Raising awareness about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in Timmins
On International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Awareness Day in Timmins, officials with the Children's Treatment Centre said most people in the community know quite a bit about autism, but most don't know a lot about FASD.
They said it is two and half times more common than autism and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are lifetime disabilities that happen when alcohol is introduced to the womb before birth.
This is some of the information they shared with people who stopped to talk with them while they were taking their morning walks around the Gillies Lake Trail.
“We’re OK if someone is uncomfortable with the subject matter. That’s OK because that’s an opportunity for us to have an open conversation with someone and if they’re not ready to have that conversation that’s OK with us," said Liane Guenette, a caseworker with the Children's Treatment Centre.
Open to learning
Timmins resident Cliff Lebrun had never heard about FASD, but was open to learning about it.
“I took some literature and I’m going to read it and I’ll be aware so I won’t judge people," he said.
One of Guenette's co-workers appreciated that people want more information and she said she's also working with community partners.
"We are helping ... to have the people within the schools understand what it means to have FASD and how they can make the proper environmental accommodations to support these children," said Kelsey Charbonneau-Laforest.
Organizers of the outdoor information session said four per cent of Canadians have fetal alcohol syndrome.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What's a Barnacle? It's yellow, sticks and screams if you try to pry it off your car
Barnacles, bright yellow devices used to make sure parking scofflaws pay their tickets, could soon be making their way to cities across Canada.
Verdun Airbnb listing taken down amid complaints, fines and frustration from neighbours
An Airbnb in Montreal's Verdun borough was the source of much frustration from neighbours who say there were constant parties at the location. It has been taken down from the app, but housing advocates remain upset about short-term rentals.
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
They were from different countries and barely spoke each other's languages. More than 20 years later, they're still happily in love
He decided to spend Christmas somewhere that wouldn't involve snowstorm disasters. She was spending the holidays with family, travelling for the first time outside of her native country of Venezuela. 23 years later, they're still in love.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
A Nigerian chess champion plays the royal game for 60 hours - a new global chess record
A Nigerian chess champion and child education advocate played chess nonstop for 60 hours in New York City's Times Square to break the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon.
Fire in Labrador town under control, officials tells residents to stay away
RCMP say the fire that prompted a state of emergency in a Labrador town is now under control.
12 students and teacher killed in Columbine school shooting remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
Thirteen victims of the Columbine High School shooting were remembered during a vigil Friday on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the shooting that was the worst the nation had seen at the time.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.