Great News Story: Police officers mentor children with fetal alcohol disorder

WATERLOO REGION — Matthew Colombo dreams about being a police officer.

That’s because the 11-year-old Elmira boy has a role model he hopes to emulate some day — Const. William Hand.

“Follow your dreams. Don’t let anyone stop you from your dream,” said Colombo, a Grade 6 student at St. Teresa Catholic school in Elmira.

Colombo first met the traffic officer about 18 months ago when his mother walked into the Elmira detachment of Waterloo Regional Police Service. She was looking for a role model for her special-needs son.

Then began what has blossomed into Reach for It! — a program involving recreation and education and mentorship for children and youth living with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Police officers are their mentors.

Colombo was diagnosed with the illness when he was six. He also has autism.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is caused by alcohol exposure during pregnancy, said Karen Huber, project co-ordinator at Lutherwood.

The illness impacts the brain, resulting in brain damage. Some of the characteristics associated with the children and youth include poor social skills, impulsiveness, and difficulty with abstract thoughts and cause and effect, Huber said.

Matthew’s mother, Lisa, approached Lutherwood with the idea for the program and the agency gladly took it on, offering administrative support, space and expertise on the illness.

“Lisa is good at planting seeds,” said Huber, who hopes to receive funding for the program.

Some of the programs organized for the youth, who range from five to 18, have included building Lego, and visiting the Steckle Heritage Farm and a local museum. The youth are paired up with an officer and, to date, there are 47 police officers participating in the program.

The next session — a cooking program — is scheduled at KidsAbility in February. All the programs are free.

Huber said the connection with the police officer is positive and the youth learn not to be afraid.

“The police can also learn about them,” she said.

Hand, a father of two young children, said he’s honoured to be involved with the program and said he and Colombo have become buddies.

“More and more people are discovering children with FASD are undiagnosed and there isn’t a lot of support for them and their families,” he said. “I saw an opportunity to help.”

Hand said the program allows “for a positive interaction with law enforcement now and hopefully it will pay off in the future.”

“We can follow these kids as they grow up,” he said.

Huber said the connection with the police officer is positive and the youth learn not to be afraid.

“The police can also learn about them,” she said.

Hand, a father of two young children, said he’s honoured to be involved with the program and said he and Colombo have become buddies.

“More and more people are discovering children with FASD are undiagnosed and there isn’t a lot of support for them and their families,” he said. “I saw an opportunity to help.”

Hand said the program allows “for a positive interaction with law enforcement now and hopefully it will pay off in the future.”

“We can follow these kids as they grow up,” he said.

Huber said youth with the disorder can get in trouble with the law and the program gives the children and teens a different view of a police officer.

“It’s less of a repressive view of police and more of a helping hand,” Hand said.

Both Hand and Colombo hope the program spreads to other police services. To date, Halton Regional Police has also started the program.

For Lisa Colombo, the mentoring with a police officer has been life-altering for her son.

“Constable Hand has transformed our son,” she said.

“FASD is often misunderstood and misdiagnosed. It is complex to diagnose,” she said.

“My goal is to have more students involved and one day this will grow into communities across Canada,” Colombo said. “We need programs like this to make the children feel successful and pass time constructively.”