OLD TOWN – A teen-ager who suffers from fetal alcohol syndrome is on a mission to alert others to the hazards of drinking while pregnant.

Born with learning disabilities as well as physical and developmental problems because of the alcohol her mother consumed while she was pregnant, the 16-year-old girl is part of a team that travels to schools in the Greater Penobscot County area.

Working with Bette Hoxie, director of Adoptive and Foster Families of Maine, the girl helps facilitate a workshop called “Good Choice, Bad Choice, No Choice! Stop to Think Before you Drink.”

The pair discusses the effects of alcohol and drugs on a developing fetus, talks about good decision-making skills and advises young people not to drink and to either abstain from sex or use protection.

The real point is that FAS is preventable, according to Hoxie, who said there is no safe level of alcohol use during pregnancy.

FAS is the leading cause of mental retardation, according to Hoxie, who said it results in a pattern of physical, mental and behavioral abnormalities, including skeletal defects, stunted growth and speech and hearing impairments.

Children with FAS are born with fewer brain cells and may be diagnosed with attention deficit disorder or hyperactivity.

They typically exhibit poor judgment, and are unable to control their impulses or understand cause and effect. And they are at greater risk of criminal activity and substance abuse.

In Maine each year, approximately 33 children are born with FAS and about 660 are born with Fetal Alcohol Effects, where they have some FAS characteristics.

But those numbers aren’t necessarily accurate, since some children aren’t diagnosed until they are in first grade, said Hoxie, who has adopted several children with FAS.

The lifetime cost of delivering services to one child with FAS ranges from $596,000 to $3.3 million, she said.

Sharing the frustrations and challenges she faces daily, the teen-ager’s testimony resonates with students, according to Hoxie.

“I know about how a parent feels,” said the AFFM director. “But she really walks the walk.”

School is a constant struggle, according to the girl, who wants to remain anonymous.

Poor grades kept her off the track team and student council, she said, and homework takes “forever.”

Funded through a grant from the Maine Community Foundation and the Penobscot Valley Health Association, the program is in its second year.

Although she applied for program funding the first time, Hoxie said the grant was offered this year without solicitation.

“That was powerful for me – it speaks to the need of the community,” she said.

“It’s an issue that should be discussed,” said Bev Cullins, school nurse at Katahdin Middle and High School in Sherman.

“You can read about [FAS] in textbooks, but to actually see its effects and be able to discuss it with someone who has experienced the end result has much more of an impact,” said Cullins, whose ninth-grade health class participated recently in the workshop.

The session appears to have made a difference for one couple.

After listening to the presentation, a pregnant teen-age girl and her boyfriend stopped drinking and using drugs. The baby was born drug and alcohol free and shows no signs of FAS, according to Hoxie.

To request a presentation at your school, call 827-2331 or 800-833-9786 or email to affm@aol.com.