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A word from the Chair

This issue is testament to the huge amount of work and effort that

is happening all around Aotearoa to help educate and raise

awareness of FASD. This effort is being pushed along by parents,

caregivers, and professionals alike. It is good to see. FASD-CAN

has also been advocating hard and engaged with this Government

a lot this year. We have met with Rt Hon David Clark (Minister of

Health) to discuss having FASD included in the Disability criteria.

This meeting sparked further invitations with ministry staff and we

attended a cross-agency meeting in September. Further to this we

met with the MoH Deputy Director General for Disabilities, Adri

Isbister. We are fortunate to be supported at these meetings by

Paula Tesoreiro (Disability Rights Commissioner) and Judge

Andrew Becroft (Children’s Commissioner). However, while it is a

very positive step to be advocating for change at this level, we were

reminded at this last meeting that the wheels turn slowly. Next

steps following this meeting are yet to be finalized but we will be

sure to keep our membership informed when we have the agreed

actions and outcomes documented.

It has been a busy year and enquiries (either direct or through our

web site) are growing. These enquiries range from parents seeking

some support to service providers wanting to learn more asking for

information and training. It is a good sign that awareness is increasing, however, FASD-CAN is

still run entirely on voluntary effort so we limited in what we can offer. We would like to think that,

sometime in the not too distant future, we will be in a position much like Autism NZ where we are

Government funded. We live in hope – after all, we are good at that!

Wishing you and your whanau a peaceful, love-filled festive season.

Kia kaha, Claire.

THE NETWORK NEWS FASD-CAN Incorporated December 2019

In this issue: • • •

• Matua Raki Pilot

• Neuro Diversity

Workshop

• Gisborne in the

news!

• Wellington

Workshop

• Mandatory

Labelling

• Meet Lana!

• Support Groups

in Aotearoa

• Christchurch

workshop

• CREATE

Fostering

Australia

Conference

• Proof Alliance

Conference -

Minnesota

• Claiming tax

credits for

donations

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Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Pilot: Introduction to FASD for

Frontline Professionals

By Anita Gibbs

Matua Raki (Te Pou) were contracted by the Ministry of Health to implement Action 6 of the

FASD Action Plan - Enhance the ability of frontline professionals to recognize and respond effectively and

compassionately to people with FASD and other neurodevelopmental impairments. (From

https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/fetal-alcohol-spectrum-

disorder/fetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorder-fasd-action-plan-activities).

In 2018, Dunedin and Kaitaia were chosen as pilot sites. In my roles as University researcher and

caregiver of youth living with FASD, I was able to participate in the preparatory workshops and

training events in Dunedin. The Matua Raki staff visited Dunedin for two days in August 2018 to

gather information from key Dunedin professionals about what they already knew about FASD

and what they needed in terms of their knowledge and skills around FASD-informed practice. We

have an NGO which specialises in Addictions and Counselling services and they have been

FASD-informed since the mid-2000s and they are the driving force to increase good practice in the

City. They led a strategy group which then encouraged well over 100 front line professionals to

actively participate in the subsequent one-day workshops in April 2019.

The strategy group worked with Matua Raki to ensure a full range of professionals from

Corrections, Oranga Tamariki, Health and Disability providers were able to take part in one of 4

one-day workshops. Staff at Matua Raki incorporated co-design features, which involved families

with lived experience of FASD, as well as, key informants and professionals who already were

highly knowledgeable in best practice around FASD and strategies that work. Matua Raki

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developed a core document entitled FASD Essential Strategies: A Resource for Frontline

Professionals and an accompanying E-learning module – both available from

https://www.matuaraki.org.nz/initiatives/fetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorder-fasd/190.

