Fetal Alcohol Nova Scotia (FANS)
Lighting the way for awareness, education, support, and policy change.
What’s Happening…
Our 4th annual conference, Learn, Collaborate, Act was a huge success. Thank you to all who participated.
For those who expressed an interest in helping with FANS, THANK YOU! We will be in touch in the new year to see how your skills can fit into our revised Strategic Plan.
From the team here at FANS, we wish you and yours a very happy holiday season. May it be filled with the joy of family and friends.
…and if you are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant, please remember, there is no safe amount of alcohol for a healthy pregnancy.
And, from our buddy Jeff Noble at fasdsuccess, here are some tips to help you through the holidays!
FANS was well represented at the national CanFASD conference in Toronto. Allan and Reinier pose for the camera. Great presentation Reinier.
We have a winner…!
FANS’ own Reinier deSmit (centre) won an award for his video entry in the CanFASD conference Film Festival. Great heartfelt video about getting diagnosed with FASD as an adult. Congratulations Reinier!
September was International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Month.
Thanks to all who joined us for our first annual FASD Awareness Walk and Flag raising on Saturday, September 6, 2025. We had a good turnout of great people. Our host MLA, Lisa Lachance, NDP Speaker of the House, was joined by her NDP colleagues, Rod Wilson and Lina Hamid. Greetings from Premier Houston were given by The Honourable Leah Martin, who also proclaimed September as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Month in Nova Scotia. Thanks to all who made it happen!
FANS distributed an FASD “Roadmap To Excellence” to the MLAs of the 65th Legislative Assembly as a response to Bill 107
Let your voice be heard!
Tell the Houston government why FASD is a priority!
premier@novascotia.ca Phone: 902-424-6600
…Or meet with you local MLA to start the discussion! https://nslegislature.ca/members/profiles/contact
We need to talk about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)
You know someone with FASD…
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a medical diagnosis for a lifelong, hidden disability that affects the brain and body of people who were prenatally exposed to alcohol.
Individuals with FASD will experience some degree of challenges with their daily living and executive functioning and need support with motor skills, physical health, learning, memory, attention, communication, emotional regulation, and social skills. Individuals with FASD have strengths and challenges and need support to reach their full potential.
FASD is recognized as one of the leading known causes of developmental disability in the western world. It affects conservatively 4% of the population, meaning about 40,000 of Nova Scotians live with FASD. The prevalence of FASD is greater than autism, Tourette’s Syndrome, Down Syndrome, and cerebral palsy combined. Canadian research indicates that FASD is 2.5 times more prevalent than autism alone. (CanFASD, 2018)
There is currently no annualized funding for services for families or individuals with FASD in Nova Scotia.
Want to know more? You have come to the right place. We can help.
Want to receive our informative newsletters? Email us, and we will put you on our mailing list.
fetalalcoholnovascotia@gmail.com
