Michael Dorris was a Native American writer, anthropologist and head of the Native Amerian Studies program at Dartmouth College. In 1989 he published an autobiographical account of his experiences raising his adopted son who had Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. The book is called The Broken Cord. It's a poignant tale of the love and frustration he experienced as a first time father with a special needs kid. It's also the story of Dorris's unfolding research into the syndrome and its epidemiological and social nature. At the time, FAS research (both clinical and epidemiological) was just at its infancy. Dorris hadn't guessed that it was the cause of his son's physical and mental disabilities or even heard of the disorder until his son was a teenager. By that time (the early 1980's), some health care workers on reservations were estimating the effects of FAS and FAE (Fetal Alcohol Effect, with less pervasive symptoms) hit up to a quarter of kids in their communities. One of the most troubling results of FAS or FAE is poor judgement or the inability to grasp the long term consequences of immediate actions. Thus, women who themselves have been victims of FAS are the most likely to repeat the cycle. All the education attempts are tainted by the simple fact that those who are most likely to drink during pregnancy are unable to learn to avoid behaviors that are damaging to themselves and to their innocent babies. A lot of research progress has surely been made in the past 30 years since FAS was discovered, but as a disorder of the poor, the downtrodden, the uneducated, it will always take a back seat to such well-funded disorders as autism and cancer. Advocate, educate, work for change. But how? Dorris thought he was doing good by caring for these children, giving them all he could provide, but it is never enough to change the course of their preventable fate.
A Broken Life (story of Michael Dorris's suicide in Solon.com)
A well referenced wikipedia article on FAS
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