The one-day workshops in Dunedin had mostly professionals in attendance, though there were

some caregivers who doubled up and I chipped in as a caregiver as and when. I believe in Kaitaia

there was a more even balance of professionals and caregivers. It goes without saying how vital

the caregiver voice, as well as that of the person with FASD voice, is in any frontline training. The

material covered in the workshops explored alcohol use in pregnancy, FASD as a disability,

primary and secondary conditions, and promoting positive practice and action for people with

FASD and their whānau. There were some excellent resources and exercises, and highly engaged

and frank discussion amongst workshop attendees. An evaluation of the usefulness of the

workshops is underway but I was left with the impression that most participants valued the

learning for the day, and that what was on offer would assist them to be more FASD-informed.

My impression is that Matua Raki/Te Pou plan to apply for funding to continue to train frontline

professionals around New Zealand. I have given them feedback on their materials as have a

number of FASD-CAN committee members and other members. My overall feeling from

Dunedin, at least, was that the introductory level content was appropriate and informative, and

the activities enhanced learning. There were 100 professionals from a large range of agencies who

were keen and they noted they had learned a great deal. Having seen a number of them as a

service user since I can tell you they are wiser but they could do with continued ongoing updates

and lots of support from their managers to implement FASD-informed practice.

Neurodiversity Workshop, Wellington August 2019 By Kirsty Strong

FASD-CAN was sent an invitation to a workshop around neurodiversity – this was really positive

to see that they recognise the organisation and were requesting our presence. This day was

organised by the Ministry of Education and Werry Workforce Wharaurau. The purpose of the day

was to increase awareness of, increase participation with, and increase responsiveness to

family/whānau needs when planning for and delivering services of support to their children.

Lyne Tinkler, Claire Edwards and myself, Kirsty Griffith attended the day. We were invited to

have a table of information to share with other participants. We gathered together resources we

had and collated a flyer with links to useful websites and resources, and of course FASD-CAN

pamphlets.

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A variety of speakers shared information, including Associate

Minister of Education, Hon Tracey Martin who opened the

workshop. She spoke of feedback from across the country

through the Education Conversation and the changes ahead

for our education system including the Learning Support

Delivery Model and the roles of Learning Support

Coordinators.

Dr Elizabeth Doell spoke of early communication and the importance of relationships between the

child and whanau, school and whanau. Dr Katie Weastell shared her research around parents

living with children with ASD and the challenges they face. In her summary she stated, ‘Caregiver

strengths should be recognised and celebrated’. Dr Andrew Marshall gave a brief overview of

ASD diagnosis and management, referring to the ASD Living Guideline, published by Ministry of

Health, New Zealand. The whole afternoon session was dedicated to the new draft resource for

parents ‘A Good Start’ this has come from the disability action plan, 2014 – 2018.

http://www.enablinggoodlives.co.nz/

https://www.odi.govt.nz/nz-disability-strategy/other-initiatives/enabling-good-lives/

Red Shoes Rock – raising awareness in Aotearoa New Zealand 9th

September 2019

The red shoes concept is the ‘brain-child’ of RJ Formanek who is an adult with FASD. He wanted

to create a visual impact with his audience and start conversations about FASD, the idea of

wearing red shoes was born as a symbol to raise awareness.

The 9th minute of the 9th day of the 9th month traditionally marks the moment of FASD reflection as

it makes its way around the world’s different time zones. That means Aotearoa is always the first

to kick it off. Various events were held around the country to raise awareness and honour our

loved ones living with FASD.

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Gisborne 9.9.19

FASD hit the news in Gisborne with Taiawhiti FASD Community Action Group organising an

innovative youth poster competition to raise local awareness of FASD in their community.

Schools were given fact sheets and entrants then had to design a poster which incorporated “tapu

whilst hapu” to highlight the importance of alcohol-free pregnancies.

Prizegiving was held at Tairawhiti Museum. Winners received both individual prizes and prizes

for their school. Artwork also went into the local newspaper.

Winner of Intermediate Category, Arianna

Kupenga-Tamarama, aged 10

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Winner of 18-25 category, Sophie Roseman,

age 18

Winner of High School category, Toby

Roseman, aged 16

Runner up High School, Aiden Scragg, age

15

Thank you, Gisborne, for raising awareness of FASD in Aotearoa in such a unique

way!

