Facing FASD

Anna Webster
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Parenting

Facing FASD is hosted by Anna Webster, the founder of Neurowise, a company providing therapeutic coaching and training to parents, carers and professionals working with FASD. She is also a parent of a child with FASD We talk about how the lack of diagnosis, the lack of understanding, and the shame surrounding FASD is holding us back — from getting ourselves and our kids the support we need. Facing FASD is here to help you get your life back. By talking about this openly and honestly, facing the difficult feelings and lifting the shame.

Episodes

  1. 1d ago

    It's not you! Why therapeutic parenting doesn't always work for the FASD brain

    Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Host: Anna Webster — coaching psychologist, trainer, ACT therapist, and founder of Neurowise. Anna is also a parent of a child with FASD. In this episode, you'll learn: ● Why standard therapeutic parenting often falls short for FASD ● Why FASD needs to be treated as a primary consideration, not a side note to trauma and attachment ● Why caregiver needs matter as much as the child's, and why generic self-care advice isn't enough ● Why space and distance can be a safe, legitimate parenting strategy for FASD - not a failure of closeness ● Why facing FASD directly, rather than avoiding it, is where the real hope lies Anna also answers listener questions from carers on the topic, including how the Neurowise SPARCS model's idea of "space" fits alongside more traditional therapeutic parenting advice.

    It's not you! Why therapeutic parenting doesn't always work for the FASD brain

  2. Oct 19

    Getting School Right for FASD. With Ailsa Clarke of Valiant Minds Education

    Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Getting the right school setting is one of the biggest things that gives caregivers space. Too often, though, children with FASD are seen through a behaviourist lens instead of as having a brain-based disability. In this episode, Anna talks with Ailsa Clarke, founder of Valiant Minds Education. Ailsa is a secondary teacher with more than 20 years' experience and the adoptive parent of a son with FASD. She also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in the Diagnosis and Management of FASD from the University of Edinburgh. She brings together lived experience, classroom know-how and clinical training to act as a "translator" between families and schools. They cover why "all behaviour is communication" isn't enough on its own, why trauma-informed practice doesn't fix a brain injury, and how to get busy teachers to really engage with FASD. Ailsa explains the one-page "grab and go" pen portrait she creates with families, and shares practical advice for going into school meetings as an equal partner. In this episode ● Ailsa's journey from secondary teacher to parent advocate to FASD education consultant ● Why parents arrive at school meetings burnt out and often traumatised, not as a "blank slate" ● Behaviourist vs brain-based approaches, and why trauma-informed practice alone isn't enough for FASD ● SEMH and enhanced support settings: what helps and where they can go wrong ● The shame, blame and isolation of the early years, and the "second shift" after school ● Masking and the Coke bottle effect ● IQ myths, and "intellectual disability equivalence" as a way to explain support needs ● Why teaching consequences doesn't work when the neural connections aren't there ● Making FASD tangible for teachers by showing them a child's spiky profile ● Executive functioning, cognitive fatigue and "brain fuel" ● Positivity, flexibility and humour, plus blocked care in teachers

    Getting School Right for FASD. With Ailsa Clarke of Valiant Minds Education
  • 2 Episodes

About

Facing FASD is hosted by Anna Webster, the founder of Neurowise, a company providing therapeutic coaching and training to parents, carers and professionals working with FASD. She is also a parent of a child with FASD We talk about how the lack of diagnosis, the lack of understanding, and the shame surrounding FASD is holding us back — from getting ourselves and our kids the support we need. Facing FASD is here to help you get your life back. By talking about this openly and honestly, facing the difficult feelings and lifting the shame.

Information

  • Creator
    Anna Webster
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    2
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Neurowise
  • Show Website
    Facing FASD