The statistics are staggering: The prevalence of FASD is 1 out of 100 live births in the U.S.
   
FASD is 50% more prevalent than Autism; out of 300 live births there are three babies born with FASD; two babies born with Autism.  It is estimated that 132,711 Georgians were born with FASDs last year.  In the 2008 report to the President from the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities, FASD was one of only two issues addressed  and  states, “with regards to prevention, the Committee recognized the awesome potential for improved life and health outcomes by defeating the single most preventable cause of intellectual disabilities: fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.”
    
But here’s the rub: very few people know what FASD is, how you “get it,” or why they should care.
    
More often than not, people with FASD are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed; some professionals will diagnose a form of Autism or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Sadly, many in  the medical community shrug off the responsibility of a correct diagnosis with an attitude of, “If it can’t be cured, why does the diagnosis matter?“
    
We need to care: FASD takes an enormous emotional and financial toll on families and society as a whole.
    
The United States spends $6.4 billion annually in direct and indirect costs to help support, educate, treat, and rehabilitate people born with FASD. It is estimated the annual costs in Georgia to assist people with FASD reached $220,914,909 in 2007.
    
Further, this largely misunderstood disability significantly impacts our correctional system, as 42% -- almost half of those affected -- will have trouble with the law. Equally as many people with FASD will drop out of school, either for a while, or permanently.
    
I speak from experience about wanting to prevent FASD; it is child abuse to the unborn.
    
Our son’s life-long challenges began before he was born, when his birth mother drank alcohol during her pregnancy. As a result he was born with FAS, leaving  him with significant neurological, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral damage. His life-long disability was 100% preventable!
    
The emotional costs to those who care for family members with FASDs cannot begin to be articulated.  He will essentially live in an 18-year-old body but will function more like a 12-year-old.  Our son's challenges and our challenges are likely to become even more complicated as research suggests that up to 94% of individuals living with FASDs must also fight mental illness, and that most adults with FASDs cannot live independently. The consequences of living with FASDs are immeasurable.
    
FASDs are 100% preventable; 0% curable. Yet women still continue to drink alcohol during pregnancy!
     
National statistics from 2008 show that 55% of women are drinking at the time they become pregnant.  Research indicates that one out of four women drink alcohol during their first trimester; one out of 14 women drinks during the second; and one out of 20 during their third trimester.
    
We must use education and awareness to protect babies not yet conceived, and work for the day there will be no babies born with FASD.  At the same time, we must offer more understanding and support for families living with these disorders.  The bottom line? FASD awareness and education are imperatives.
    
Donnie Kanter Winokur