Southern Arizona Online, a publication of the Tucson Citizen

Coraggios

Ann (left) talks about the pain in her life that caused her to drink during pregnancy.

After educating himself about FAE, Scott can identify with her problems.
"I think there's a lot of people who have it who don't even know they have it. My mother drank heavily and did drugs. I always struggled in school, and had attention deficit problems. I sort of relate to this," he said.
The Coraggios worry about their daughter's future.
"We don't know whether she's going to be able to live on her own," Ann Coraggio said. "We've talked with Beacon Foundation about getting her in a job-training program."
They talk to Roberta about drinking and birth control.
"My main concern is pregnancy," said Ann. "We'd like to get her implants, or something she doesn't have to take every day. The bottom line is we don't want a pregnancy. She'd have a very hard time taking care of a baby."
They also worry about alcohol devastating Roberta's life.
She's already tried drinking once. "It messes with your brain," Roberta said of the experience. "It made me throw up and pass out."
They've also warned her about some of her friends, whom Ann calls "troublemakers."
"She has a lack of judgment, and she makes very poor choices," she said.
Roberta has been in trouble once. "I was hanging out with a girl who was shoplifting and she blamed it on me," she said. "She stole stuff from a discount store - mousse, hair spray, gel, a toothbrush, and she got me in trouble for it."
Ann, who stopped drinking 12 years ago, lives with guilt over her daughter's disability.
"It's because of my drinking that this happened," she said.
"But it's something that happened in the past. It's over and done with. And she's still a lovely young lady."

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