Lifetime Achievement Award - Sue Miers AO
Sue Miers was recognised for her work supporting families and for playing an instrumental role for the past 20 years in gaining recognition of FASD in Australia.
Sue is the founder of the National Organisation for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Australia (NOFASD Australia). Although she retired from the board in 2015, she continues to volunteer and provide support to parents, carers and employees working with those living with FASD.
She has lobbied governments to raise awareness of FASD and contributed to numerous state and national government enquiries and reports. She has worked with researchers to develop the Australian Guide to the diagnosis of FASD and talked to health professionals about the importance of a diagnosis and listening to the parents and families.
Sue’s passion and drive and ongoing commitment to support families has been led by her experience of caring for a person with FASD.
“Parents and carers often struggle to get their children understood because these children actually have undiagnosed brain damage. It can be a very lonely journey and having other parents with lived experience to talk to can be really helpful.”
Sue is a strong advocate for raising awareness of the risks of prenatal exposure to alcohol and wants all our activities to lead to less children with FASD and more positive outcomes for those living with FASD.
At future conferences this award will be named the 'Sue Miers Lifetime Achievement Award'
People's Choice Award - Claire Gyde
The Art of Living with Hope
Claire is the Chair of CanFASD New Zealand whose purpose is to unite caregivers, strengthen families, support individuals and educate about FASD across our communities.
For more information contact Claire
Best Student Presentation - Dr Robyn Doney
Can informal assessments be used in FASD diagnosis? Graphomotor examples from the Lililwan Project
For more information about this work contact Robyn
Best Poster Presentation - Jessica Hannan & Dianne Barnett
The role of occupational therapists in diagnosis, intervention and education of FASD on young people
For more information about this work contact Jessica or Dianne