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FASD-CANs Annual Workshop Wellington

I heard about the FASD-CAN Annual Workshop and thought I probably couldn’t go, as you all

know how full on life is. Luckily my friend who I met about a year ago, Leanne (whose daughter

has FASD) lives one street away. She was keen to go – so what the heck – we got on that big bird

to Wellington.

We arrived in the morning with our red shoes ready to rock and roll just as it was starting.

We were welcomed with a lovely karakia from Keriata Stuart. We were tired but, as soon as she

started talking, I felt her empathy, strength and understanding; It was a lovely start.

Next up Claire Gyde welcomed us and made us feel welcome. I

was aware of all these people’s names but had never put the

face to it, so it was great to feel her knowledge and

compassion.

Dr Valerie McGinn did a talk about the diagnostic process and

how best to decipher the results. My twin girls were diagnosed

very early on in a different process, so this was good

information and awareness about diagnosing tools and

procedures they use. I was really interested in the way that

people in jail are being assessed and felt glad things were

changing and giving these human beings the help they need

and deserve. I was saddened though that money is a big part of

being able to be assessed and that only a few clinicians have the skills and training to carry out

this pivotal part of someone’s life, that can get them the intervention they clearly need.

We had a lovely morning tea and myself and Leanne met a super cool lady called Shazza. We

were all on different roads in this journey but we had something massive in common – so the

bond was immediate.

Next up was Sarah Goldsbury from Gisborne. She had a lovely nature about her and introduced

us to Te Ara Whakamana: Enhancing the mana of tamariki with FASD. She is so passionate and

wants to help as many people as possible with a wonderful model you can incorporate into any

population but it works brilliantly with Māori people as it uses those stories and legends they

have grown up with and relate to. They feel empowered when times are so incredibly tough and

draw strength from their ancestors and gods – so they feel there is a belonging and they can relate

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their emotions and strengths, to these stories, to help them cope, regulate and be understood by

others. Many people in the audience were interested in Sarah’s model.

We then had a Q&A and it was an emotional question time. People struggling and their quality of

life is so incredibly hard with hardly any support. Also the hot topic was about it not being a

disability. One lady stood up and told her heartbreaking story – no money, lost the house, the

family, and finally the child she had worked so hard to help and protect. There was not a dry eye

in the house. The unfairness was palpable. That was one of many stories that brought up a whole

host of emotions.

The Disabilities Commissioner – Paula Tesoriero spoke next. She had been feeling poorly but she

soldiered on and wow - what a speech. She was so passionate about helping people with FASD

and to keep on keeping on, so that in time it will be recognized as a disability. How we as a group

can keep charging ahead and fight for what is legally our right. She told us a bit about her life and

how determined she is. She was awe inspiring. She lifted our spirits and it was good to know she

has our back.

After lunch Harsh Vardhan, an OT, spoke to us about sensory processing and the Alert

Programme, which is a toolbox for kids with FASD. He spoke about being overloaded and how

one thing one day could be the catalyst to the explosion and then the next the same thing wouldn’t

have an impact. It was looking at regulation and strategies to cope.

We had another Q&A and this got everyone talking. There are so many intelligent, empathetic

and capable people there trying their absolute best for all these children and adults. I was so

impressed.

Kayleen Katene from Ministry of Health spoke next about FASD Action Plan. Well the crowd

came alive for this! It was at the end of the day and I felt people were upset as we weren’t being

listened to. There was a sense of a dismissal of the absolute magnitude of what is happening in

our country with children being born with FASD. Every family there has struggles daily. When

there is no recognition of how affected the whole community is at having to bring up these human

beings from birth, toddlers, kindy, school, jobs, housing, jails, etc, together with not having the

MOH on board, it’s very disheartening. The gigantic problem staring right at them with brightly

lit warning signs is being ignored and that’s hard to tolerate. I understand she is one person

representing MOH but she was talking to us as a group about something she is meant to be

leading. I thought the audience was fairly restrained considering the emotional journey we live

every day. She said they had made progress with the Action Plan but that part finished in July.

