Sharon Keogan: Calls for Statutory FASD Diagnosis Pathway
Sharon Keogan urged the Department of Health and the HSE to establish a statutory clinical diagnosis pathway for Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) after attending a recent briefing and the FASD conference in Ennis. She pressed agencies to "join the dots" so children, especially those in care, can access formal diagnosis and timely supports rather than relying on private or overseas assessments.
What was said: Keogan recounted attending an AV-room briefing and the Ennis conference, and described her personal experience with foster children who likely had FASD. She challenged the Department of Health and HSE to create a formal diagnosis pathway and to recognise FASD within statutory frameworks.
Expert input and current services: Officials referenced existing work by psychologists and clinicians, including HSE public health messaging to pharmacies and a specialist consultant in Mullingar trained in a Washington diagnostic model. Witnesses noted that diagnosis currently often requires multidisciplinary assessment and in some cases private, cross-border arrangements.
Pathway requirements and care needs: Speakers explained that a clinical pathway will need speech and language, occupational therapy and therapeutic teams to carry out multidisciplinary assessments. The HSE is positioning FASD on a continuum of disability and officials emphasised both the need for diagnosis and the immediate supports for children to live well in their current placements.
Next steps and implications: Keogan and officials agreed on the urgency of joining health and social care services to secure statutory recognition and pathways for FASD. The discussion highlights gaps in access, the complexity of establishing a disease pathway, and the immediate need to support children in care while formal diagnostic processes are developed.
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Last week I attended a briefing here in the AV room by FASD. I was aware about the foetal alcohol spectrum and disorder in children, because obviously I had foster children who would have had that diagnosis from yourselves. But there's no formal statutory diagnosis guidelines within the Department of Health. So could you please do whatever you need to do to join the dots here between yourselves and the Department of Health to get that formally diagnosed? People have to go and get an independent diagnosis, whether it be in the UK or whether it be in Spain or wherever. So can you give me an indication? You've obviously come across it because your social work is obviously... So can you give me some hope that you are going to? I was at the FASD conference in Ennis this year. I'm Aaron Swift, a psychologist who works with FASD in Oberstown. We have had a good bit of communication with the HSE about this. They have a public health campaign actually on at the moment, going out to the pharmacies about alcohol and the association with pregnancy and the incidence of FASD. The clear message is no alcohol, either for men or women, preceding pregnancy is safe and that it is associated with the incidence of FASD. So it is a real public health piece that we need to get out there. There is one consultant in Mullingar, Dr Sharif, who has been trained in a Washington model in terms of diagnosis. She was there, exactly. She is doing this on a private basis. There is a requirement, I think, to set up a pathway. That is complex. It is another disease pathway that needs to be there for diagnosis. We do a lot with, let's say, our own therapeutic teams, but it would be the regional teams or our ACT teams in terms of special care, in terms of doing speech and language, OT and the other assessments that are required. It does require a multidisciplinary assessment. It does require it to be done. Children that would have behavioural issues, aggression, things like that. Particularly talk about the children that are in care. I suppose it is joining the dots between yourselves and the Department of Health to try and get this as an official, on the statutory. We are advocating for it, obviously, because we are very conscious of this for children in care particularly. I have experienced a deal with this over the last 25 years. I have been lucky to get this developed, like yourself. I appreciate your experience on this. The sooner we can get that, the HSE are taking this in line with their disability approach, that they are looking at a continuum of disability. This is on that continuum of disability. Rather than just even focusing on diagnosis, it is about how can we support these children now, how we can give them the support and the advice to live well where they are now. We are certainly supporting that as we go along. We do want a clinical diagnosis pathway as well.
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