Jabberwocky
Frumious Bandersnatch
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Mothers who had 'a few drinks while pregnant' shocked to learn their children grew up with brain damage and mental illness brought on by Foetal Alcohol Disorder
Devastated mothers have shared their heartbreak after drinking while pregnant left their children with brain damage.
To the naked eye, 10-year-old Jaimie Holland and 31-year-old Seth Russell look like the average schoolgirl and every day Australian bloke.
But for years they have both battled the effects of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and on Monday night their parents will share their daily agony over their children's conditions with ABC's Four Corners.
Jaimie was first misdiagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) while Mr Russell was suicidal.
At least 500,000 Australians have FASD, which puts the number of sufferers above the total number of people living with Down syndrome, spina bifida and cerebral palsy.
From the tender age of 10, Mr Russell had thoughts about taking his own life and his mother, Anne, blamed herself for his behaviour, constantly thinking she was a 'bad parent'.
I just thought it was me, I thought I was doing something wrong,' she said.
'I didn't know how to be a good parent, [I thought] I'm not going to make these children into happy productive children who love life - I'm going to destroy them.'
Mr Russell's erratic behaviour as a young man had his mother, who feared for his safety, up at all hours.
She would wake up in the middle of the night and find his bed empty, and she would spent hours walking or driving the streets trying to find him.
'Every police siren, every time we saw the police go past, every time we heard an ambulance it was Seth. It got so bad that we had this black humour that, you know, "What's happened to Seth?",' Ms Russell said.
It was not until Mr Russell was 17 years old that his mother finally got some answers.
She discovered ger son had FASD and she was shocked because she only considered herself an average drinker who was definitely not an alcoholic and drank 'a few drinks' at social events.
Soon, Ms Russell found out alcohol was more poisonous than cannabis, cocaine or heroin to a developing brain and it only took a small number of drinks to trigger irreversible damage.
Even now at 31 years of age, Mr Russell said he continued battle the symptoms of his condition.
'I've been suicidal my whole life,' he told the ABC.
'I look fine, I act fine, I'm well-spoken, but nobody actually knows what goes on in my head. Things that my brain does to me without me even wanting to.'
A lifelong battle is also on the cards for Jaime Holland, 10, whose mother, Claire, drank during her pregnancy.
At first, Ms Holland and her husband, Brad, were told Jaimie had ADHD but they were never satisfied with this diagnosis.
They visited an endless count of therapists and psychologists until they found out the unsettling truth: Jaimie had FASD.
'I had no idea of the detriment that drinking does, of the actual brain damage it causes. I was just torn apart with guilt and it was a really dark time,' Ms Holland told the ABC.
'I'm sure there's lots of mothers out there that know that they drank. They're too scared to come forward because it's a shameful thing.'
Ms Holland, who admitted throwing back a few beers was part of her and husband's every day life, said she carried around the constant guilt of her pregnant drinking but hoped her story could help others who were not well-informed of the impacts.
'I was just mortified at what I had done and it took a lot, it took a long time for me to really get a grip. I remember sitting there one day and just being so down on myself, self-loathing,' Ms Holland said.
'I just thought: "Who is this helping? It's not helping me, it's certainly not helping Jaimie. Enough is enough, get up, use those energies".
'I'll always have guilt, of course I will, but I refuse to sit and wallow, it just does no good.'
Jaimie's father also feels he is responsible for his daughter's condition.
'I guess I'm sort of kind of to blame as well, because I was there during the pregnancy drinking with her,' Mr Holland said.
'It was never sort of over the top, we were never sort of rolling around blind drunk... for me, I mean like I'd get home from work, have a beer, have another beer, pour Claire a beer.'
The ABC current affairs program also speaks to another woman suffering from FASD, only known as Claire D.
She is described as a 'vivacious 25-year-old' who 'to the outside world' looks like 'an average young woman'.
Four Corners claims Claire D is so well presented she convinces people 'she's fine and she can manage' but 'there's a lot of areas where she really can't do it by herself without support'.
