'FASD Informed' Specialist School

somersetmiracles
Sep 20
4 min read

For those supporting children and young people with complex presentations of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and overlapping Complex Needs.

This course is designed for professionals working in specialist settings: Teachers, Teaching Assistants, SENCO's, Therapists, Administration & Reception, Dinner Staff, Care Staff, Volunteers, Technical Support, and Direct Student Support working in independent / specialist schools or colleges where we provide tailored training to differentiate the needs of the children you support.

"FASD is the most severe of the neurodevelopmental disorders in terms of its far-reaching impact on functioning. The number of children with FASD generally out-numbers those with ASD in all school settings, with many children who have FASD remaining undiagnosed and potentially misunderstood."

Consultant Psychologist Dr Cassie Jackson

Our 'FASD Informed' School Stage 4 programme offer's bitesize sessions tailored to your timetable, where we can adjust the time to suit your team in or out of School hours or on inset, where you can dip in and out at your pace:

FASD Informed™ School Stage 1: What is Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder?….. with no assumptions, all professionals starting at the same place at a gentle pace; we consider the damage of the brain and nervous system and how this impacts learning

FASD Informed™ School Stage 2: Interpreting theory into practice, processing speed, transitions, sexualised symptoms, hyper-fixation, perseverance, confabulation, differentiating the curriculum, providing strategies to consider to support the spectrum; digging deeper into the practical considerations with case study reflection.

FASD Informed™ School Stage 3: Understanding the needs of carers & parents, vicarious trauma, adapting practice to plan to meet short and long term needs. Supporting Child Protection, Safeguarding, CIN, Team around the Family and SEND meetings; good practice in getting support from a wider multi-agency team.

FASD Informed™ School Stage 4: FASD NICE Quality Standards, OFSTED good practice informing 'FASD Responsive' Practice; personalised care, risk assessment, safeguarding, reflection and case management; forward planning.

'FASD-informed practice' acknowledges the need to see beyond an individual’s presenting behaviours, to consider symptoms and to ask.....

‘What does this child need?’ rather than ‘What is wrong with this child?’

We dig deep to tune into the child/ren that you support where we tailor our programme around the child/ren's individual needs. We offer practical application of educational & therapeutic strategies to support the indoor and outdoor classroom where we tune into the central nervous system damage of children who have been exposed to alcohol in the womb.

FASD continues to be a frequently misunderstood condition, those who are not appropriately trained or knowledgeable can often make inaccurate 'assumptions' due to the fact that many individuals with FASD can superficially present as more able than they actually are, due to their spiky cognitive and neurodevelopmental profiles.

With up to 428 co-occurring neurodevelopmental conditions common to FASD, spanning across 18 of 22 chapters of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) -10. The most prevalent disease conditions include congenital malformations, deformities, and chromosomal abnormalities, mental and 'behavioural' disorders..... we consider the 'symptoms' and look for a positives ways to interpret and scaffold needs.

All participants will receive 'FASD Informed' certification, resources and membership of our network of 'FASD Responsive' Independent Schools.

We tailor our online bespoke 'FASD-Informed' sessions around the needs of the families you support; every session is unique because we consider carefully the children that you support.

"It was a complete lightbulb moment for me. I attend thinking it ticks a box... this training absolutely is not that as it literally changes lives! I look at every child I support through a new lense.

I loved everything about the sessions, it was great to bring the governance team of our School together, where we were encouraged to share skills and experience. We really dug deep to considering the children in our School who were likely to have been exposed to alcohol.... so many lightbulb moments where we all now look through the lense providing a personalised approach .... very powerful.

The experience of the speakers were so rich and valuable to my role where they provided such huge insight into the difference my job can make. So inspiring and energising, thank you."

Headteacher / DSL Cornwall

'FASD Informed' (TM) Education delivered by a strong experienced qualified team, tailoring a bespoke service to support your team in becoming FASD Responsive(TM)

To book a placeholder diary date please email us: info@fasdinformed.co.uk

We also offer an online 1:1 consultation service and attendance of meetings for stuck or complex cases requiring out of the box thinking to consider the spectrum of needs and to look towards finding a way forwards.

To support a School to become 'FASD Responsive' we recommend considering a whole School approach where we have developed a successful programme for Governing bodies, Headteachers, DSL's, Designated Teachers, SENCO's; this considers policy change needed to support birth, children looked after and in care who have been exposed to prenatal alcohol.

For more details click the link here: 'FASD Informed' Professional