Let’s Get Started!
Written by Kristen Eriksen
Hi everyone! First of all, thank you to anyone who has found our page! We really want to make this a place where you are able to find information, help and support on your FASD journey.
I would first like to introduce myself. My name is Kristen Eriksen. I am a mom, a nurse, a fierce advocate for change in general, but especially in the realm of FASD. My “partner in crime” Laura Bedard and I recently took over as MassFAS FASD Program Co-coordinators at the Institute for Health and Recovery in Cambridge Massachusetts. We have replaced our guardian angel, Enid Watson. She has worked tirelessly in this position for 20 years, and is now embarking on a much deserved retirement.
I am the mother of boy/girl twins, now almost 15 years old (yikes!) with FASD, RAD, anxiety and ADHD to name a few of their diagnosis’. As a nurse who worked in OB, Pediatrics, Early Intervention and schools, I thought I would be very capable of raising my babies, and I was, sort of. I was always a believer that many children are square pegs being forced into round holes at school. That was the first place that I had to become an advocate. Before having an FASD diagnosis, I knew that my babies had experienced birth trauma due to a toxic intrauterine environment including smoking, drugs, alcohol exposure, homelessness, poverty, and incarceration. Even though I am a nurse, I was not aware of FASD’s prevalence, or the overall nature of FASD as a lifelong invisible disability that affects the brain and body of the individual in all aspects of daily life. I was focused on trauma, attachment, feeding issues and previous drug exposure. I used my EI background in feeding therapy and sensory integration to give them a great start. Then, they started school. It was not only evident to me that they were having different challenges than most littles, but the school system did not validate or agree with my concerns for several years. Even then, as we started the journey of out of district school placements, the focus was on behavioral management. And it was not working. Currently, they are each at a different out of district school placement. Neither is perfect, but things are going more smoothly now at school.
What I hope to do on this blog is share anything and everything that I can think of to help families. I have been listening to many podcasts, joined many coaching support groups, read many books (I actually have a pretty good library of books to discuss in posts here), learned many strategies in neurodevelopmental parenting, and knowledge that I have gained from others who have helped me tremendously along the way.
My twins are fantastic little people! They both have many strengths that need to be recognized, fostered and expanded upon, that will be their saving grace. However, they also have many struggles that I have learned to recognize more and more easily as time goes on. The goal is to help them handle their shortcomings, turn them into insights that they can gain about what they mean and how to use different coping skills, communication and effective strategies to live a good, happy, healthy and satisfying life.
Please let us know what topics you would like us to present. There is no such thing as a stupid question. Feel free to reach out to us. I can’t wait to work with all of you!