This Mondays episode Advocating for our Youth "Learning about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder" with Natalie Vecchione, is super important to me! I have such a heart for youth development and when I got connected with Natalie and heard her story I knew that it had to be shared! 
This episode is not just for people who have children or work with them, but for anyone who comes in contact with a child at all! It is so important to know how to properly help and care for youth who may be fighting things we can not see on the outside. 
Even if you believe that you know what FASD is, you should still tune in to hear from someone who has devoted so much time and is so beautifully educated! Gods hand is all over her life, and her story!!

ABOUT THE GUEST:
Natalie Vecchione is an FASD parent advocate, homeschooler, podcaster, but MOST importantly... a wife and mom!

Natalie and her husband, John, adopted both our son and daughter via domestic adoption. They began homeschooling  7 years ago, when they noticed how many accommodations their son needed (who was later diagnosed with an FASD). Their son finally received an FASD diagnosis when he was 15, when he was also hospitalized for Bipolar Disorder...and it was one of the darkest times of her life as a mom. 

In those dark times, the Lord used her brokenness and filled her with the Holy Spirit to use her journey to become a parent advocate and help other families not to feel as alone as she had on her journey. Natalie began advocating for FASD by being a peer support mentor, co-facilitating a parent support group and she was selected to participate in the 2019 North Carolina Exceptional Parent Leadership Conference. She certified in Mental Health First Aid and she has also been a Board- Certified, Music Therapist for 25 years. Recently, Natalie volunteered as a board member and social media coordinator for several North Carolina nonprofits. In April  2020, Natalie began her new adventure in the world of podcasting through producing and hosting podcasts about FASD.... and she became a "Mom on a Mission with a Microphone". In October 2020, Natalie and her husband co-founded their own podcast, website and ministry -  “FASD Hope”. The mission of FASD Hope is to provide awareness, information and inspiration to people whose lives have been touched by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Natalie & her family lives in the farm country of North Carolina (US) with their 6 year-old daughter (who began homeschooling last year) and almost 19 year-old son (who graduated from homeschooling and he is now proudly working part time as a carpentry apprentice and studying online in  computer coding / part time). Natalie is thrilled to begin this new adventure of FASD Hope and the “FASD Hope” podcast series and share awareness, information and inspiration about FASD and serving the Lord through their mission / ministry.

[email protected]
https://www.fasdhope.com/
You can find FASD Hope Podcasts anywhere you find your podcasts.
Instagram - @fasdhope
Facebook - @fasdhope1
Pinterest - @fasdhope1
Clubhouse - @natalievecc

Resources Mentioned in my interview:

FASD Book - "Trying Differently Not Harder: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders" by Diane Malbin 

FASD Organizations-
NOFAS   https://nofas.org/
Proof Alliance   https://www.proofalliance.org/

FASD Training-
FASCETS   https://fascets.org/
Indiana NOFAS (1 hour webinars about FASD)   https://indiananofas.org/
FASD 101 Traiining Webinar Link-
https://indiananofas.org/training-webinar-fetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorder/

Families Affected by FASD (FAFASD)   https://fafasd.org/

ABOUT UNMUTE YOUR MIC:
This is a space for people who have a story, for people who are tired of being silenced, and for people who are ready to inspire others with the things they have overcome.
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