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Fetal Alcohol Syndrome an issue in Greene County

3 min read
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WAYNESBURG – It would seem to be self-evident pregnant women should not drink alcohol, but fetal alcohol syndrome remains a problem in Greene County and is difficult to formally diagnose, even in adults.

County Human Services Director Karen Bennett said the syndrome often is “unrecognized or misdiagnosed” later in life when a person exhibits mental or social problems.

She said a Greene County man in his 40s who was within her department’s care for the past 15 years was just recently diagnosed with having fetal alcohol syndrome. A provider in Canonsburg was caring for him, but his mood swings and violent behavior eventually led to him ending up in Washington County Court.

He was tested and eventually found to be suffering from the ailment, which was previously undiagnosed. Bennett, who is a certified drug and alcohol therapist and has been working in the field since 1980, could not believe the results of the test.

“I was flabbergasted,” Bennett said of the diagnosis.

The man is now getting treatment and medications catered to the diagnosis, and he is improving, Bennett said. He continues to need costly and continuous care within the county’s intellectual disabilities program, she said.

“You have to do what you have to do to protect society and those are the services he needed,” she said.

Pinpointing the exact number of people in Greene County suffering from the ailment is nearly impossible because of undiagnosed cases, Bennett said, although the Commonwealth Prevention Alliance estimates 1 in 100 babies are born with some from of the syndrome.

In response, Greene County officials gave a proclamation to Tracie Sypin and Shanna Meyers, both prevention specialists for the county’s Human Services’ Drug and Alcohol program, announcing Wednesday will be Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Day. Bennett said the entire month is designed to raise awareness about lasting aspects to the issue.

“It’s very difficult to discuss as a problem,” Bennett said. “It’s so difficult to track.”

Caseworkers are also seeing lasting problems from the heroin and prescription drug abuse epidemic that enveloped the region. The department is trying to treat babies who are born addicted to drugs, which is easier to detect than fetal alcohol syndrome, but there are still long-term developmental problems.

“What is going to happen when they grow up? She said. “We don’t know.”

Bennett said her prevention specialists are reaching out to schools and pregnant women, especially this month as they try to raise awareness about the disorder. Besides education and awareness, though, Bennett said it’s very difficult to stop an expectant mother who wants to drink alcohol, but she certainly knows there are consequences to that decision.

“At the end of the day, we know there are affects from being pregnant and drinking,” Bennett said.

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