Ko Kim Milne ahau. I live in Napier with my husband, son, two cavoodles, and moggy. I have qualifications in history, political science, international politics, social work, and business management.
I’m currently studying Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and Dialetical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) with a view to better understanding and assisting our son manage his FASD.
In earlier years I held management positions within government, and organised and participated in multi-country science and technology delegations. I was the Hawke’s Bay Tenancy Tribunal Adjudicator for 21 years.
Our son came to us as a foster child for 6 days over New Year 21 years ago and never left. By age 4 we were given an ADHD diagnosis and by age 8 we had the FASD diagnosis. We thought we knew about parenting, but we had to learn the hard way how to parent an FASD individual. In 2017 I established Beacon Aotearoa with another mum to support our FASD families. I joined FASD-CAN in 2021 as secretary.