It is only during the last several decades that we have come to understand the serious neurological damages that can occur when children are prenatally exposed to alcohol. For many years parents, teachers and congregations have been frustrated and confused because some children were disruptive in Sunday school. Now we know that some of them have lived with an often invisible and until recently unidentified disability.

Today although research is relatively new we do have some answers. Children who have been exposed to alcohol before they were born may be affected by a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder(FASD) FASD is currently being used as the umbrella term to describe a variety of disorders that are the result of the mother's alcohol consumption before they were born.

FASD affects the central nervous system. How the damage is evidenced varies from individual to individual depending on when during the pregnancy the alcohol was consumed and what part of the unborn child was developing at the time. Some children are born with certain identifiable facial features while others have none of those. For some there are serious developmental or learning disabilities; some are brilliant but unable to sort through abstract concepts or learn from consequences. Many are easily distracted because they are over-stimulated and so they need quiet non-stimulating environments. Many children who are affected tend to do what the people around them are doing without understanding inconsistency. That is why they are involved with Sunday school but when with friends mid-week do what their friends are doing even if it is totally different from their Sunday behavior. Many of us do this to a degree but we know what we are doing, we know it is inconsistent or hypocritical. Someone affected by FASD may not see that and all the talking we do will not give them that insight. That is simply the nature of the damage caused by the disability.

This leads us directly to the how to, the how do we respond. The obvious answer is, not by talking more, trying to convince or to reason. That just ends up in more frustration, confusion and alienation for the person who is affected.

The rule of thumb in being involved with people who are affected by FASD is to try differently rather than harder. That is a difficult thing to learn. However, people who have not been affected can learn to do that. A person who is affected may not be able to. We know that a person who is deaf cannot learn to hear; however, those of us who hear are able to learn sign language.

The challenge of how to do things differently continues. Some things are simpler than others - using the concrete, using movement and visuals rather than just speaking and trying to reason are among those that can be implemented more easily.

I was very excited about the Christian Education program in a church I visited recently. That congregation has groups for readers and non-readers rather than grouping by school grades. Children who choose may also attend classes for younger children. The leader we spoke to shared lots of practical ways of including all the children. Her main goal for a few of the children who are affected by FASD was that they learn that "God ain't made no junk". Another thing she said that worked for them was to ask the children what they needed rather than telling them what to do. She said she was amazed how often they knew what to do and could work through their own issues.(Might actually work for children who are not affected, too.) The pastor understanding of these particular kids was that they understood good and evil and brought a unique perspective to the internal struggle between the two.

It was so obvious that the adults involved in giving leadership to these children respected the children, they appreciated their gifts, they sought to find their strengths and to affirm them.

Identifying the disability also seems important. Then both the person affected by FASD and the other people around understand the limitations and can begin to work with these children, youth and adults in appropriate ways (as we do when we build ramps for wheelchair users).

The damage to the central nervous system will not go away. It is there to stay but as we work with understanding we can help to prevent or to protect from what are known as secondary disabilities. Secondary disabilities include low self-esteem, disrupted school experience, inappropriate sexual behaviour, conflict with the law, misuse of alcohol or drugs, bad work experiences, and broken relationships.

The church also needs to grapple with theological issues and FASD. We may well wonder how our understanding of sin and redemption fit for people affected by FASD. We may ask ourselves whether people affected by FASD indeed have a deeper dependence on God's grace than those of us who depend to a large extent on what we do to try to obtain our salvation. These questions are difficult - there are no easy answers - in fact we may have to live without definitive answers leaving all of ourselves entirely in God's hands amid the unanswered questions.

The church and FASD is a very pioneerish area of ministry in 2004. I'd be happy to hear from people affected by FASD and members of their families. Let me know what you've learned and how God is continuing to teach you through FASD or through people who've been affected by it. Very little has been written about faith and FASD. I've begun to collect a few articles I'm finding and you can find these here.

If you have stories or insights to share you can send them to me at , or at the MCC Canada office.