This ethnographical study provides a better understanding into the daily lives of adults with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), it demonstrates how mentorship can increase their quality of life and finally it provides recommendations on how to best support them. FASD is a life-long disability that diminishes a persons cognitive and adaptive functioning. In this study, adults with FASD and their mentors were interviewed at the CUMFI (Central Urban Métis Federation Inc.) Wellness Centre, a mentorship program for individuals with cognitive disabilities in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to determine the adults need for support, what supports were received, how effective that support was and how to improve the support. This research was approached through critical ethnography and the result is a call for social change to help individuals with FASD. The CUMFI Wellness Centre is an effective mentorship model that could be used to design other mentorship programs for adults with FASD across the country. In this study, it was determined that the adults with FASD involved in the mentorship program at the CUMFI Wellness Centre had increased self-esteem and a better quality of life. Mentorship can help adults with FASD to find housing, buy groceries, receive community supports and maintain a healthy lifestyle which will help them function better in society. Support and mentorship provides safeguards to decrease the likelihood of adults with FASD ending up on the streets, in jails, hospitals and treatment centers. We must respond to the needs of these individuals and their families and provide supports for them. It is ethical that we do so as these individuals were not responsible for their cognitive disability from the prenatal alcohol to which they were exposed. It is practical and cost-effective to assist this population so that they can healthy and productive members of our society.

This ethnographical study provides a better understanding into the daily lives of adults with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), it demonstrates how mentorship can increase their quality of life and finally it provides recommendations on how to best support them. FASD is a life-long disability that diminishes a persons cognitive and adaptive functioning. In this study, adults with FASD and their mentors were interviewed at the CUMFI (Central Urban Métis Federation Inc.) Wellness Centre, a mentorship program for individuals with cognitive disabilities in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to determine the adults need for support, what supports were received, how effective that support was and how to improve the support. This research was approached through critical ethnography and the result is a call for social change to help individuals with FASD. The CUMFI Wellness Centre is an effective mentorship model that could be used to design other mentorship programs for adults with FASD across the country. In this study, it was determined that the adults with FASD involved in the mentorship program at the CUMFI Wellness Centre had increased self-esteem and a better quality of life. Mentorship can help adults with FASD to find housing, buy groceries, receive community supports and maintain a healthy lifestyle which will help them function better in society. Support and mentorship provides safeguards to decrease the likelihood of adults with FASD ending up on the streets, in jails, hospitals and treatment centers. We must respond to the needs of these individuals and their families and provide supports for them. It is ethical that we do so as these individuals were not responsible for their cognitive disability from the prenatal alcohol to which they were exposed. It is practical and cost-effective to assist this population so that they can healthy and productive members of our society.

This research study examined mothers’ experiences of gaining access to services following the death of a baby through stillbirth or a neonatal death. An exploratory research design was used to conduct applied research into the said topic through the use of a semi-structured interview schedule. The research sample consisted of fifteen mothers, all having lost a baby within the last five years to stillbirth or neonatal death. These mothers were met in propinquity and the interview schedule was conducted with them. The findings were analysed and presented both quantitatively, by means of percentages and graphs, and qualitatively, by means of themes and sub themes. The research was particularly relevant in that it is estimated that between three and five percent of all pregnant mothers in South Africa will lose their babies to a stillbirth or neonatal death every year. For this reason it is essential that adequate and quality services be offered to these mothers to prevent complications in their grief. The study conducted by the researcher focused on the accessibility of quality hospital, religious, formal and social support services to bereaved mothers following the death of a baby through stillbirth and neonatal death. The researcher then discussed, in detail, the literature informing the study. The discussion of the literature, as outlined by the researcher, was set in a logical progression – beginning with a discussion on grief, the grief process, dysfunctional grief and models of grief, then moving onto a discussion of the grief following the loss of a baby and maternal grief predictors. The theory ended with a discussion on the services, particularly hospital services, religious services and formal services, available to bereaved mothers. The researcher then presented the findings of the study, drawing comparisons between the literature and the empirical findings where relevant. Conclusions and recommendations were then formulated and presented. The researcher firmly believes that the research conducted holds the potential of providing significant practical suggestions to the functioning of the services that are available to bereaved mothers. / Dissertation (MSD (Play Therapy))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted