Emmaus Holder traveling cross country for FASD makes a stop in Lincoln

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[June 10, 2021]    On Monday morning visitors to Kickapoo Creek Park got the unexpected opportunity to speak with Emmaus Holder, who is biking across America to raise awareness for, and do research on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.

Holder has been on his bicycle since May 20th, and will be riding from Topsail, North Carolina to Los Angeles, California.

Holder is a sociology major at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. His trek across the country is part of his Morehead-Cain Scholar studies, which is an undergrad equivalent to the Rhodes Scholarship.

Holder is raising awareness and doing research for FASD, not only to further his education, but to bring into focus the number of children that are born annually with FASD. Holder experienced the impact of the disorders first hand through his two adopted brothers. Both born with FASD, they have struggled through life with various issues. Because FASD is not widely discussed, it is a little known and often misdiagnosed disorder that comes with embarrassment for the families as well as the young people who are suffering. Because it is a disorder that comes from alcohol abuse immediately prior to and during pregnancy, Holder says that blame is often placed on the mother for the sufferings of the children. Holder says that isn’t always reasonable because in many cases, the mothers are pregnant without knowing right away.



Holder came into Lincoln Sunday evening to spend the night with the Patrick Hake family. Hake, who teaches Physical Education and Drivers Education at Lincoln Community High School explained that he and his family had met the Holder family about a year ago at an Attachment Camp. The camp is a specialized program for families with foster and or adopted children. Hake said that his family and the Holders became friends at the camp and have stayed in touch.

Holder’s original plan for Sunday was to bike through Champaign and into the Bloomington/ Normal area. He was also riding with the intent of staying over with people he knows or people that are a part of his research. Knowing the Hakes, Holder accepted the offer of an overnight stay and altered his course slightly to ride into Lincoln on Sunday.

Hake said that in addition to raising awareness, Holder is doing research on the topic of FASD and his trek across the country has several ‘zigs and zags’ in it so that he can make those connections. While Hake is not part of the research, as friends of the Holder family, he and his family welcomed the opportunity to shelter the young man for a night.







On Monday morning, Holder rode his bicycle from the Hake home to Kickapoo Creek Park where he would meet up with a Bloomington television station for an interview.





While there he had the opportunity to visit with people in the park and share why he was traveling across country this summer.

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Holder shared facts about FASD such as the information found on his website:

FASD is “America's most invisible disability that is two-and-a-half times more common than autism,” and “FASDs affect five percent of Americans and are largely stigmatized. In Ohio alone, five percent of the population is 584,500 people and that doesn't include their families.”

Information posted by the Centers for Disease Control expand a bit on FASD

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are a group of conditions that can occur in a person whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. These effects can include physical problems and problems with behavior and learning. Often, a person with an FASD has a mix of these problems.

There is no known safe amount of alcohol during pregnancy or when trying to get pregnant. There is also no safe time to drink during pregnancy. Alcohol can cause problems for a developing baby throughout pregnancy, including before a woman knows she’s pregnant. All types of alcohol are equally harmful, including all wines and beer.

To prevent a child from having an FASD, a woman should not drink alcohol while she is pregnant, or might be pregnant. This is because a woman could get pregnant and not know for up to four to six weeks.

If a woman is drinking alcohol during pregnancy, it is never too late to stop drinking. Because brain growth takes place throughout pregnancy, the sooner a woman stops drinking the better it will be for her and her baby.



Signs and Symptoms

FASDs refer to a collection of diagnoses that represent the range of effects that can happen to a person whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. These conditions can affect each person in different ways, and can range from mild to severe.

A person with an FASD might have:

Low body weight
Poor coordination
Hyperactive behavior
Difficulty with attention
Poor memory
Difficulty in school (especially with math)
Learning disabilities
Speech and language delays
Intellectual disability or low IQ
Poor reasoning and judgment skills
Sleep and sucking problems as a baby
Vision or hearing problems
Problems with the heart, kidneys, or bones
Shorter-than-average height
Small head size
Abnormal facial features, such as a smooth ridge between the nose and upper lip (this ridge is called the philtrum)




After visiting with people at the park on Monday, Holder continued on his ride across the country. Holder is riding alone with only the supplies he can carry on his bike. He says that he is riding about 100 miles per day. In total his trek from North Carolina to California including the zigs and zags will be about 4,000 miles. He hopes to be in Los Angeles by mid-July.

Holder has a website with a go fund me account to benefit North Carolina FASD and a link to his Instagram and Facebook pages. To visit that website click here.


[Nila Smith with photos by Patrick Hake]

 

 

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