Red Shoes Rock honors the FASD pioneer – Dr. Robin LaDue – Thank you!
Dr. LaDue’s work opens understanding and created healing.
The award-winning author of the Journey through the Healing Circle books and video, Dr. LaDue has lectured worldwide on the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure and historical trauma in Native American communities, as well as the treatment for and consequences of psychological trauma, including traditional Native methods of treatment.
Dr. Robin LaDue is a retired clinical psychologist formerly in private practice in Washington State. Robin’s grandfather and great-uncles were survivors of the Cushman Boarding School, having been removed from their parents and experienced the horrors of having their hair cut, not being able to speak their language, and losing their culture. This heritage, along with Dr. LaDue’s passion for helping Native women raise healthy babies and addressing the problems of oppression and loss in Native communities, were driving forces in her personal and professional life.
“Dr. LaDue taught us through her writing and teaching a lot of the foundation of how we think about the learning and behavior differences of individuals with FASD. I have learned a lot from her. She is a brilliant, brave, and ethical woman,”
— Deb Evensen
“Journey Through the Healing Circle”
This educational series helps parents and children work with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
Written by Dr. Robin LaDue and Carolyn Hartness (both Native American professionals in the field of fetal alcohol services) and illustrated by Raoul Imbert, these stories present frank, honest information in a way that children and adults find inviting and even entertaining.
Produced by the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services the series attracted national and international attention, receiving and being nominated for several awards as an outstanding educational video
“Journey Through the Healing Circle” is a series of videotapes, video CDs, and professionally illustrated workbooks.
The series is narrated by Native American Storyteller Floyd Red Crow Westerman, who uses animal stories to talk about children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and the problems families face with these effects.
Each character dramatizes the challenges FAS and related conditions present at different stages of life.
Through a storyteller, the series offers frank and honest information in a non-judgmental way. It provides insight and guidance into some of the most challenging manifestations of the brain and metabolic difference for families in all walks of life.
Floyd Red Crow Westerman is well known for his acting role in “Dances with Wolves. In the videos he begins the stories with, “We have gathered here with Grandfather, our Creator, the ones who fly, the ones who crawl, the ones who swim, the ones who walk on four legs, and those beautiful spirits…those who have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol-Related Conditions…who have come to earth as volunteers to teach us what we need to know to heal in our communities”.
The stories tell about a fox named Stays in the Moment, orphaned raccoon twins named Best Day Ever and Little Mask, a teenage bear named Sees no Danger, and a grown-up puffin named Travels in Circles.
This incredible resource by Robin LaDue is available for download
There is SO MUCH more work Dr. LaDue has contributed and we thank her.
A Practical Native American Guide for Professionals Working with Children, Adolescents, and Adults with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
This manual provides an overview of FAS and FASD and attendant culturally appropriate guidelines for professionals working with individuals with an FASD. It is organized by specific domains in chronological order that are addressed by professionals. This work was supported by an IHS grant and administered through the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board.
Robin A. LaDue, Ph.D. Published: 2000, Rockville, MD, Indian Health Service
Published work:
- FASD TRAINING MANUAL available for download at Teresa Kellerman’s website
- LaDue, R. (1993). Psychosocial Needs Associated with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Practical Guidelines for Parents and Caretakers. (Tech. Rep. No. 93-07). Seattle: University of Washington, Fetal Alcohol & Drug Unit.
- LaDue, Robin A. and Tom Dunne Spring 1996. Issues in the Legal Realm, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and the Decision to Decline or Retain The Fen Pen
- LaDue, Robin A. and Tom Dunne Fall 1996. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Implications for Sentencing in the Criminal Justice System The Fen Pen
- LaDue, Robin A. and Tom Dunne Winter 1996. Capacity Concerns and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome The Fen Pen
- LaDue, Robin A. and Tom Dunne Spring 1997 Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Implications for Sentencing in the Criminal Justice System The Fen Pen
- LaDue, R.1999 A Practical Native American Guide for Caregivers of Children, Adolescents and Adults With Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Alcohol Related Conditions Washington DC: Indian Health Service. Order from BC Aboriginal Network on Disability Society
- LaDue, Robin 2000. FAS in the Criminal Justice System FEN Conference in Madison, Wisconsin http://www.comeover.to/FAS/Court/LaDue.doc
Red Shoes Rock 
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