A service offering public support and insight into a misunderstood brain injury has been introduced at Whakatū Te Korowai Manaakitanga Trust.
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a permanent disability caused by prenatal alcohol exposure and can affect comprehension, behaviour, judgement calls and education.
Trust manager Robyn Parkes, who has some personal experience with FASD, describes it as often being an “invisible disability” and says in Whakatū (Nelson) there was limited support for whānau, and people “fall through the cracks”.
She says the trust successfully tendered for a contract through the Māori Health Authority to introduce an FASD support service and was granted funding from the organisation to do so earlier this year.
The funding made way for the trust to appoint clinical psychology student Libby Norgate as its FASD navigator.
Libby, who lives at Motueka and has personal experience with FASD, says people with the disability can be isolated and because it is not a registered disability in Aotearoa, there is a lack of support.
“The outcomes I’m hoping to achieve is for people with FASD, or caregivers and whānau who support the person with FASD, to feel less alone in their journey because it can be very isolating,” she says.
“A lot of the time FASD can be put down to things like ADHD and BPD, can get swept under the rug and they don’t get the help they actually need.
“Getting a diagnosis is key but within Aotearoa it can be hard to get a FASD diagnosis. These are completed by a clinical psychologist; we do have a paediatrician in Nelson Hospital who can diagnose. Unfortunately, it is very expensive.”
Libby says she also planned to provide education to young people about the dangers of alcohol consumption while pregnant.
She also encouraged people to attend a free two-day FASD course for caregivers and whānau, presented by FASD-CAN with support by the trust, called Life with FASD. The event will be held at Pūtangitangi Greenmeadows Centre in Stoke on 10 and 11 November. If interested, contact Libby at 0272507248 or go here to register.
