Re: Hello, I've just joined this list. Need help.

[Guest guest]

Hi Geraldine,

Welcome to the list and welcome to the world of confusing

diagnosis'. I, like you, would have some serious questions about an

AS diagnosis due to the conditions your daughter endured the first

years of her life. I, too, am an adoptive parent and I know of many

parents who have adopted from Russia. Russia is notorious for their

children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/Effect and Attachment

Disorders. Both of these conditions can be confused with AS, and/or

can be in addition to AS. I have four children on the spectrum and

two of them have FAS/E. What I have learned over the years is that

the actual diagnosis isn't so much the issue as the characteristics

and how they are individually addressed. I am seeing so much cross-

over between AS disorders and BP disoder and FAS/E that I think a

lot of times no one will ever really know what caused these

behaviors in children who have been adopted. In our case, the

birthmother of our two with both FAS/E and AS was known to the

system as a severe alcoholic and she appeared to have FAS/E herself.

Her parents, too, were alcoholics.

If you'd like I can give you some good sites to research FAS/E and

Attachment Disorder. I belong to some really goo groups that deal

with this every day. One woman I know adopted all three of her

daughters from Russia and they had all had horrible beginnings in an

orphanage. They all have FAS and Attachment Disorder. I can put you

in touch with her.

Your daughter sounds SO SIMILAR to my ten year old son! He is

totally obsessed with Egypt and mummies and dead bodies (I don't

know what a " bog person " is, but it sounds like something that would

definitely intrigue him). He also says and does outrageous things.

He is currently attending a prvaie therapeutic school, paid for by

the district, because they could not longer handle him in public

school.

Anyway, let me know if I can help!

na Geraldine