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| Sep 4, 2009 |
USD Center for Disabilities raises awareness for FASD |
| VERMILLION, S.D. -- The Center for Disabilities at the Sanford School of Medicine of The University of South Dakota is raising awareness for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness Day, which is Wednesday, Sept. 9. |
| FASD Awareness Day serves as a reminder about the dangers of consuming alcohol during pregnancy and the plight of individuals and families who struggle with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Each year, on Sept. 9, people from around the world gather to raise FASD awareness. Bells are rung at 9:09 a.m. in every time zone from New Zealand to Alaska, proclamations are issued, so that on the ninth minute of the ninth hour of the ninth month of the year, the world will remember that during the nine months of pregnancy a woman should abstain from alcohol.
"For Governor Rounds to issue the proclamation for Sept. 9 as FASD Awareness Day in South Dakota is truly indicative of his understanding of this issue and the importance that he places on the need for our state to address and decrease the rate of infants being born affected by FASD," noted Judy Struck, executive director, Center for Disabilities, and an associate professor in the department of pediatrics at the Sanford School of Medicine. The Center for Disabilities currently has two FASD clinics, Sioux Falls and Rapid City, where referrals to the clinics are typically made by the Department of Social Services, the Department of Corrections, physicians, school districts and parents. Clinical services are family-centered, interdisciplinary and research-based. According to Struck, while the national prevalence rate of FASD is estimated to be one in 100 live births annually, this means that in South Dakota approximately 110 infants with an FASD are born each year. "The most distressing factor in dealing with a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) is that it is 100 percent preventable," she added. "If a woman does not drink during pregnancy, she will not have a baby born with FASD." For more information about fetal alcohol syndrome and FASD, please visit the Center for Disabilities Web site at http://www.usd.edu/medical-school/center-for-disabilities/. The Center for Disabilities is an affiliate of the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. About the Sanford School of Medicine The Sanford School of Medicine of The University of South Dakota is the only medical school in the state. U.S. News and World Report ranked the school sixth in the nation for rural medicine in its 2009 guide to graduate schools. After students study basic sciences for two years in Vermillion, they serve a four-week rural preceptorship before completing their two clinical years at clinics and hospitals in Rapid City, Sioux Falls or Yankton. Graduates routinely receive their top choice for residencies due to their hard work and the quality of the medical education they receive. |
| About The University of South Dakota |
| Founded in 1862, The University of South Dakota is designated as the only public liberal arts university in the state and is home to a comprehensive College of Arts and Sciences, School of Education, School of Health Sciences, the state's only School of Law, School of Medicine, the accredited Beacom School of Business and the College of Fine Arts. It has an enrollment of more than 9,600 students taught by 400 faculty members. More information is available at www.usd.edu/press/news.
This material is available in an alternate format upon request. Please contact University Relations at 605-677-5759. If you are a person with a disability and need a special accommodation to fully participate in any university activity or event, please contact Disability Services at 605-677-6389 as soon as possible, but no later than 48 hours before the event, so that appropriate arrangements may be made. |
MEDIA CONTACTS: |
| Phillip Carter |
| The University of South Dakota |
| 605-677-6258 |
| phillip.carter@usd.edu |
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