Fantastic Antone Grows Up
Adolescents and Adults with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Fantastic Antone series
"[T]his collection of practical experiences in educating children with fetal alcohol syndrome will prove invaluable to any faced with a similar challenge."
—The Bookwatch
"This book provides a timely and important counterpoint to the gloom and doom that predominates in so many professional--and virtually all popular--sources that deal with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and fetal alcohol effects (FAE). . . . [It] gives realistic hope to those who have for too long been given virtually no encouragement in seeking better lives for such children."
—Addiction
"This book is a gift to the many caring people who deserve the wisdom that is offered here."
—Winds of Change
"Commonly as part of our treatment recommendations after we have evaluated a child, we include a recommendation for the family or caregivers to read Fantastic Antone Succeeds."
—Reader Comments
"Fantastic Antone Succeeds is the first major step forward in helping parents and teachers to help the unfortunate victims of alcohol exposure in utero."
—Dr. Sterling Clarren, Director, Seattle Fetal Alcohol Program
For every 1,000 live births in Alaska, between 2.1 and 6.6 babies are affected by FAS--a rate 6 to 18 times higher than the national average. Fantastic Antone Succeeds! describes in concrete, specific ways how to educate children with fetal alcohol syndrome/fetal alcohol effects (FAS/FAE). It communicates an optimistic message that is both true and appealing: with the right education, delivered by a nurturing individual in the home or in the school, many alcohol-affected children thrive.
The book consists of separate chapters written in a popular and accessible style by psychologists, teachers, and birth and adoptive parents of alcohol-affected children. Many chapters are personal stories with emotional power. A birth mother, for example, tells of her anguish when she realizes that she has recovered from her own alcoholism but her daughter cannot. This mother describes how she dealt with her grief, how she told her daughter the truth, her daughter's relief at finally understanding what was wrong, and how they both developed ways of overcoming her daughter's learning problems.
Other chapters describe how experienced teachers have learned to organize classrooms where alcohol-affected children can thrive and how therapists have learned to work with parents. One chapter summarizes medical knowledge of FAS/FAE and offers information useful for understanding a child's learning and behavioral problems and devising educational approaches. The book includes lists of important resources, organizations to contact, and descriptions of effective classroom practices for teachers.
Without minimizing the seriousness of FAS/FAE and the first priority prevention, Fantastic Antone Succeeds! provides practical tools and strategies that can help alcohol-affected individuals and their families lead happier, more productive lives.
