Adoption Support Fund & Getting an Assessment/Diagnoses of FASD

[NickyB18]

Good evening all, Please can anyone advise whether the Adoption Support Fund will pay for an assessment to diagnose FASD. I have conflicting information. Our LA (Stockport) says not - but Adoption UK says the Fund is available for Clinical Assessments such as that of FASD. Help!

[hayley01]

We have been referred through the adoption support fund and attended an appointment at south maudsley hospital in London for an assessment. It is a holistic assessment so looks at all issues/strengths and takes into account prenatal history etc. We don't have our report yet but they were amazing.

[Ansndsuz]

Hi Nicky,

Sorry I can't give you a definitive answer on this but we're in the process of accessing the fund and I think it's just for therapeutic intervention. So for example it can't pay for one on one support in the classroom but it can pay for an OT and Ed phychologist to do interventions in school including an initial assessment.

Our experience is that primary school are applying for the fund for these services and we had to meet with the post adoption support social worker initially to request it and start the process. We were told that the fund used to be unlimited but that it has recently been cut to 5k per year. This is still a good amount to pay for therapeutic interventions like OT and Ed psych.

There may be other interventions like training for parents etc that it can pay for but the social worker was a bit vague on this. We live in Manchester.

Hope this helps and good luck,

Anna

[dianakitten15]

Hi Nicky,

The answer is yes, the fund is available for clinical assessments such as FASD.

Essentially the ASF (Adoption Support Fund) will pay for;

1)Therapeutic Services

2)Training for parents

3)Further more complex assessment

The guide states 'FAS assessment is in scope, if part of a more comprehensive assessment'

Of course, this makes perfect sense, because until our children are diagnosed how does anyone decide upon what type of therapy/support they need?

The link is adoptionuk.org/walking-you-...

I hope this helps.

[Joygirl]

It is also crazy that people are using the Adoption support fund to get a diagnosis when it is already "paid for" via the NHS!! In theory, for a diagnosis you should see your GP, who will refer you Community Paediatrics and, they will decide if you need to see clinical genetics. There are great doctors in Manchester, Cheshire, Merseyside who are very au-fait with FASD and diagnosing.

[Davel831 in reply to Joygirl]

Hi joy girl

I agree bonkers!! When we have a great set of GPs and NHS set up that are very au-fait with FASD. In our experience , we are 6 years into adoption, the system doesn't still understand what FASD is. Training is becoming more available , but teachers, other parents and some professionals need to be educated.

BW D

[Ruthiemassey]

We've gone through the NHS, and while its been slow, its worked out fine.