Foetal alcohol syndrome: Drink destroyed my lifeMatthew Verity was the first child in Britain to be diagnosed with foetal alcohol syndrome. As he reaches 30, Tanith Carey hears his remarkable story
Published: 11 September 2007
Lists are how Matthew Verity gets through the day. From the moment he wakes up, he uses notes pinned up around his flat to remind him what he needs to do to get dressed, to make breakfast, to leave the house. Yet another list is needed negotiate his way around the supermarket. Starting at the bread counter, he puts each item in his basket in exactly the same order each time. Once, when his local Morrison's changed its layout, Matthew was so overwhelmed he left without buying anything.
This week, Matthew will turn 30. As he struggles to live on his own, he is painfully aware how different his life would have been had his birth mother sought help for her binge-drinking.
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