February Monthly Parent Training: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) and FASD-Wise Parenting

Description: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) affect over half of the children adopted from Eastern Europe and our own foster care system. This damage to the brain causes a wide range of difficulties in behavior and learning, and often gets incompletely diagnosed as ADHD, Bipolar, RAD, PTSD, Autism and of course Oppositional Defiant Disorder. Recognizing the patterns of FASD can illuminate what has been a dark and murky experience, and FASD-informed parenting can make life calmer, happier and more successful for the whole family. This short presentation will give you the lens to see those patterns, and tools to help where traditional parenting has failed (even the attachment-wise kind).

Learning Outcomes

Participants will be able to:

• Recognize the basic brain-based pattern of FASD
• Use a new screening tool to map out evidence of their own child’s FASD (or not)
• Access resources for help and support
• Learn principles of FASD-wise parenting

Kathryn Page earned a PhD from the Center for Psychological Studies in Berkeley and an internship in addiction recovery at Stanford, a few highlights of Kathryn Page’s career include: Disabilities Specialist for the Santa Clara County Juvenile Drug Treatment Court; bilingual School Psychologist in San Lorenzo; 504 Coordinator in the Santa Clara Juvenile Hall; and teacher of social workers with UC Davis Extension.

Dr. Page has been working on FASD for 30 years. She founded and directed the diagnostic clinic in Santa Clara County, CA, and is the co-chair of that county’s 5-year plan. She provides the mandatory FASD training for Los Angeles County’s mental health providers, and advocates for legislation at the state and federal levels. Kathryn consults, writes, teaches, and lives with this condition in her son as well as herself.