Malcolm Gorrill
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Jan 18/02) - The Inuvik FAS committee is planning to take part in several training initiatives over the next few months.

The Beaufort Delta Education Council is to have a training day on fetal alcohol syndrome for all teachers and teacher assistants.

A symposium is taking place in Yellowknife in March, training doctors on diagnosing FAS.

The Inuvik FAS Committee hopes to send some people to a Western Canadian FAS conference in Whitehorse in May.

Working with public health, the committee also hopes to soon obtain some 'live dolls' for teenagers to borrow.

Committee member Francene Ross explained the dolls come with a computer, with the idea being to simulate caring for a real baby.

"It has a computer printout so it knows when you leave it alone, if you don't change it, if you don't do things with it," Ross said.

"They have dolls that come with various levels of insistency."

Ross, who is also special projects health promotion employee for the Inuvialuit Regional Corp., explained dolls can be programmed to simulate a baby affected by FAS.

"That is a teaching tool for teenagers, like how would you deal with this.

So we're going to try to work that in with public health, 'cause they go around and do quite a bit of educating for the youth."