Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, mental retardation at NOFAS

National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Protecting children and families by fighting the leading known cause of mental retardation and birth defects

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“When he was eight, our son Dalante's second grade teacher said to us, 'I think this child has FAS.' At this point in time, we had been involved in social systems, medical systems, psychiatric systems and educational systems, and yet this was the first time that FAS had been brought up. We're hopeful to get an accurate diagnosis. He is a wonderful little boy. We fear for his future. He is extremely naļve. He is extremely sweet. He would be the ideal drug runner. He would be the ideal child to be taken advantage of and this has already happened with food fights in the cafeteria: somebody gives him a dime and promises to be his friend, so he takes the blame.”
Francine White

How NOFAS came to be

By Patti Munter

I happened to be living in New Mexico when I met a little boy with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. I spent no more than an hour with him. I knew nothing about FAS.

Michael Dorris’s book, The Broken Cord made me want to know more. Gwen Packard taught me how to start helping.

I met Kathy Mitchell when she testified at the first Senate hearing on Alcohol-Related-Birth-Defects. Around the same time, Tom Donaldson came to our one-room office looking for a job. Together we got NOFAS up and running with the help of our amazing Board of Directors.

We dreamt up programs --- like starting the first selective for medical students on alcohol and pregnancy --- that turned out to be wildly successful.

Tom and Kathy are two of the most talented people I have ever worked with. Either one could have made a thousand different career choices. NOFAS is still dreaming up new programs and celebrating its 20th anniversary because Tom and Kathy refuse to quit. Nobody founded NOFAS. NOFAS found them.

Both Tom and Kathy are recovering alcoholics who understand that information is power. It is 2010 and millions of people are not aware that FAS is the leading known cause of mental retardation. NOFAS works every day to get that information out. Alcohol was only identified as a teratagen in the 1970’s and we work fast at NOFAS. We have to. We are the only national organization that focuses solely on ARBD.

Kate Boyce is the Chair of our Board. It is her grit, determination, heart, and contacts that keep our doors open and the lights on. The same goes for the rest of our amazing Board.

I am leaving out Senators and CEOs only because we will use our upcoming 20th Anniversary Celebration on June 15th to thank them in person.

Please become part of the NOFAS family. Learn more about what we do and help us continue the important work we started twenty years ago.

Patti Munter founded NOFAS is 1990 and served as its Executive Director until 1998. In this capacity, she conceptualized and obtained resources for many important programs that continue today and have been replicated by other FASD organizations internationally, including the resource clearinghouse, medical school curriculum and targeted multi-media public awareness campaigns. To date, the clearinghouse has served well over 100,000 persons with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and their families and caregivers, and the medical school curriculum and companion in-service trainings have educated over 40,000 medical and allied health students and practitioners. Patti also created the NOFAS Leadership Award and the annual benefit event. Currently, she serves on the NOFAS Board of Directors and is a writer living in New York City.