past. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) describes a continuum of permanent birth defects caused by maternal consumption of alcohol during pregnancy. Maternal alcohol crosses the placental barrier and can stunt fetal growth or weight, create distinctive facial stigmata, damage neurons and brain structures, and/or cause other physical anomalies. While prenatal alcohol...

FASD Elephant (TM) Bonus Track 02: KDWA Interview - Part 2

This is a beginner's bonus track - the second half of an interview conducted on-air by KDWA on December 5, 2007, with myself and Alice Garceau, an adoptive mother of an FASD child. It was a good interview, and we continued with many FASD topics. If you haven't heard part one, go ahead and download it first. Next week, we will cover an overview of FASD, definitions, and the basics of terminology. Feedback or comments may be sent to: Michael__at__FASDElephant__dot__com.

FASD Elephant (TM) Bonus Track 01: KDWA Interview (12-05-2007)

This is an introductory bonus track - the first half of an interview conducted on-air by KDWA on December 5, 2007, with myself and Alice Garceau, an adoptive mother of an FASD child, and myself. Alice has been active in the FASD community for several years, runs a support group in the southern Twin Cities area, has been involved in several education videos and such about FASD (maybe we can post some at a later date), and has a lot of experience working with FASD. She was really a great perso...

FASD Elephant (TM) #000: Introduction to the Podcast

This is the introductory podcast about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (frequently called by its acronym, FASD) and introduces the metaphor of the FASD Elephant(TM), a new way to think about this complicated disability, which results in permanent brain damage to a fetus when drinking alcohol during pregnancy. In this episode, Michael Harris, (a licensed psychologist and now, a podcaster) introduces himself, gives a brief history of his clinical assessment and treatment experiences with FASD...