#117 Rhonda & Shawn: How to love someone with FASD who’s hurt someone

The FASD Success Show

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Tigger Warning: Incarceration, Suicide, Trauma, and Sexual Assault

This unique episode has some critical information about how systemic barriers and failures can result in adverse outcomes for individuals with FASD. We will leave the detail for the episode, but we want to give you a general idea about the content.

First up, I want to thank Shawn for being brave and vulnerable in sharing his story. Rhonda also has my deep respect for supporting and loving him through this process, while also recognizing the impact and harm on the victim.

Rhonda has worked in the child welfare system for 30 years. She was first introduced to FASD in her personal life when she provided respite for Debbie and Bill Michaud (both former podcast guests). Eventually, she raised 8 individuals (most with FASD) and supported a variety of their friends and family along the way, which is how she came to know Shawn.

My hope in sharing Rhonda and Shawn’s story is that caregivers will gain valuable tips for supporting vulnerable individuals. I also hope it shines a light for professionals on what can happen where there is no diagnosis and no access to informed services. When we assume a person “looks normal and talks normal”, we put them into situations where they can fail. When they fail, someone gets hurt. They get charged and the charges can be serious. Now we are left with families in ruins where the failure was in fact not the individual, but systemic from years and years ago.

There have been some hard lessons in Shawn's story but there have been some silver linings. No matter what happens in Court, we hope that Shawn and his victim find healing.

Show Notes:

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