9

Last but not least was Judge Tony Fitzgerald – the patron of FASD-CAN. He talked about the

youth courts and how they are changing for the better and how FASD is being recognized slowly

but steadily. He was very passionate and emotional as he spoke. He recognized the hard slog

everyone is going through and continues to go through but he said it’s not all doom and gloom

and that people who have a say in how the country does things are starting to sit up and take

notice. He sees first-hand what is happening with our people and how awareness and

intervention is playing a part to help people in the criminal system cope and be better informed. It

was super seeing a judge talking about his great knowledge of FASD and spreading the word in

our country and around the world.

And that was a wrap. It was a day of learning, listening and understanding. We met lovely people

and went out with some other parent/caregivers for dinner and had a laugh and a chat after an

emotional day. The people there were so interesting and funny. Leanne and I had a great time and

so did Shazza. We were so glad we made the effort.

Many thanks

Beckie McNiven

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Pregnancy Warning Labels

It’s been a long haul but it looks as if we are getting close to getting pregnancy warning labels on

alcohol products in New Zealand and Australia. Although industry has been voluntarily labelling

some alcohol products for a few years, the uptake has been patchy, the pictogram small and the

wording mainly a watered-down version (Drink wisely…). So now the government agency

responsible for developing labelling rules is recommending that alcohol products must have a

warning label (see below).

Proposed label:

Consultation has recently closed and FASD-CAN made a submission, along with other NZ health

and consumer organizations. Of course, the alcohol industry also did, so the next steps will be for

the agency to weigh up the responses and make a recommendation to the Ministers responsible

for food regulation in Australia and New Zealand. This is expected to be completed by the end of

this year. If the recommendation is endorsed industry is likely to have 2 years to comply with the

labelling requirement. Fingers crossed!

Leigh Henderson

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Meet Lana!

Lana struggles at school and is years behind her peers academically. Despite this she receives

little to no help. As her mum I have decided now that she is 15 to try and get her out and about as

much as possible. When I saw on a scouts Facebook page that there were 2 spots left for the next

Spirit of Adventure voyage, I signed her up and to our delight she was accepted. We only had 2

weeks to prepare Lana and we constantly talked her through what was going to happen on board

the ship. Lana was extremely anxious - so initially I went on board with her and she settled

quickly.

She enjoyed the challenges that the voyage presented to her and attempted everything that came

her way!

She only managed to jump off the boat once as she

said it was too cold and she could not breathe.

She did climb the mast and rowed the dingy to

shore where she helped to plant 700 trees on Great

Barrier Island. She survived a week away but

forgot about personal hygiene and was not

reminded about wearing her hat and her head

was blistered from sunburn. The voyage was

great for her confidence!

Lana has been out to a friend’s farm helping to milk the cows.

My hubby reckons dairy farming as a helper could be a great fit

for her as it is the same routine every day. She said that she

enjoyed her experience there and would do it again.

Speedway is also a passion of Lana’s and this is her swinging on her

dads 1000c Yamaha sidecar. (These bikes have no breaks and go about

109kms on a small round dirt track)

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Lana enjoys croquet lessons each week.

As we are worried about her future, we have been proactive in

seeking out work experiences for Lana she has had practical

experience working in a café and a local pizza place. The sad thing

is that they never ask her back.

My key to raising Lana is - I don’t have a life. I need to stick to the

same routine every day of up at 6.30am and bed by 7pm. This

routine must be followed even at weekends and during holiday.

Tanya.

Christchurch Workshop

On Saturday 2nd November there was a workshop held here in Otautahi (Christchurch) for parents

& caregivers supporting someone diagnosed or suspected foetal alcohol.

Anita Gibbs and Ann Donkin are both parents with children diagnosed as FASD so have hands on

experience and some amazing information, insights, tips and resources.

All of those who attended had children of a variety of ages.

