FAS/FAE Alcoholism in Poland?

[FONT=Arial]Remember to be very leery of such allђ generalizations. Russia is a huge country, and the likelihood of this orphanage worker having worked in a fair sampling of orphanages from various regions and demographic areas of the country is slim. No, Im not saying that FAS/FAE isnҒt an issue, or that Russia isnt known for its vodka; IҒm just saying that almost allӔ raises a red flag in my mind.[/FONT][FONT=Arial] [/FONT][FONT=Arial]At the orphanage in Poland (from where our boys came) we were able to see most of the children from birth to 7-ish during our many visits. I didnt see any physical symptoms of FAS. Could some of the babies have FAE in low enough severities as to not exhibit physical symptoms? Of course. But in this particular location, I would not say that FAS/FAE was at all ґrampant.

[/FONT][FONT=Arial]IҒm not an expert on adoptive Polish success or IQ. But a quick search for ֑famous adoptees will give you a slew of names and careers of adoptees that have made their mark on the world. Also remember that how a child ґturns out is going to depend greatly on his or her adoptive parents. If you have high expectations and lovingly and firmly guide the child towards those expectations and encourage them, then you are going to have a successful child Җ regardless of how you personally measure success.[/FONT][FONT=Arial] [/FONT][FONT=Arial]If this is something that concerns you, be sure to ask very specific questions when you receive your referral. Ours included Has this child ever been diagnosed with FAS/FAE?Ӕ And List any and all possible symptoms of FAS/FAE observed by the childӒs foster mother, caretakers, and teachers.[/FONT]

I also specifically asked the question for each of the three children we were referred, "Are there any signs of FAS/FAE?" The response was no for each. We found all of the medical/psychological information we received to be correct, or even that the Polish workers erred on the side of caution and wrote about non-issues (e.g., red mark on an arm that I never could find, umbilical hernia which looks like a regular belly button). Two of our children have at least average intelligence and our third child is above average. However, as lastpaige noted, there is more to success than a high IQ. Prior to adopting, I met a man who was a top leader in education. He did not know I was in the process of adopting and he talked about his son, adopted as an infant, that was now 30-something. He said, "I am so proud of my son. He is a tattoo artist and has his own shop. He runs a clean business and does excellent work. He has long hair and rides a motorcycle, but that doesn't matter. He's a great kid! I am so proud of everything he is doing!"

I have a Russian kid and a Polish kid, and neither has any symptoms of RAD. Both are great students. I have no doubt that they will both finish college. I do know other Russian adoptees that finished college. I know two Russian boys adopted as older kids who are in high school now and both are on honor roll. I know a lot of Russian adopted kids and only a few have symptoms of FAS.

I also know two Russian adoptees (9-10 years old) and neither has any signs/symptoms of FAS/FAE. Same with a Ukranian adoptee.

Remember, too, that FAS/FAE doesn't mean low IQ at all--a child with alcohol effects can be very bright. FAS diagnosis includes physical features, behaviors, and "cognitive impairments," not neccessarily resulting in low IQ. Memory, sensory processing, etc., can be affected. I'm not up to date, but I believe, and my own experience bears it out, that it is more and more being seen as a spectrum. Since as a parent you would be dealing with the effects and not really FAS/FAE itself--like treating the symptoms of a cold, not the cold itself--and FAS/FAE is not well understood or recognized, I personally think it would make good sense to (1) educate yourself on the what the effects are, (2) ask specifically about those traits without labeling it FAS/FAE, (3) then ask if there was any history of drinking during pregnancy by the mother--she wouldn't have to be a lush to produce a child with effects--or prior to conception by the father. Since I began learning about fetal alcohol exposure, I am beginning to think that many, many children here have some effects. I think it is much more common than we might expect.

I did find during my time in Poland that drinking was not quite the national sport it seems to be in Russia or even as much as it seems to be here. So in that regard, I can see that there is probably less of it in Poland than Russia. I think it is far more common in children here than anyone wants to believe. A while back there was a lot of publicity about crack babies, but the sad truth is alcohol is far more damaging to most kids in the long run and it's legal! It's very sad, but it's possible to find it in kids born anywhere alcohol is available, which is pretty much all over the world.

Of my three kids I would say two are above average academically, and one is at least an average student but they are all still pretty young with our oldest going into 5th grade. Our oldest won an honorable mention in the school science fair, our middle daughter won second place at her school art show, and all three performed in the school talent show (one sang, one told a joke, and one came up with the choreography and danced to a song from High School Musical with three friends). And they have only been home 11 months. All of ours are all doing very well in school (A/B students) and by the end of the school year our oldest was only have ESOL accommodations made in Social Studies and a little in Science (due to sophisticated vocabulary). Our 9 year old is reading above grade level with comprehension and caught up with her class in 6 months in reading comprehension - but she does struggle a bit with impulse control - could that be FAS/FAE effect - maybe or maybe she is just a kid who is enthusiastic about everything and just goes full throttle.I agree with the earlier poster, FAS/FAE is a spectrum that can be from profound difficulties to mild issues. We also asked specific questions, even down to age specific developmental milestone questions (and we got answers!) and were also told no known FAS/FAE and the kids were developmentally on target. Like other posts we found all the medical and other information we recieved to be extremely accurate. Great story about the tatoo artist Dad - what a great reminder to recognize and be proud of our kids successes however they come - even when it may not be what we envisioned for them!