Hanlon-Dearman, MD, FRCPC, A.

English

University of Calgary Journal Hosting

REVIEWS • 347of international relations theory could find this book prob-lematic, as Young does not explain what he means byregime theory, but merely cites briefly the major literatureon the subject. Even readers familiar with regime theorywill not necessarily find a clear explanation of how Youngunderstands that concept. Young accepts the most commondefinition of a regime posed by Stephen Krasner (1983:2)as the “sets of rules, decision-making procedures, andprograms that defined social practices,” but he missesseveral opportunities to demonstrate fully how the specificdevelopment of AEPS and BEAR is best explained by suchan approach. For example, he has little to say about theparticipation of the international indigenous organizationsthat play a key role in the activities of the AEPS, treatingthese groups as mere observers. Yet one can argue that theirfull participation on all of the working groups and the taskgroup of the AEPS is an important new contribution to thedecision-making process and represents a new social prac-tice. Hence their inclusion is an important factor in thedevelopment of the new international Arctic regime. Youngalso does not consider the different understandings ofsustainable development that have developed among thevarious actors involved in the AEPS. When the AEPS wascreated, for example, the government of Canada attemptedto expand the definition of the term “sustainable develop-ment,” in marked contrast to the position taken by theUnited States government. As the AEPS was developed,major disputes arose over which definition would be re-flected in the composition and mandate of the workinggroups. Thus, Young missed an important opportunity toexplain how a common understanding of sustainable devel-opment was reached. Such an account would have been animportant addition to our understanding of the importantrole that ideas play in regime formation.Another critique is that Young focuses on the role of theEuropean states, to the exclusion of Canada. He appears togive almost total credit for the creation and work of theArctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP)to the Norwegian participants. The reality is that much ofthe success of the working group may be attributed toCanadians and, in particular, to the work of David Stoneand his colleagues in Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.The key role of Canada and Canadian participants in thecreation of the sustainable development task group is alsonot mentioned.Young’s inclusion of BEAR as his second case studyalso illustrates his focus on European politics. A bettercase study for this book would have been the ArcticCouncil. Since in many ways the Council continues andfurther develops the regime created by the AEPS, it wouldhave provided both a more interesting and richer examina-tion of regime formation in the polar region and insightinto the importance of Canadian participation. Young’sneglect of Canadians is also shown in his failure to men-tion Mary Simon, the first Canadian ambassador ofcircumpolar relations and the first Inuit to hold an ambas-sadorial position in Canada or the United States.In short, this book contains some useful insights on thedevelopment of both AEPS and BEAR, but it does notmeasure up to Young’s usual standard of scholarship. Byfocusing on the role played by European officials andignoring the actions of the Canadians, the author presentsonly a partial picture of the formation of the two organiza-tions. He also misses the opportunity to explore the role ofnongovernmental actions in international regimes, and toexpand the theoretical understanding of regime theory.REFERENCEKRASNER, S., ed. 1983. International regimes. Ithaca, New York:Cornell University Press.Rob HuebertDepartment of Political ScienceUniversity of Calgary2500 University Drive NWCalgary, Alberta, CanadaT2N 1N4FANTASTIC ANTONE GROWS UP: ADOLESCENTSAND ADULTS WITH FETAL ALCOHOL SYN-DROME. Edited by JUDITH KLEINFELD, with BARBARAMORSE and SIOBHAN WESCOTT. Fairbanks: Universityof Alaska Press, 2000. xviii + 424 p., bib., appendices,index. Softbound. US$20.00.Alcohol has been identified as a teratologic agent inpregnancy since biblical times. However, identification ofa specific constellation of features in the child is relativelyrecent. Some have attributed the first description of therelationship between alcohol consumption and subsequentbirth defects to Dr. Paul Lemoine and his colleagues inNantes, France. In 1968, they described a group of 127children born to alcoholic mothers with what is now afamiliar constellation of features: unusual facies, increasedfrequency of malformation, psychomotor disturbance, andgrowth retardation. In 1973, Jones and Smith, in theLancet, made observations on the “Fetal Alcohol Syn-drome.” Over the last 30 years, a plethora of studies andobservations in the scientific literature have establishedthe toxic relationship of alcohol and pregnancy.Prevalence studies have become more and more dis-heartening, despite public health and policy efforts. Whileoriginal incidence of FAS/E (fetal alcohol syndrome/ef-fects) is commonly identified as 1 – 3 per 1000 births inNorth America, it is increasingly clear that in some com-munities, those figures are many times higher, even up to9 – 10 per 1000 live births, or one affected child in every100 pregnancies.What is equally clear is the social reality of many ofthese children, whose homes are marked by poverty, sub-stance abuse, and social chaos. Many children, and in348 • REVIEWSsome areas most of these children, enter the foster caresystem. The challenges of their behaviors, social skills,and educational needs mean that many of them also expe-rience recurrent placement breakdown, moving from onefoster care placement to another.Almost a decade ago, Antone was written about by hisfoster mother Sally Caldwell in Fantastic Antone