One of the first things we were shown was a video that many of us found very enlightening and I

recommend any person supporting anyone with FASD view it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3753eblUv0

There was lots of discussion time and both Ann & Anita shared many of their personal

experiences, both positive and negative.

Tracey Jongens, who organised the workshop, also shared some of her experiences with the

education sector, which many of us find frustrating….no answers but the feeling of not being the

only one frustrated by schools was certainly a relief. Tracey told us how little education trainee

teachers get hence how difficult they find supporting & teaching a child with FASD…. they as

trainees are taught to teach one way and there lies the problem. Tracey also gave us an update on

what FASD-CAN are up to and what they are trying to accomplish on our behalf.

Tracey also introduced us all to Gythlian Loveday who plans to help set up a support group here

in Otautahi. Gythlian also shared some of her challenges and adventures while on this journey.

Everyone present shared many different experiences, things to try and ideas/ resources.

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One of the best was a program from Spark for cellphones where you can keep an eye on your

young person and what they are viewing on-line as well as a tracking feature. It can work both

ways so the young person can also see what you’re doing, hence good role modelling and not a

feeling of not trusting them. This does cost but well worth the expense.

(Trend Home Network + Maximum Security Combo $360)

We were all given a little brown bag with some resources in it which was lovely, thanks Tracey,

these were awesome.

It was great to sit with other people who “got it”, they knew what it is like to live with FASD in

the home, the frustrations of the education system, the justice system and just community life as

well. Everyone could speak openly and comfortably, which was so awesome.

Other useful links:

https://www.inclusive.tki.org.nz/guides/fetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorder-and-learning/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/FASD.waka/ (South Island facebook group)

Michelle Boardman

Create Foundation – Voices in Action Conference Melbourne

Thanks to a post on FASD-CANs website, I applied for a sponsored place at the CREATE fostering

Australia conference for my 13yr old home4life child. She was selected, along with 4 other NZ

children in care to attend at Melbourne zoo on 14-16 November 2019.

VOYCE NZ paid for her airfares and conference fee. Thank you Voyce! Due to her being under 16

I also had to go, not too much of a hardship!! Except, that is, for the $900 conference fee, which I

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paid plus my airfares & our accommodation. So not a cheap excursion but we made a wee holiday

out of it and enjoyed our time in Melbourne.

For those who attended the Fostering NZ conference in Auckland recently, the young man who

spoke so well about his part in lobbying government through the support of Voyce, he was also in

the Nz delegation at the zoo. Once a child in care himself, Tupua is now a paid worker at Voyce

with what I’d guess will be a very bright future. During the weekend I managed to have a chat to

Tracie Shipton, Voyce CEO, who set the organisation up and really mentored Tupua and the other

young adults. To learn more about them you can go to voyce.org.nz but basically they are an

‘Independent body working to create meaningful change in the care system as envisioned by

children in care.’ Voyce are planning a summit in Wellington in 2020, so keep an eye on their

website if you are interested.

The zoo was a wonderful venue for the event as we were able to wander freely between

workshops. There were kids only workshops doing song writing and also cartoon drawing with

Dean Rankine, who draws Bart Simpson in the comic books. The main topics were discussed and

presented by a host of Australian organisations - you can look them up on www. Create.org.au.

The Nz care system was included and addressed by Oranga Tamariki’s general manager, Kiri

Milne and Transition Support Service Manager, sarah Ashton. Also Nicola Atwood, assoc

professor at Otago university. Voyce did a wonderful presentation about who they were with

Tracie doing the intro and leaving the youths to present the information. They closed with a

wonderful waiata which had the audience clapping and cheering with vigour!

The topics were way over a 13yr kids head so we spent a lot of time over the three days checking

out the zoo. The highlights of the conference for me were hearing from care experienced young

people who had made a success of their lives, despite early hardships. I would have liked there to

have been a workshop based on work being done for kids in care with FASD.

Of great interest was create founder, Joseph McDowell’s query - ‘why, according to statistics,

children in care are showing worse outcomes than ever before, despite more services being

offered?’.

