Thelma Vincent
Thelma Vincent, advocate and educator, is President of Alberta’s Fetal Alcohol Support Society, http://www.fassalberta.ca/contact.php, a parent-driven nonprofit organization for persons and families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Born in a ‘little log cabin’ in 1936 on a farm, the eldest of 7 siblings, she is the single mother of two children, now successful adults, with a successful granddaughter. While Thelma lived in the North West Territories, she adopted two 5-yr old Inuit boys who were subsequently diagnosed with fetal alcohol damage. One of them was severely affected by mental health problems. Finding little understanding of this disability she began searching for information and methods of dealing with the behaviors resulting from it. Her search continues. She continues to be hampered by the lack of information, insufficient incorporation of new research and lack of funding for services and supports, which she finds barely exist in forms in which these are needed.
