Article By Edmonton and area Fetal Alcohol Network Society, Jul 20, 2022

Since launching our caregiver survey in September last year, we have received more than 100 responses and are learning so much already. We recently looked at the data so far and focused on caregiver strengths and successes.

We found that although survey participants report that their caregiving role has impacted many aspects of their lives and contributed to high levels of stress, they also report strength in their relationships and close connections. Participants also report accessing a variety of strategies and sources of support and recognize many successes within their caregiving role. Importantly, caregivers described a wide range of strengths in their children and adults with FASD:

“My child has the biggest heart, and loves being part of a community once he is accommodated.”
“Hard working, friendly, generous, great storyteller, well liked.”
“He is one of the most resilient and persistent people I have ever met.”

These preliminary findings provide important insight into some of the encouraging and hopeful elements of caring for individuals with FASD, as well as promising avenues for support.

We are still recruiting for this research, so if you are interested in participating or know someone who is, the study link can be found below. Thanks for being a part of this research,

Dr. Katy Flannigan, CanFASD Research Network