FASD -The Hidden Disability-The Movie
50 min., United Kingdom 2021, Documentary, English - Not Rated
The documentary tackles some of the myths surrounding FASD, including ‘Its ok to have 1 or 2 drinks in pregnancy’, ‘You can tell if someone has FASD because of the way they look’ and ‘People with FASD just behave badly’. In fact, in the UK, chief medical officers have said, since 2016, that there is no safe amount of alcohol to drink in pregnancy with some research showing that just one drink of alcohol can affect fetal behaviour in the womb. Often associated with distinctive facial features, less than 10% of people living with FASD will actually have different facial features and rather than their behaviour being something that they can simply overcome, FASD instead makes cognitive processing, emotional regulation and impulse control harder for people living with the issue. While there is some awareness of FASD across the media and wider society, a clear understanding and straightforward path to diagnosis is still some way off in the UK, which is held to be 20 years behind Canada and the US in dealing with FASD. This documentary features interviews with professionals, parents and individuals living with FASD. The documentary strips back the layers of misunderstandings about drinking during pregnancy and, rather than dictate terms to pregnant women, the film sets out the truths behind the disorder and highlights that FASD can occur with one drink.
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