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I was so proud of NZ!!! While other speakers voiced tribute to indigenous people as caretakers of

the land, the kiwis demonstrated their respect by speaking in Te Reo & performing a great

waiata 👍👍👍 Ka pai!

Milli Lovell

Proof Alliance Conference November 2019 – Anita Gibbs

I managed a short trip to chilly Minnesota (-12 C) for the 8th Proof (aka MOFAS) Alliance

conference 6-8th November, held at the Mystic Lake Casino conference centre. I avidly avoided the

Casino area.

The conference was attended by around 350 North Americans and me (not kidding they found my

accent hard to get!). I was there to give a talk on caregivers needs and support groups. There was a

pre-conference symposium on the social determinants of health and their impact on and

intersection with FASD. Hence, there were conversations about healthcare, housing, educational

status, employment, race and ethnicity, and social status as they linked to FASD and who gets

diagnosed or not. One take away message from Pre-conference was the need to try and get a team

around your child – a group of supporters, including professionals regardless of how irritating

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they might be – make then work for your child (my advice is tell them you are gonna train them to be

FASD-informed if they appear to not know what FASD is). Another message was to get your young

person themselves to identify what helps and what strategies they use – get them to collect these

in a notebook or via photos or record them on voice memos. Teach your young person to tell

others they have a disability and have rights associated with this. Message 3 – always assume

there are many factors impacting who gets diagnosed and who gets support to reduce their

drinking while pregnant and ask ourselves ‘how come many middle-class and professional mums

are known to carry on drinking during their pregnancy but their kids don’t seem to get a

diagnosis of FASD – they might get ADHD or ASD or nothing. Clinicians in particular need to

identify their ‘biases’ in assessing, diagnosing, and providing interventions. In the USA one

speaker said they used ‘implicit bias screens’ to get professionals to check out their unspoken

biases to people of diverse and different backgrounds, e.g. different ethnicities, different

educational backgrounds, different sexual orientations, different mental health experiences, and so

on. Also, biases against birth mothers who disclose they had been drinking during pregnancy –

we need to help women feel safe and not ashamed when they do disclose.

Actual conference (Day 2): This day started with Anita sleeping in through the alarm and missing

the first keynote – I heard he was good LOL – time difference to Minnesota was 5 hours and the

night before I had been trouble shooting my lad going missing again while I was out of town (he

does that EVERY time I leave Dunedin). I went to sessions on caregiver supports, why language

matters, Drs speaking about alcohol use in pregnancy, promoting equity in education, and got to

hear the amazing life story of Dr Don Bartlette (look him up on google – has FASD, got a PhD,

abused in care, subject to racism and discrimination). There were so many highlights including

having ice-cream while it was freezing (minus 9) outside. Highlights: on the caregiver front the

emphasis was on self-care (yawn yep like how); somehow making the time to look after self

because you and your family will only flourish if you attend to some of your own needs and find

ways to destress and relax (yep I laughed at that thought but I can tell you that I always relax

more when I am at least 3 hours by plane away from my gorgeous lads). I loved a slide on the

word ‘overwhelmed’ – the slide had a picture of a brain and caption saying ‘my brain has too m

tabs open’.

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From: https://medium.com/@sheworksinthelibrary/what-to-do-when-your-brain-has-too-many-

tabs-open-2dae2510178f

The session on Drs being more FASD aware in terms of their advice to pregnant women,

reminded me of facts that most of us already know – there’s no safe limit, alcohol causes

significant harm as the foetus develops, prevalence is high (c. 5% in USA), older, college-educated,

white women have a high continued alcohol use in pregnancy, yet their offspring do not appear

so much in who gets diagnosed, and that no-one chooses addiction.