Source and for photo's visit: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...warn-brain-damage-children.html#ixzz3qIcZ2RRX
Devastated mothers have shared their heartbreak after drinking while pregnant left their children with brain damage.
To the naked eye, 10-year-old Jaimie Holland and 31-year-old Seth Russell look like the average schoolgirl and every day Australian bloke.
But for years they have both battled the effects of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and on Monday night their parents will share their daily agony over their children's conditions with ABC's Four Corners.
Jaimie was first misdiagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) while Mr Russell was suicidal.
At least 500,000 Australians have FASD, which puts the number of sufferers above the total number of people living with Down syndrome, spina bifida and cerebral palsy.
From the tender age of 10, Mr Russell had thoughts about taking his own life and his mother, Anne, blamed herself for his behaviour, constantly thinking she was a 'bad parent'.
I just thought it was me, I thought I was doing something wrong,' she said.
'I didn't know how to be a good parent, [I thought] I'm not going to make these children into happy productive children who love life - I'm going to destroy them.'
Mr Russell's erratic behaviour as a young man had his mother, who feared for his safety, up at all hours.
She would wake up in the middle of the night and find his bed empty, and she would spent hours walking or driving the streets trying to find him.
'Every police siren, every time we saw the police go past, every time we heard an ambulance it was Seth. It got so bad that we had this black humour that, you know, "What's happened to Seth?",' Ms Russell said.
It was not until Mr Russell was 17 years old that his mother finally got some answers.
She discovered ger son had FASD and she was shocked because she only considered herself an average drinker who was definitely not an alcoholic and drank 'a few drinks' at social events.
Soon, Ms Russell found out alcohol was more poisonous than cannabis, cocaine or heroin to a developing brain and it only took a small number of drinks to trigger irreversible damage.
Even now at 31 years of age, Mr Russell said he continued battle the symptoms of his condition.
'I've been suicidal my whole life,' he told the ABC.
'I look fine, I act fine, I'm well-spoken, but nobody actually knows what goes on in my head. Things that my brain does to me without me even wanting to.'
A lifelong battle is also on the cards for Jaime Holland, 10, whose mother, Claire, drank during her pregnancy.
At first, Ms Holland and her husband, Brad, were told Jaimie had ADHD but they were never satisfied with this diagnosis.
They visited an endless count of therapists and psychologists until they found out the unsettling truth: Jaimie had FASD.
'I had no idea of the detriment that drinking does, of the actual brain damage it causes. I was just torn apart with guilt and it was a really dark time,' Ms Holland told the ABC.
'I'm sure there's lots of mothers out there that know that they drank. They're too scared to come forward because it's a shameful thing.'
Ms Holland, who admitted throwing back a few beers was part of her and husband's every day life, said she carried around the constant guilt of her pregnant drinking but hoped her story could help others who were not well-informed of the impacts.
'I was just mortified at what I had done and it took a lot, it took a long time for me to really get a grip. I remember sitting there one day and just being so down on myself, self-loathing,' Ms Holland said.
'I just thought: "Who is this helping? It's not helping me, it's certainly not helping Jaimie. Enough is enough, get up, use those energies".
'I'll always have guilt, of course I will, but I refuse to sit and wallow, it just does no good.'
Jaimie's father also feels he is responsible for his daughter's condition.
'I guess I'm sort of kind of to blame as well, because I was there during the pregnancy drinking with her,' Mr Holland said.
'It was never sort of over the top, we were never sort of rolling around blind drunk... for me, I mean like I'd get home from work, have a beer, have another beer, pour Claire a beer.'
The ABC current affairs program also speaks to another woman suffering from FASD, only known as Claire D.
She is described as a 'vivacious 25-year-old' who 'to the outside world' looks like 'an average young woman'.
Four Corners claims Claire D is so well presented she convinces people 'she's fine and she can manage' but 'there's a lot of areas where she really can't do it by herself without support'.
Source and for photo's visit: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...warn-brain-damage-children.html#ixzz3qIcZ2RRX
