FASD

We brought the atlatl sprear throwing and archery to the reservation yesterday. Kids of all ages were eager to get into the action. Even adults came to shoot. Many of the kids remembered how to do things: proper grip of the bow, knocking the arrow with the index feather facing up, etc.. Then there were the poor FASD kids. These are the children that received some level of brain damage because their mother was drinking alcohol while pregnant. It is a birth defect, and it is totally preventable. They can learn, but it takes a gentle and patient approach to teaching. The FASD person needs to see and feel the action over and over before it settles into real learning. So, over and over again, we would encourage and coach those frustrated kids; frustrated with themselves because they want so badly to be able to do it, and yet they know that they struggle more than others. FASD is a horrible thing to give to your kid. They will live out their life with the problem, and it could have been totally preventable.