A support group has been set up in Battle to help families who are caring for someone with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD).
The group will meet tomorrow (Saturday) at 10.30am in the Youth and Community Centre, London Road, Battle.
Special guest will be Dr Yvonne Doyle, director of public health for the South Coast Strategic Health Authority.
All are welcome and lu
nch will be served afterwards at around 12noon.
Meanwhile a training course introducing FASD will be running today (Friday) at 1.30pm at The Ridge Centre in Hastings, opposite the Conquest Hospital.
The support group in Battle was set up after an increase in the number of families in Sussex caring for someone with FASD asking for help.
The World Health Organisation estimates that one in 100 babies are born each year in the UK with FASD, with one in 1000 having the full blown FAS (Foetal Alcohol Syndrome).
This is caused by their mother consuming alcohol when pregnant.
It can lead to a range of damage in the child, from physical problems to behavioural problems due to brain damage.
This disability is lifelong.
The FASD Trust exists to raise awareness of the condition, to prevent it and to increase understanding so that those affected are understood and offered appropriate support.
For more information visit website, www.fasdtrust.co.uk.
