Understanding
“Expectations for individuals are always on this plateau and that plateau is not empathetic to a different world. [That’s the] mindset that needs to be changed.”
What we need to know:
Across all interviews, this was most common response we received: Housing for individuals with FASD cannot improve without greater understanding.
Many people remain uninformed about FASD and, in combination, many people believe they have learned all that they need to. Understanding FASD means being willing to always learn and grow. It means knowing that every person is different, and that what they need might change from day-to-day. Understanding is the fundamental basis that makes access, individualization, and collaboration possible at all.
What our participants said…
“We’ve put in multiple barriers that are impacting people who see the world differently.
And there's a lot of people with prenatal alcohol exposure in that group of seeing the world differently.”
— Housing Service Provider
“That willingness to say “well, I don't need to do any more. I'm doing everything I'm supposed to do” is a real barrier.
[People with FASD] are good people. They have trouble making choices. […] And so they need relationships. [We] can't just leave them on their own to flounder, and they need the occasional guidance.”
— Service Provider and Caregiver
“[They] have not had training. They do not know what they are dealing with. […]
A two-hour workshop does not provide them with any inkling of dealing […] with the FASD that my eldest daughter has.”
— Caregiver
What we need to do:
We have a responsibility to understand the person we’re working with. Even with good intentions, we may miss the mark if this understanding isn’t there.
Understanding takes effort, reflection, and an acknowledgement that our assumptions might not accurately reflect the person we are with.
What can you do to improve your understanding?
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Understanding is a two-way street. You don’t only need to know the other person, or FASD: you need to know yourself.
Sometimes we don’t even realize that we’re making assumptions and that we’ve drawn conclusions about people. We see a behaviour and we respond to it, and we don’t always stop to say: “Have I made an assumption here?”
In the moment, take a second to pause and reflect on the situation and your beliefs. Consider these questions:
Could this be a brain-based difference?
Could this be a misunderstanding?
How else could I be wrong? What would it mean if I was?
Reflection isn’t about doubting or thinking negatively about yourself, but considering different angles of a situation in order to come up with the best response. This type of consideration is essential for understanding to bloom and grow.
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Knowing about FASD allows us to take a moment when seeing something we don’t understand, and consider how underlying brain differences might be contributing to it.
In this way, it prevents misunderstandings before they begin.
Access a resource on how to explain what you might be seeing, and why you might be seeing it.
Interested in learning more? CanFASD offers a comprehensive Foundations in FASD Course, which is free for some provinces and territories.
In reading through this course, you have taken a great first step towards knowing about FASD. However, remember that every person with FASD is unique: getting to know the person themselves, and how their brain works best, will lead to success.
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You do not need to know every detail of every disability in order to be understanding.
What is important is your willingness to learn. Every person with FASD is unique. Understanding a person with FASD simply means getting to know them, and what their brain differences might be.
It also means knowing that you will never necessarily be done learning. Sometimes, there will be things that the individuals with FASD know better than you. Consider the following statements to help you set the basis for understanding:
I need to be okay with not knowing everything.
I will be open to hearing and learning from others.
I need to know that understanding never stops; I will always be learning and growing.
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When it comes to understanding, experience is the best teacher.
Caregivers and individuals with FASD emphasize that those that meet and work with them come away with much greater understanding than they began with.
Support workers and FASD service providers also note how much more they understand after many years of working with individuals with FASD than at the beginning of their careers—as well as how much more they felt they had to learn.
Those we interviewed all emphasized that brief training sessions were not enough to consider learning on FASD “complete”. Learning is a much more comprehensive process.
Learning from experience also includes the experiences of others. This is where collaboration fosters understanding:
What can you learn from the work of others who have had successful experiences housing individuals with FASD?
What can you learn from the person with FASD about their previous good housing experiences?
Reaching out and connecting with people who have experience will strengthen your learning.
Understanding connects to everything else. Understanding can foster a good tenant-landlord relationship through enhancing communication, improved understanding can reduce stigmas, and individuals could learn and grow from their experiences once they better understand themselves and their diagnosis.
Building understanding in systems:
A National FASD Framework
As we discuss in this course, housing does not exist in a vacuum; it’s deeply connected to every other aspect of life. Addressing housing challenges for individuals with FASD requires a systemic, coordinated, and evidence-based approach.
Across Canada, advocates and organizations are calling for a National FASD Framework: a unified strategy to ensure that people with FASD and their families have equitable access to the supports and resources they need, including safe and stable housing.
A National FASD Framework would set national standards for FASD prevention, diagnosis and support across many different sectors, including housing. Through consulting with government representatives, communities, individuals with FASD and those that support them, a National FASD Framework would map out a person-centered, culturally appropriate approach to FASD across Canada.
By extension, setting national standards for how to approach FASD would raise awareness and understanding across Canada.