Kathy Mitchell wants to share something with you. She’s not proud of it,
and it’s not a behavior she hopes you’ll emulate. It’s just the truth:
As a teen, Kathy drank alcohol while pregnant with her daughter, Karli.
It was a perilous if unwitting mistake that has defined both of their
lives.
To Kathy, Karli’s is simply a life snuffed of promise. “I adore my very sweet daughter,” Kathy says. “She’s a forever innocent child. But not a day goes by that I don’t ask myself, ‘What if? What if alcohol hadn’t been a part of my life?’ ”
#4
To Kathy, Karli’s is simply a life snuffed of promise. “I adore my very sweet daughter,” Kathy says. “She’s a forever innocent child. But not a day goes by that I don’t ask myself, ‘What if? What if alcohol hadn’t been a part of my life?’ ”

Fetal
alcohol spectrum disorder, or FASD, covers a range of impairments from
severe, such as Karli’s fetal alcohol syndrome, to mild. Its effects can
include impaired growth, intellectual disabilities and such
neurological, emotional and behavioral issues as attention-deficit
hyperactivity disorder, vision problems and speech and language delays.
FASD is also sometimes characterized by a cluster of facial features:
small eyes, a thin upper lip and a flat philtrum (the ridge between the
nose and upper lip).

As
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put it, the disabilities
“last a lifetime. There is no cure, though early intervention treatment
can improve a child’s development.”

Read More »