The session on Equity in special education was great. The speaker used really positive language

and emphasised that ‘normal’ is a social construct and that it’s therefore not fair for schools to

always be trying to teach our kids to some strange ideas about what is normal. (And by

implication if our kids fail that normal test they are in some way deficient). The speaker said

education must be needs-based, as well as, ensuring accommodations for our children’s

behaviour, because so often that behaviour is related to their disability, as well as others’

intolerance of that disability. People who are neuro-diverse do not need to be cured; we need to

provide education that accommodates; education that enables skill development, learning and

success.

Day 3 – final. Julie Kable spoke about the extensive range of research on interventions for FASD –

her emphasis was on early intervention, which of course means we need more early detection and

diagnosis – especially where we have information from maternity and medical records about pre-

natal alcohol exposure. These children need to be tracked from birth Julie said. Julie gave many

examples of research, in fact so many I couldn’t keep up with her. I downloaded her slide show –

email me anita.gibbs@otago.ac.nz if you want a pdf copy. She overviewed interventions on parent

needs, social skills, academic skills, self-regulation, personal safety etc. She did remind me that

18

social learning principles can be applied but only if a child/youth is in a calm state. Getting them

to that and keeping them there is a HUGE challenge as most parents would attest. Kable has

developed her own programme GO FAR (Focus and plan; Act and Reflect training).

I had to attend my own session of course - Supporting caregivers of children and youth with

FASD – and I was lucky enough to have a whole hour as well as a packed house – daunting!

Thankfully, it went really well and I met some awesome parents/caregivers as a consequence.

Some great strategies were shared with each other – one couple had 7 kids with neuro-disabilities!

They operated an awesome regime – concrete, no-nonsense, entirely applying the 8 magic keys -

https://www.fasdoutreach.ca/resources/all/0-9/8-magic-keys, as well as having wraparound

supports in place. In fact, professionals described this family as a one-family specialized group

home that was more successful than any form of out of home care. This confirmed to me that we

the caregivers are still the best for our kids but that we continue to need significant resources to

help us implement best practice and in NZ we don’t yet have these resources.

The final session I went to was also focused on caregiving – a little too good to be true at times but

it was a timely reminder to ‘every so often’ to try and rethink our parenting mindset and to see

areas where we might get stuck in our parenting and need some help and to attempt to free

ourselves from being fixed on outcomes for our kids (success at school; success in hobbies; success

in relationships and so on). The speaker asked us to choose process goals for our kids that build

on strengths and building resilience. And of course, once again the basis for this would be self-

care and being OK with your kids and your best efforts. Of note, was that the speaker did NOT

say we must endure what we cannot possibly endure if it destroys our mental health – abuse and

violence is not acceptable and this is a decision many of us are challenged with – when is the time

to say we cannot cope with the stress we are enduring because systems fail us and our kids?

So, all in all, an interesting conference if somewhat All-American. It was hosted by Proof Alliance

who are in their 20th year – they have 15 paid staff for a State roughly the same size as NZ and

they have a strong prevention message alongside supports for families and actions. They run

diagnostic clinics and programme and research and an annual conference they have MONEY to

do this, we are not anywhere near this possibility.

Did you know……..you can claim a tax credit when you make a donation

Recent improvements to the myIR Secure Online Services make it easier for you to claim a tax credit

when you donate to FASD-CAN (or other charities). If you are registered for a myIR account, you

can upload the receipt provided by FASD-CAN in myIR at any time. We provide an electronic

receipt to make this easy for you. This means you won’t have to complete a paper form at the end

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of the tax year. IRD will automatically calculate the credit and pay it into your bank account within

three weeks.

FASD Support Groups in Aotearoa NZ

Last year we have seen the formation of local FASD support groups in several locations, some for

parents, some for professionals and some joint. There are now groups in Auckland, Whanganui,

Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch and Dunedin.

If you would like more information on the support groups, please contact either

Claire Gyde claire.gyde@fasd-can.org.nz Lee Tempest lee.tempest@fasd-can.org.nz

The FASD-CAN committee Claire, Lee, Leigh, Anna, Valerie, Lyne and Gythlian would like to

wish you and your whānau a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Thank you for your

continued support it is very appreciated.

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