A critical link: The role of Social Workers in supporting children and families towards and beyond a FASD diagnosis

Attracting close to 600 registrants, the FASD Hub’s webinar ‘A critical link: The role of Social Workers in supporting children and families towards and beyond a FASD diagnosis’ highlighted the importance of social workers in improving outcomes for people with FASD and their families. 

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a lifelong disability caused by exposure to alcohol before birth, and is the most common preventable non-genetic cause of developmental disability in Australia.

People with FASD can have a range of challenges with physical activities, language, memory, executive function, learning and behaviour.

Social workers are often the first to identify individuals and families who are at risk of FASD, and play a critical role in supporting people with FASD – and their families – before, during and after the assessment and diagnosis process.

In this webinar our speakers covered what FASD is, how it is diagnosed and classified, the role of social workers in supporting people with FASD and at risk of FASD, and how people with FASD can thrive when strengths are recognised, their needs are met, and they are appropriately supported.

It is a must-watch for any social worker looking to become more FASD-informed.

A big thank you to our speakers:

• Professor Elizabeth Elliott, FASD-expert, researcher-clinician and Chair of the FASD Hub
• Dr Kerryn Bagley, Senior Lecturer in Social Work and Social Policy at La Trobe University
• Ms Julia Perl, Senior Social Worker at the CICADA FASD Service in Sydney.

To view more webinars, head to our Videos Hub.