Nature of clinic
The FASD clinic is part of the Child Developmental Service-Gold Coast Health and is based at Southport on the Gold Coast. The clinic provides comprehensive diagnostic assessments to help define the complex profile of strengths and weaknesses that a child with FASD might experience. Following consultation through the FASD clinic, eligible children living within the Gold Coast Hospital and Health District may receive ongoing Paediatric follow-up. Children residing outside the Gold Coast Hospital and Health District (i.e., residing elsewhere in the state or Australia wide) will be considered for FASD diagnostic assessment when they meet eligibility criteria and do not have access to local services with diagnostic capabilities. Consideration will also be given to children who are not eligible for local services due to age restrictions.
Specific health professionals at the clinic
Paediatricians
Clinical Neuropsychologists
Speech Language Pathologists
Physiotherapists
Occupational Therapists
Social Workers
Nurse Navigators
Type of services provided at the clinic
The FASD team provide a comprehensive multidisciplinary team assessment. The structure of these assessments are dependent on the child’s age and referral information. Following assessment the team delivers family and stakeholder feedback, and provides a comprehensive report including recommendations., The FASD service also provides diagnostic consultation to external services who have conducted formal assessment on children with confirmed PAE.
Where referrals are accepted from
An indefinite referral from a General Practitioner is the most effective method of being referred to the clinic as this will ensure that the referral will not expire while the child is waitlisted for assessment. However, referrals are accepted from Paediatricians, Other medical specialists, Psychologists, Allied health professionals, Families, Child protection services, Education Departments, Justice Departments., All referrals will need to include confirmation of prenatal alcohol exposure.
How the clinic bills
Medicare bulk-billed
Ages that the clinic provides services for
Services are provided to children aged 0-10 years at time of referral, who have confirmed exposure to alcohol in utero and suspected difficulties in one or more neurodevelopmental domains (motor, language, cognitive development). The type of service offered will be dependent on the child’s age at the time of referral and/or consultation (i.e., Paediatric review only for very young; diagnostic assessment varies in detail and health disciplines involved depending on age).
FASD experience and training
In 2013 the FASD team completed training in FASD Diagnosis at the Asante Centre, Vancouver Canada.
Since that time, the clinic has provided formal clinical training in FASD assessment and diagnosis (i.e., Face-to-Face, and more recently online) to healthcare professionals, healthcare services, education departments, youth justice, and many others with an interest in the area. The service is also able to provide ad hoc educational training days for carers and other stakeholders who wish to increase their knowledge and understanding of FASD. Please contact the clinic for up to date information about training.
The FASD clinic conducts an ongoing program of clinical research and quality assurance evaluations. The clinic is also linked with leading Australian FASD researchers across multiple institutions to conduct clinical studies in a range of FASD topics. Additionally, the clinic is involved at all levels in the current nationwide consortium process to review and re-develop the Australian Diagnostic Guidelines for FASD.