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OPINION Mental illness comes in a variety of forms and it is not a subject that is often talked about easily. Having said that, it is important to every com- munity that mental health services are readily available for those in need. In Halton Hills those services are provided by the North Halton Mental Health Clinic, which has locations in both Acton (19 Willow St. N.) and Georgetown (93 Main St. S.). There is also a clinic serving north Halton in Milton. Tomorrow (Thursday) the North Halton Mental Health Clinic celebrates 30 years of providing this community with quality, community-based men- tal health services. The North Halton Mental Health Clinic has been providing free, accessible mental health pro- grams and services through dedicated employees and partnerships with other local health care providers for three decades, said Regional Chair Gary Carr. Halton Region is proud to be able to offer this service particularly as our population continues to grow, especially in the north. Last year the clinic provided services to more than 3,000 people in north Halton and of those, more than 1,000 received ongoing support from clinic staff. It takes a special kind of individual who is able to offer help to someone suffering from a mental illness. We are lucky in north Halton to have three local centres with such competent and dedicated staff. Anyone who has mental health concerns or knows of someone who does should talk to a fam- ily doctor to discuss whether a referral to the clin- ic is needed. For more information on the North Halton Mental Health Clinic visit the Halton Region web- site at www.halton.ca. Local clinics celebrate milestone The Independent & Free Press is published every Wednesday and Friday at 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown Ont., L7G 4B1. It is one of several newspapers published by Metroland Media Group Ltd. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with reasonable allowance for sig- nature will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the acceptable rate. In the event of typographical error advertising goods or services at wrong price, goods or ser- vices may not be sold. Advertising is merely an offer to sell which may be withdrawn at any time. Editorial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Price: Store copies 50 each; Subscriptions $26 per year by carrier; $92.50 per year by mail in Canada; $130 per year in all other countries. Plus G.S.T. Second Class Mail Registration Number 6869. The Independent & Free Press is a member of The Canadian Community Newspaper Association and The Ontario Community Newspaper Association. Steve Nease THE INDEPENDENT & FREE PRESS LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dear editor, While I was delighted to see infor- mation on preventing fetal alcohol syn- drome in your paper (Wednesday September 26), I would like to add some information. Fetal alcohol syndrome is only one of the diagnoses caused by alcohol consumption during pregnancy and accounts for only 10 per cent of affect- ed children. The most common diag- nosis is alcohol related neuro-develop- mental disorder which shows none of the physical signs mentioned in the article (abnormal facial features, slow growth, damaged internal organs) but all diagnoses share the most important effect from pre-natal alcohol consump- tion which was not mentioned: brain damage. And while these disorders account for more cases of cognitive disabilities than any other single disorder, most of the children have IQs in the normal range. Their problem is that they are unable to make good use of this IQ due to the brain damage which causes such issues as an inability to under- stand cause and effect, problems com- prehending abstract concepts such as ownership, time and money, and behaving much younger than age or IQ would suggest. Many of these children are misdiag- nosed as ADHD (attention deficit dis- order), ODD (oppositional defiant dis- order) or bipolar, because some of the behavioural problems look similar. FAS and ARND come under the rel- atively new umbrella term FASD which stands for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. Fetal Alcohol Effects or FAE (not EAF as mentioned in the article) is no longer used as a diagnostic term. There is no known safe time or amount to drink while pregnant, and you do not need to be addicted to alcohol to cause FASD. Binge drinking has been found to be the most damaging to the fetus. For any parents, foster parents, grandparents or other caregivers who suspect their child may have a FASD, or who have a diagnosis, I urge you to contact me at shiona.watson@sympati- co.ca so I can put you in touch with resources, in particular The Guelph FASD caregiver support group, which meets once a month, in downtown Guelph. Shiona Watson, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Education & Advocacy The dangers of drinking while pregnant are many Letters to the editor must include an address and daytime telephone number. Unsigned letters will not be published. Letters should not exceed 200 words and may be edited for content and/or length. Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1 E-mail: jmcghie@independentfreepress.com Something bugging you? Publisher Ken Nugent Advertising director Steve Foreman (sforeman@independentfreepress.com) Retail advertising manager Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@independentfreepress.com) Managing editor John McGhie (jmcghie@independentfreepress.com) Distribution manager Nancy Geissler (distribution@independentfreepress.com) ADVERTISING Advertising co-ordinator Jennifer Christie (jchristie@independentfreepress.com) Retail Sales: Jennifer Spencer (jspencer@independentfreepress.com) Andrew Key (akey@independentfreepress.com) Amy Sykes (features@independentfreepress.com) Real estate: Sue Spizziri (realestate@independentfreepress.com) Classifieds: Kristie Pells (classified@independentfreepress.com) ACCOUNTING Rose Marie Gauthier, Michelle Wimmer EDITORIAL Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@independentfreepress.com) Ted Brown: Photography (tbrown@independentfreepress.com) Lisa Tallyn: Staff writer (ltallyn@independentfreepress.com) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/sports (emaher@independentfreepress.com) PRODUCTION: Mary Lou Foreman, Kevin Powell, Shelli Harrison, Dolores Black, Debbie MacDougall STAFF DIRECTORY Send us a letter! Phone: 905-873-0301 Fax: 905-873-0398www.independentfreepress.com Dear editor, The Acton Branch of the Canadian Cancer Society had the pleasure of hosting the annual Guelph/Act- on/Wellington Unit volunteer appre- ciation night recently. The Acton Legion was chosen as the location and on behalf of our Acton branch I would like to thank the legion and the legion ladies for providing such a nice dinner and helping to make our evening such a success. I would also like to express sincere thanks to the group, B2D with Anne Mcintyre, who enter- tained both before dinner and follow- ing the award ceremonies. How for- tunate Acton is to have such great local talent and how generous of them to volunteer their musical gifts which were greatly appreciated. The people of Acton continue to support our Acton cancer branch and the turnout of more than 80 guests, both local and from various areas of Wellington, confirm that. On behalf of the Acton branch of the Canadian Cancer Society, I would like to express our gratitude. Pat Kentner, publicity rep, Acton branch, Canadian Cancer Society Support for Acton branch appreciated Dear editor, Thank you to the Good Samaritan who patiently waited in their car on James Young Dr. last week. You realized I was a senior on a step ladder changing a light bulb above my garage and you drove off only after I was safely back in my home. Marie Brasseur, Georgetown Good Samaritan thanked for watching out for senior 6 Independent & Free Press, Wednesday, November 14, 2007 More letters page 7