FASD-CAN backed up a findings of a damning investigation by the Educational Review Office (ERO) into alternative education, which was picked up by the press on June 28.
We agreed with the findings of the ERO, and put out a press release saying the funding and management of alternative education certainly requires a radical overview – but this is not the only failure of our education system. The deficiencies of mainstream education puts neurodiverse tamariki on a one-way track to alternative education, which could be avoided if recognition and intervention regarding specific neurodiversity occurs early; but this requires government input and funding.
A proportion of Ākonga who end up in alternative educational facilities will have Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder / FASD, but early recognition of FASD alongside appropriate learning intervention can lead to improved life outcomes, particularly in avoiding school exclusion, involvement in anti-social activities, substance abuse, mental health difficulties and significantly increased incidence of suicide and involvement in crime. However, diagnosis is often prohibitively expensive for whānau – assuming they can find a clinician who is able to diagnose.
