Page 1725 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 9 May 2018

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what we need. We just need to do it. I call on the government to provide this vital service.

FASD is a lifelong disability that is 100 per cent preventable yet common enough to pose a significant burden on our society when left undiagnosed. Today I urge this Assembly to call upon the government to look after our young people in Bimberi. Every person, including a person with FASD, has the right to health, education, employment, quality of life and happiness. For the sake and safety of our entire community, let us find out what our young people in detention really need and then make sure that they get it. Madam Deputy Speaker, I commend this motion to the Assembly.

MR RATTENBURY (Kurrajong—Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, Minister for Justice, Consumer Affairs and Road Safety, Minister for Corrections and Minister for Mental Health) (5.29): I would like to thank Mrs Kikkert for bringing this motion to the Assembly today. Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, or FASD, is an important issue both in our juvenile detention system and in the broader community. I agree with the intent of Mrs Kikkert’s motion and I am proposing an amendment that commits to further work in the space. Let me speak to some of the details of that amendment.

As members may be aware, the effects of FASD are lifelong and can vary considerably from person to person. There is a lack of accurate data about the prevalence of FASD across all population groups, but there is general agreement among researchers and practitioners that rates are underreported. Because it often goes undetected, it is sometimes referred to as the invisible disability. Because of the complexity in detecting and diagnosing FASD, we suspect there are many children and young people whose condition goes untreated, and these children can experience significant social disadvantage as a result.

Unfortunately, many of the impairments associated with FASD can easily be misattributed to other causes, which is why the condition is so hard to detect. Some of these impairments include development delay, low IQ, poor language and communication skills, poor memory and short attention span, and poor judgement and an inability to understand cause and effect. These are just some of the long list of potential issues that can be caused by FASD. The range of impairment is quite broad because the effects of brain damage caused by foetal alcohol exposure can manifest in many different ways.

Another challenging aspect is that many of these characteristics will not be apparent at birth, with the exception of specific facial and growth factors that are only seen in a minority of cases. For most people with FASD it is unlikely to be noticed until the child reaches school age and their behavioural and learning difficulties become more apparent. The flow-on effects for many of these children are not just medical but also social. Many will experience issues at school, involvement in the care and protection system, reduced self-esteem and depression, problems with alcohol and drugs and involvement with the justice system.


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