Name:Myrna
Daniels
Occupation:gas
station clerk
Has a daughter, Dana, 7yrs old diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)
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Counselor Ben:How has this week been for
you?
Myrna:I
have been really thinking about doing something for my daughter.She
is having problems at school.I’ve seen that
poster for that therapy group, Taking Flight, for children with FAS, and I
wanted to know if you knew anything about it.
Taking
Flight
Where:Johnson
Conference Room in the
That same day.
(In Myrna's house, Myrna's mother, Agnes is in the kitchen making brownies with Dana.)
Agnes:Heeyyy.Dana, get your fingers out of the brownie mix!Wait until I pour it in the pan before you go and try and lick the bowl.
Dana:But, Grandma, it tastes so good, and you’re too slow.I couldn’t wait anymore!
Agnes:(Agnes sighs, but smiles at
Dana’s munchkin face.)Well, you can pour it in then, cuz
I greased the pan up good.I’ll help you.
Dana:NO! I wanna do it myself!I’m a big girl now, I’m seven ya know.
Agnes:Well, at least let me hold the bottom, I’m gonna help you cuz that is the biggest batch of brownies I ever made, and if that glass bowl falls, it will be a mess, and then your mom would yell at both of us.
Dana:(laughs hard)That would be funny!
Myrna:(opens the kitchen door)Hey you two, watcha makin’?
Dana:Mom’s HOME!
(Dana lets go of the bowl to run to her mom, and Agnes is forced to make a quick recovery before it falls to the floor.)
Agnes:Heeyyy noowww!!!That’s exactly what I was just talking about!Oh, that girl is gonna make my hair turn white.
Dana:(Giggles)But it’s already white Grandma.
Agnes:(Agnes smiles at her granddaughter and daughter.)My hair is only a little gray Dana!And don’t you forget it!(Dana giggles)Dana and I were just making brownies for dessert tonight.I thought I’d make hamburger soup with corn on the side for Dana.We will have it a little early tonight, so you can get to your AA meeting.
Myrna:That sounds good, Mom.
Dana:Awww, Mom, I wanted to show you Sparkie’s kittens tonight.Do you have to go to your stupid meeting?(Pouting flops onto a kitchen chair).
Myrna:You know I have to go cuz they make Mommy feel better.
Dana:Are you still sick?
Myrna:Well, sort of, I go to these meetings so I don’t get really sick again.So I have to keep going for a really long time.But we can go look at Sparkie’s kittens before I go, kay?
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(Agnes and Myrna are sitting at their kitchen table, late at night)
Agnes:Dana was sent home with a note from
her teacher saying that she refused to go with the Reading Specialist.It
also said she hit a little boy in class because he called her a “stupid cootie”when she couldn’t read the
teacher’s words on the board.(Agnes gives her daughter a knowing look.)
Myrna:(Frowns)I don’t know what else I can do for her.The school has a part time volunteer that works with
Dana personally but then the other kids tease her because she gets special attention.She is always behind and she doesn’t play
well with the other kids because they make fun of her so much.(Myrna pauses)I
was up at the college today, and I saw those posters Eunice was talking about.That Taking Flight group; you know the one I’m
talking about?
Agnes:Yeah, I’ve seen those down at the Shop Stop.The one group about alcohol and kids.(She pauses and waits for Myrna to finish her thoughts.)
Myrna:I think I’ve been avoiding that group counseling because Eunice is such a bossy know-it-all who likes to rub my nose in it.But these last few weeks I’ve really felt like everything has been too much for me.I am at the end of my rope.I think I’m going to go to that meeting Thursday night with Dana.They have a playroom for the kids while the meeting goes on.
(Agnes sips her tea and nods in agreement)
Agnes:I think that it is good that you are going with Dana.What changed your mind?
Myrna:When I went to my AA meeting, I talked with Ben about that Taking Flight group, and he said that he knew the woman that headed that program.He said that she had adopted her sister’s baby when her sister died in a car accident.The baby has FAS, and she wanted to organize and share the stuff she has learned.Anyways he said she knew what she was talking about.She even talks sometimes over there at the clinic as a guest speaker.I just never had time to see her.
Agnes:Maybe the time wasn’t right to see her then; maybe the time is now.
Myrna:Yeah, but still you don’t have to mention it to Eunice right away, okay?I hate it when she has that “I told you so” look.
Agnes:(smiles) She has been like that since birth I think.Did you hear your other cousin down south got married?
Myrna:(Looks up in surprise)Who?Darren?NO way!!!!!!He is justa baby……..
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LINKS
Mental and Social Health Problems related to FAS, FAE