Better Endings
FASD Connections
For Families & Professionals
August 2006 - Vol 1, Issue 1
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Greetings!

Welcome to Better Endings New Beginnings. We hope to provide tips and ideas of living with and loving children and adults with FASDs to help your loved ones and persons you serve.
AUGUST PARENT-SCIZM Vicky and Jerry love nine energetic children diagnosed with FASDs and have a wealth of information to share. Vicky shares this month's SCIZM's:

  • "Be A Neater Eater" to encourage table manners. After all Manners Matter!
  • "Get rid of the cavity creep." to encourage quality brushing.
  • "Sorry I am not a mother octopus, you will have to wait." to encourage waiting while she is doing something else.
On Friday they leave for Duluth with eleven kids to feed the seagulls on Lake Superior their coveted once a year caramel rolls from Tobys, visit the aquarium to get their fingers bit by the fish, watch the ships while they skip and climb on rocks. The children's museum is usually quiet and they love the hands on. They visit the train museum, enjoy two playground picnics and tucker the crew out before heading the two hour drive home. According to Vicky "How do they learn to live life unless they are experience life!" This week they are making extra pancakes to use as frisbees to have a seagull catching contest. It's lots of fun. The day is inexpensive and filled with laughter. The family believes in teaching their children joy. When they depart their adventure they thank God for the laughter and the fun and all the other things that the children can think up. In the van they sing and play games and even on a two hour trip they are wide awake with a million questions waiting for answers.
Vicky relayed me this adventure idea as she served as lifequard while the kids learned confidence, sharing and cooperation swimming on a hot August summer day at the lake. Thank God for cell phones and FASD sisters. Stay tuned for another great adventure idea, sometimes they invite their "lucky" therapist or social worker!
According to Vicky "They are going to keep living life. She is not going to be around forever and life is not a fairy tale for these kids, she's not a fairy godmother and she has no fairy dust. She is not raising children, she believes she is raising adults. After all someday they will all be living some form of independence."

We've learned it doesn't take an army to launch the Tiny Titan. With limited resources we sent off the book for reviews and are excited that California Bookwatch has picked it up in their Health Section. We got a FIVE STAR rating.

GET YOUR COPY TODAY! $15.95 plus SH
On August 10, Jodee had the opportunity to meet and discuss Fetal Alcohol with Temple Grandin. What a delight and opportunity since the diagnosis of Autism is thirty years older than FASDs and professionals and families are further down the road in preparing their children for adulthood. Here are some of the ideas Liz and I gleaned from her.

Temple told us the school of hard knocks smartened her up in a hurry. To build self-reliance and self- discipline she noted four areas of self-awareness:
1. Understand personal challenges
2. What to do to correct, adapt or work with these challenges
3. Develop skills for everyday association
4. Develope skills for handling the competition of everyday living
Keep in mind you are raising a future adult with FASDs who will need to navigate the world reality. Hopefully our camp will build a voice for the voiceless.

2007 TEEN ADULT FASD CONFERENCE RETREAT
AUGUST 3-6, 2007 - Brainerd, Minnesota
We need sponsors for our conference. If anyone has ideas please email jodee@connetworks.com .
RECIPE BOOK - We are in the process of testing a recipe book that our participants will try out at the camp. Each building has a full kitchen and the recipes are easy. Any ideas of your easy recipes send them to Jodee.
PLANT FUNDRAISER EARNED OVER $200.00
 SPEAKERS SIGNED ON - Deb Evensen will be joining us and Sydney Sauber is climbing on board as speakers for our 2007 conference.

NEXT FUNDRAISER - SAM'S CLUB - SEPTEMBER 9, 2006
Liz and I will be at Sam's Club in Maple Grove, MN for FASDay talking with patrons about "Building Better Baby Brains" for the future and collecting donations for our camp. Say a prayer for us and if you are in the area volunteer to help us.

FREE WORKBOOK TO HELP YOU WORK WITH PERSONS WHO HAVE FASDs If your are interesting in learning more . . .

Giving ordinary people extraordinary voices to show that better endings are possible and new beginnings can be achieved through powerful stories to inspire, build hope and provide wisdom to change the world one person at a time.

SPECIAL THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOUR WHO FORWARDED OUR NEWSLETTER ON TO OTHER!!!! LET'S KEEP MAKING NOISE!

Sincerely,
Jodee Kulp
Better Endings New Beginnings

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