Jemma Walton met a woman who has adopted three children with learning disabilities after their mum drunk alcohol while pregnant with them.

ALI and Barry McCormick's lives changed forever when their 10-year-old daughter jumped out of her bedroom window one night.

She was fine – in fact the first they knew about it was when a neighbour knocked on the door to bring her home.

"Jade and a friend had been talking about how they wanted to go to Australia," said Ali. "But while her friend forgot all about it and went to sleep, Jade wanted to go that night.

"So she jumped out of her window, wearing just her nightie, with no money or anything.

"She told us that she was going to smuggle herself on to a plane and fly out there – but would have come back five days later as we were going to Center Parcs and she didn't want to miss out on that.

"It was then that we realised that she really was different from other children, that she really did struggle with the real world, and how she should behave in it.

"That night was the night we realised that although she can seem so mature in certain situations, she is also capable of doing something like that. She needs our care and attention all the time, and that isn't going to change."

Jade wasn't like most other 10-year-olds, and a year later she isn't like most other 11-year-olds. She struggles to separate fact from reality, and will probably never be able to live a life away from Ali and Barry.

And this is because her mum drank alcohol when she was pregnant with her.

Jade has Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), which can cause immature behaviour, poor judgement, hyperactivity, poor problem solving skills, and abnormal facial features, such as a flat mid-face, short nose and a small chin.

It is more common than Cystic Fibrosis, Down's syndrome, spina bifida and muscular dystrophy put together, and, unlike these conditions, it is 100 per cent preventable.

Ali and Barry, of Brookfield Way, Bury, near Ramsey, know what life is like if it isn't prevented – if a mother does drink during pregnancy – because they have adopted three kids suffering from it.

"I had adopted twin boys with behavioural problems when I was in my 20s," explained Ali (48). "They had been neglected as babies, but with love and care they turned out fine. They are lovely men now in their 20s, and they work for barristers and solicitors.

"My marriage broke down and I met Barry, and he didn't have any children. I couldn't have any more biologically, and so we decided to adopt.

"By a miracle the woman who helped me adopt the twins picked up my application to adopt another child – she had moved councils and just happened to pick my request up. She knew I could deal with difficult children, and so she recommended that we adopt Jade."

Jade had been through a number of foster families. She was naughty, had trouble bonding with people, and problems sleeping.

"We were told that her problems probably came through being passed from family to family," said Ali.

Continues on next page... on further pages: Support group for parents and Factfile: Foetal Alcohol Syndrome