Like many other city-dwelling, twentysomething Alaskans, Shawna gets up in the morning and goes to work. She spends time with her family. She posts cute selfies on Instagram. She likes funny memes and reading and makeup.

And she has always known her brain is a little bit different.

She skipped first grade, then went to second grade twice. She’s great at memorizing things -- phone numbers, gas prices -- but couldn’t tell you the plot of the book she just finished reading. She’s got a great job at a local financial institution, but she’s always broke a few days after payday.
“I look perfectly fine,” Shawna said. “It doesn’t look like I should have difficulty with anything, but I do.”

Shawna -- whose last name has been withheld to protect her privacy -- experiences a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

“I’m a successful 23-year-old with FASD,” she said. “It’s possible.”
But it might not be, she added, if she didn’t know why her brain works the way it does. When she was 8 years old, Shawna got something that sets her apart from many other people with FASDs: a diagnosis.

Learn more:
Living with FASD

It is difficult to diagnose FASD because no single test could cover the broad range of FASD signs and symptoms.

Certain physical issues, developmental or behavioral concerns, or school failure should alert the parents, medical provider or other pediatric developmental specialist to consider a potential FASD diagnosis.

Individuals with FASD can have brain abnormalities that lead to problems in day-to-day functioning despite having a normal IQ, so a comprehensive evaluation is needed.

Because early identification, intervention and treatment are so important in mitigating the effects of FASD, it’s recommended that children—especially those whose prenatal and birth situations may be under-documented (international adoptees and kids in the foster care system)—be evaluated for possible FASD.

Signs:

• Infants: low birth weight, irritability, sensitivity to light, noises and touch, poor sucking, slow development, poor sleep-wake cycles, and increased ear infections
• Toddlers: poor memory capability, hyperactivity, lack of fear, no sense of boundaries, and a need for excessive physical contact
• Grade-school years: short attention span, poor coordination, and difficulty with both fine and gross motor skills
• Older children: trouble keeping up with school, low self-esteem from recognizing that they are different from their peers
• Teenagers: poor impulse control, cannot distinguish between public and private behaviors, must be reminded of concepts on a daily basis
• Adults: more likely to struggle with basic needs, such as affordable housing, transportation, employment, and money handling

Jordan's heart pounds as his feet hit the treadmill at a gym in downtown Yellowknife. Rap music rings from his ear buds.

Korry Garvey stands beside him guiding Jordan through a new workout routine. They've paired up as part of a new pilot project that helps support young people with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) who are aging out of the child welfare system. It pairs youth with a navigator, like Garvey, to learn life skills and build support networks.

"I turned 19, that's when the adult life comes in," said Jordan recounting his birthday in April, the day he left foster care. He still lives with his former foster family but he's looking for more independence.

Jordan, who requested that CBC not use his last name, has some short-term memory loss from FASD, a disability resulting from exposure to alcohol when he was in the womb. Learning new things can also be tough for him.

"I wanted to be in the program because I can learn new skills and to learn how to live on my own," he said.

Learn more about this important program:
New FASD Program