Suc-ceeds! (1993), an edited volume containing chapters writ-ten by psychologists, teachers, researchers, and parents ofalcohol-affected children. This book arose from his moth-er’s need to identify the grassroots challenges of raising achild affected by alcohol, and to respond positively andwith advocacy to those challenges. The book was writtenfor lay people, parents of children affected by prenatalexposure to alcohol, and professionals. Above all, it waswritten to support a loving and informed community re-sponse to the many children like Antone who experience arange of sensory and behavioral vulnerabilities that presentunique challenges to their caregivers. At the time, therewere few parent groups or support networks, and evenfewer advocacy bodies prepared to identify these chal-lenges to medical professionals, educators, and legislators.In year 2000, Antone has grown up. He is weatheringadolescence, but, as written in the Foreword (p. xiv), hismother worries: “So far, one foot rests securely in thevalue-directed world of his family, his school, and reli-gious community, but the other taps to the luring rhythm ofcorruptions that are within his reach.” This book attemptsto draw together the community of people who remainaffected by alcohol through their stories and experiences.These were written by the children, grown and growing,and by the caregivers, parents, and professionals who helpthem negotiate the adult world, which is never routine,often unsafe, and always changing. The book is dividedinto three parts. The first part chronicles successful inde-pendent living of young adults with FAS/E, from their ownperspective and that of their families. We hear how thefamilies create for them their “external brain.” The secondpart describes community strategies aimed at helping theseyoung adults negotiate their way through the educational,legal, and social systems. Finally, the third part exploresthe grassroots movements that provide mentorship to theindividuals and support to their families, tying together forus what is learned through the “wisdom of practice”approach taken throughout the book.This approach is not purely descriptive. It has evolvedfrom a theoretical construct developed by Judith Kleinfeld,Professor of Psychology at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks,who pioneered the idea of “wisdom of practice” studies.The construct has evolved to recognize and respect the“wisdom of experience of parents and other people whowork with FAS/E” (p. 1) and provide a qualitative basis forthe formation of grassroots theories of practice.Most importantly, this book recognizes, as all parentsmust, that children ultimately learn to negotiate their ownrelationship with the world. Each individual account de-scribes the experiences of negotiating home, work, andinterpersonal relationships. These descriptions supportthe development of stable and nurturing communities forchildren who are now at an age to venture outside therelative protection of their own families and negotiate theunpredictabilities of the outside world. Furthermore, thebook offers each separate experience with respect for thewisdom it provides. As Caldwell writes, “Antone’s battlewith FAS is different from mine, and I have learned it isbest not to confuse the two” (p. xv).The ongoing challenge to many people with a disabilityis to convince their community of their real abilities. Theeditors write: “Our purpose in this book is to undermine anaccepted but destructive myth – that people with FAS/Edon’t have a chance of getting a good job or of living ontheir own or of going to college” (p. 4). This secondvolume challenges us as individuals, communities, andsociety: Can we recognize and support the abilities ofpeople who have been affected by alcohol? Can we see theworld through their eyes and, as a supportive family andcommunity, support and celebrate their place among us?Can we recognize the deficits in our own communities thatcontinue to allow high levels of poverty and despair,depriving people of choices, encouraging individual andcommunity alcoholism? Can we stop the cycle of separat-ing children from their birth parents, bouncing them fromplacement to placement, and then punishing those childrenfor their “behaviour”?This book was written for parents and children livingwith FAS/E, to acknowledge their struggles, to supporttheir choices, and to celebrate their victories. All theroyalties from this book go to groups that support childrenwith FAS/E and their families. The book is also for profes-sionals in health care, social services, and education whoprovide guidance and support to those individuals andtheir families, and who can work with them to developpolicy initiatives that support healthy communities. Fi-nally, this book is a pointed reminder to all of us. One in100 children is affected, and every one of those 100 adultswill be shaping our future. This book is for each and everyone of us.REFERENCESCALDWELL, S. 1993. Nurturing the delicate rose. In: Kleinfeld,J., and Wescott, S., eds. Fantastic Antone succeeds! Experiencesin educating children with fetal alcohol syndrome. Fairbanks:University of Alaska Press. 381 p.JONES, K.L., and SMITH, D.W. 1973. Recognition of the fetalalcohol syndrome in early infancy. Lancet 2(7836):999–1001.A. Hanlon-Dearman, MD, FRCPCChildren’s HospitalChild Development ClinicCK253-840 Sherbrook StreetWinnipeg, Manitoba, CanadaR3A 1S1

Fantastic Antone Grows Up: Adolescents and Adults with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, edited by Judith Kleinfeld, with Barbara Morse and Siobhan Wescott

https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/download/63877/47812

Fantastic Antone Grows Up: Adolescents and Adults with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, edited by Judith Kleinfeld, with Barbara Morse and Siobhan Wescott

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

University of Calgary Journal Hosting