Our foster son struggled to settle at night, as well as being hyperactive during the day. He was affected by the smallest of stimuli. He would often get up in the night and we feared for his safety, so we put an alarm on his bedroom door invested in a house alarm with CCTV in the living areas only. We set the down stairs alarm every night without fail. His room was stripped out, nothing in there no curtains, toys, TV etc. We had a fish switch fitted on his bedroom light, this switch this stopped the light disco every night and we got fitted thin piece of white metal in between the window double glazing unit to stop light stimulation. We needed to create a sanctury where he would feel secure
This week I have realised our foster son cannot control his lying. This is something we have to learn to live with. I cannot change his behaviour. I have tried consequences, talking about his lies and rewarding him when he tells the truth. The only understanding I have on this is what I have learnt from him. He doesn't know why he does it. He said: "I think i'll will get away with it". It's so sad to see his adult face when he gets caught out. Total bewilderment and even though he agrees not to do it again. You guessed it... He does!
Co-founder Sharon Jackson shares her FASD thought of the week: "How would you feel if you saw a mother at a bar, filling her newborn baby's bottle with wine? Why it is different while the baby is inside the mother?"
I'm so proud of Andy who turned 26 this week. He came to me as a foster child aged 9 and already had a diagnosis of FASD – he was told he would amount to nothing... Look at what he has achieved. Now he is a member of the National FASD Advisory Committee, Advising the NOFAS-UK Transistions to Adulthood Project. Andy also worked in Uganda as a volunteer football coach, helping children develop their physical skills, while gaining self-confidence.
