Bonnie Buxton and Brian Philcox

NOFAS is extremely pleased to honor Bonnie Buxton and Brian Philcox while we commemorate International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Day across the country and beyond on September 9, 2006. Bonnie and Brian are great heroes and we salute their courage and spirit in advocating for this issue. Below is an excerpt from Bonnie and Brian’s FASD Day press release.

“Trust your crazy ideas,” says a sign on Bonnie Buxton’s bulletin board. Along with her husband, Brian Philcox, Buxton came up with the idea of International Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Awareness Day (FASDay) in January,1999. “We were digging out our cars from the great Toronto snowstorm,” Buxton recalls. “Warming up over coffee, we realized that on 1999-09-09, a whole lot of nines would be coming together. What about using that date to remind the world that during the nine months of pregnancy, a woman should not drink alcohol?”

Adoptive mother Teresa Kellerman of Tucson, AZ, joined them as a coordinator. On the first FASDay, September 9, 1999, communities across Canada and the U.S., several European countries plus South Africa, New Zealand and Australia participated. “Now there are more communities than we can count,” says Philcox, who keeps records for the FASworld Canada website, www.fasworld.com

Buxton and Philcox became advocates for families struggling with FASD after their daughter Colette, now 26, was diagnosed with Alcohol-Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder (ARND) in 1997, aged 17. At that time she was addicted to cocaine and living on the street. “We knew that her biological mother had been an alcoholic,” says Buxton, “but we had no idea that this bright little girl was struggling with permanent brain damage.”

Buxton explains that individuals with ARND have seemingly normal intelligence, but will struggle lifelong with invisible learning and behaviour problems resulting from prenatal exposure to alcohol. ARND is the most common form of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), which affects about 300,000 Canadian children and adults.

Bonnie Buxton is a journalist, editor and screenwriter whose articles have appeared in numerous Canadian magazines and newspapers. Her book about FASD, “Damaged Angels,” was published in Canada (Knopf, 2004) and in the U.S. (Carroll & Graf, 2005). A career communicator, Brian Philcox has worked in government, academia and the private sector. He is currently president of his local Rotary Club, focussing on issues related to the mental and physical health of children and adolescents both locally and internationally.

In 1999, Buxton and Philcox created FASworld Canada, a not-for-profit organization which provides a support group for parents in the Toronto area, gives workshops and FASD training for parents and professionals, and consults to families across Canada and worldwide.

Arizona’s Teresa Kellerman continues to partner with Buxton and Philcox, developing ideas for volunteers on the website www.fasday.com. On September 9, 2006, volunteers across Canada and the U.S., and many other countries – including the UK, both Irelands, France, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Luxemburg, South Africa, Uruguay, Japan, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand – will be participating.

Bonnie & Brian may be reached at info@fasworld.com