“I am very excited about the information I will be sharing over the next 6 days of the 99 Days to FASDay countdown. Day 21 – 26 will focus on the words we use when talking about FASD, people with FASD and women who use alcohol during pregnancy.
I found these suggestions in a Language Guide on the Manitoba FASD Coalition website under a project called Looking After Each Other.
In May 2014, a diverse group of Manitobans came together to talk about the relationship between stigma and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and their shared passion to end it. They began to create a vision for a province where people with FASD and women who have used alcohol during pregnancy are fully accepted and their dignity is protected.
In order to achieve its purpose of promoting dignity the project has developed three pillars, each with a corresponding subcommittee. Each subcommittee is pursuing a variety of activities to promote dignity including creating mini-documentaries, applying for research grants and developing a guide that highlights dignity promoting language.
While this group is in the province of Manitoba, in Canada, I think their guide can be used around the world. Some of their suggestions may be controversial due to the deeply ingrained culture of shame and stigma that surrounds alcohol, pregnancy and people with disabilities or challenges. Others may not fit cultures in different countries. But overall, it is good to challenge long-held beliefs.
The group who devised the Guide included parents of children with FASD, women who used alcohol during pregnancy, community members from across Manitoba; including several First Nations communities, government representatives and service providers working with people who have FASD and their families. A great representation that I believe we should honour. Note: In 2018 I contacted the group because it did not say people with FASD were part of the committee, but they were!”
Linkto the guide: FASD Language Guide