College offers unique way to train in FASD

“If I build it, will you come?” is the question Kimber Norbury-Sulin asked.

“Build” may be a strange word to use when Norbury-Sulin, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder education program coordinator at Lethbridge College, is talking about a virtual community of practice, but come they have and that includes those from isolated Aboriginal communities.

In January, the college launched the online community of practice to provide resources for students studying remotely in its online FASD certificate program and for frontline practitioners regardless of their location.The virtual community of practice acts as a gathering site for those who want to discuss the disorder that is prevalent in many Aboriginal communities.

In building the virtual community, Norbury-Sulin sought input from students, community partners, researchers and the science related to pre-natal alcohol exposure to determine what kinds of resources were needed.

The virtual community has become a place to get information, leave information, find people, videos, chat, meet others, and work on collaborative projects, said Norbury-Sulin. Instructors and practitioners working in isolated rural communities can use the resources and tools to network with others.

“We wanted to create a place so that those in remote areas can connect to others in a virtual community,” she said.

Whether accessed by health practitioners, caregivers, or those diagnosed with FASD and its resultant learning disabilities, the program drives at the heart of isolation.

“FASD is isolating to begin with. In this community they can find others who truly understand what it’s like to care for or live with a child or a family with FASD,” said Norbury-Sulin.

The website was built with a $5,000 grant from the college’s human services. A grant from the Alberta Rural Development Network supported the official launch this spring.

The FASD certificate program is an off-shoot of the college’s Disability Community Research Program, also offered online. The DCR program was in place for several years when an extra semester focusing on FASD was added in 2000, explained Norbury-Sulin. Recognizing the need for specialized training in the brain-based disability and that the skills and knowledge required were different than general disability training, the college eventually created the full certificate program in 2007 delivered completely online. Main draws of the program are its flexibility and accessibility.         The online learning environment appeals to non-traditional students who are raising families, working in the field, or residing in remote communities, because they can complete the program at their own pace. Among the takers are Aboriginal students living on reserves in remote communities who would otherwise be unable to gain access.
As coordinator, Norbury-Sulin works to create individual plans. “We support every student to go at their own pace,” she said.

The majority of students are part-time. The online program teaches specialized skills to social workers, child and youth care workers, teachers, foster parents, adoptive parents, family preservation workers, mental health workers, addiction treatment workers, caregivers, and justice workers. Students may start the program in the fall, winter or spring.

For now Norbury-Sulin is the moderator of the online community, but she hopes that it will become self-sustaining as an integral piece of the FASD certificate program.

“It is a true resource that people connect to.  What they are looking for is what they thought it would be,” she said.

Practitioners from outside the country have begun to access the community.