International FASD Awareness Month is held globally every year throughout September.
FASD Awareness Day is held on September the ninth – 09/09 highlights the importance of staying alcohol-free during the full nine months of pregnancy.
The aim of the FASD Awareness Day is to raise awareness of FASD – for complex reasons, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder has lower visibility in the public perception, even though it’s the most prevalent preventable neurological disability in the world.
FASD-CAN supports whānau who are already caring for a person with FASD. Our friends at Nurture the Future Within are all about prevention of FASD – they have Aotearoa-specific resources for an alcohol-free pregnancy.
FASD: it takes a community.
Ka whai wāhi ngā tangata katoa / everyone plays a part.
The goal is to highlight the power of collective support in creating a society where people with FASD and their families can thrive.
Our graphic (see below) of interweaving threads represents the multiple services and people who play have a role in this outcome. The theme goes beyond framing FASD as an individual issue, because the impacts of FASD matter to the whole community.
We've created a range of 1080x 1350 tiles with some 'handwritten' lines we have changed out to reflect different areas of support.
We also have a blank tile which you can personalise with your own words if you wish.
You're welcome to add your own logo to ours in the coloured strip at the bottom of each tile.
• Download full-sized, individual tiles by clicking on each one below.
• Download a zip file of ALL tiles on this link.
• It takes a community of people with different skills to support a person with FASD and their whānau / families – because FASD affects us all. Why? Because if the right supports are not in place early, a person with FASD can:
• experience difficulties at school
• have challenges with getting a job
• have issues with substance use
• become homeless
• end up in the justice system
• add to suicide statistics.
These outcomes negatively affect everyone: their families, our communities and our society.
• Everyone can play a part in supporting alcohol-free pregnancies. Note that fathers abstaining from alcohol before conception can also ensure a healthy pēpi / baby – and it's a great way to support their partner (find out more here).
• Each person with FASD is unique and each has both strengths and challenges. Everyone plays a part to tautoko / support them with aroha to help them succeed and thrive in their daily lives.
• Share our social media tiles, beginning late August or early September.
• Think about hosting an event – as small or as big as you like! You could get a group of whānau / other caregivers to gather at one of our monuments lighting up for Awareness Day.
• Whangārei – bridge and sails
• Hamilton – Victoria bridge
• Whanganui – Opera house (not the 9th) and War Memorial
• Rotorua – clock tower, civic building tower and Government Gardens Arches
• New Plymouth – clock tower
• Christchurch Botanical Gardens – New Brighton Pier, Bridge of Remembrance, Scott Plaza, Victoria Square Fountain, Vaka 'A Hina sculpture, the Fanfare sculpture (northern motorway)
• Wellington – Cable Car tunnel, some artworks, lights and possibly Queens Wharf sails on waterfront, and Inglewood toilets on Taranaki Street
• Dunedin – Toitu
• Invercargill – Queens Park fountain, park gates, band rotunda
NOTE: If you do host an event, whether small or large, let us know by emailing [email protected] – and you’ll go in a draw to win one of two $300 supermarket vouchers as a reward!
• Get your team at work to wear red shoes on 09/09 to raise awareness of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder! Red shoes are a symbol of FASD Awareness. This tradition was begun by Miles Himmelreich (an adult with FASD and a globally recognised advocate), who wore them to begin conversations about it to raise public awareness.
• Get a group together and become more FASD-informed by:
• There is no safe amount and no safe type of alcohol to drink when pregnant.
• Between 2-5% of babies in Aotearoa are born with FASD – more than the number of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), cerebral palsy, and Down syndrome combined. There are over 60K rangatahi / young people under 18 with FASD in Aotearoa.
• Wherever there is alcohol there is FASD – and you don't have to drink a lot. Around 50% of pregnancies are unplanned in Aotearoa, so many women can still be consuming alcohol socially for weeks before they realise they are pregnant. This can be enough to cause FASD.
• If you are not ready for a baby, use reliable contraception.
