As debate rages over a youth crime wave in Alice Springs, those on the front lines say this major issue can no longer go 'hugely neglected'.
It's an underdiagnosed condition, known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder .
Accepting referrals from families, schools and doctors, they've swiftly grown into a multidisciplinary team of 11. The school has also worked to provide ongoing, wrap-around support to these students through their Happy Heart Hub – a therapeutic team established at the school in early 2022."Because with a lot of our kids, whether it be FASD, or any other health issues, it's only going to help us understand them a lot better."Researchers estimate up to 2 per cent of the Australian population lives with FASD but the true figure remains a mystery.
"So it's really important that we're having conversations about neurodevelopment in the context of a trauma experience." "There are also fly-in-fly-out fee-for-service providers who can go to remote communities, but it's quite expensive," she said.Additionally, Congress can only provide care to First Nations children, meaning non-Indigenous children have to fly out of Alice Springs for diagnosis and treatment.
"And we need to support women to make informed choices about having babies at the time of their choosing – that's adequate contraception and access to basic medical care."and for better education around drinking while pregnant. "When a young person enters the youth justice system they do receive an assessment, however we are looking at how we can make assessments more available," she said.However the NT Government has repeatedly rejected returning to alcohol bans, arguing they are "race-based" policies.
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