The soon-to-be head of the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Society Yukon (FASSY) had enthusiastic words for a new government diagnostic program, but noted challenges — particularly around supportive housing — remain for people living with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).

“We think it’s great. It will make it much easier for people to get a diagnosis in a more reasonable way,” Wenda Bradley told the Star today.

“It will be locally done, so people will be accessible.”

Training is set to begin this month for professionals who will make up the diagnostic team for adults suspected of having FASD.

That team will complement the early childhood and youth diagnostic teams already in place, the Health and Social Services department stated in a release Wednesday.

The new local team will likely be composed of several psychologists and at least two family doctors, as well as occupational therapists and speech therapists.

They will take over the role of a group — funded by the government and organized by FASSY — that flew in once a year from Alberta to diagnose no more than six individuals annually.

Those six would each undergo nine to 10 hours of intensive assessment in a day — assuming they were available during the one-week window the team was in town.

“There’s a lot of adults that have been missed in getting a diagnosis,” said Bradley, a former public health nurse and current FASSY outreach worker.

“Folks are ready at different times to get a diagnosis. People get tired of waiting, and they need help.”

Bradley said a referral package would be created to expedite diagnosis of possible FASD sufferers.

The two family doctors on board so far will be trained in a diagnostic code established by experts at the University of Washington.

The code allows for recognition of physical symptoms associated with the disorder, including facial and central nervous system abnormalities.

“We can’t fix the people. It’s not something that we can give a pill for and they’re going to get better ... so we have to help adapt their environment to help them do the best they can do,” Bradley said.

She called for more community assistance and supportive housing along the lines of Dun Kenji Ku — The People’s Place — a 14-unit building downtown run by the Options for Independence Society.

“It’s working very well for those folks.”

The apartment complex, opened in February 2014, has two case workers on duty at all times to help with cooking, social activities and potential emergencies.

“But sometimes that’s not enough,” Bradley said, noting the high attention levels demanded of individuals living with FASD.

“And we have others waiting to get into housing like that as well.”

“This is an exciting time in Yukon with so many good things happening locally that can impact the lives of individuals with FASD and their families,” said Health and Social Services Minister Doug Graham.

The term FASD refers to a range of neurological impairments that can affect people exposed to alcohol in the womb.

Characteristics include an inability to understand the consequences of their actions, learn from experience, or responsibly organize their lives, as well as memory retention difficulties that result in missed deadlines and appointments.

Mike McCann, FASSY’s current executive director, told the Star in November he remained optimistic about improving justice for those suffering from FASD — despite being “somewhat disappointed” over the effective death of proposed legislation that would recognize the brain disability in the Criminal Code.

Late last year, Yukon MP Ryan Leef withdrew his private member’s bill from the House of Commons agenda, on the condition that a committee examine the broader issue of FASD in the criminal justice system.

The federal Liberal Party unveiled plans in December to breathe new life into moribund legislation through a fresh bill on fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

The new bill, not yet born, would adopt Leef’s proposal to legally define FASD, establish a procedure for assessing offenders and encourage judges to consider the brain disability when determining a sentence.

The Liberals also hope to attach additional limbs to the legislation that would give judges leeway to order post-probation support plans and mandate correctional services to recognize FASD as a disability and adjust prison treatment accordingly.

McCann has compared the current lack of accommodation to ignoring paraplegia or vision impairment.

“We put a lot of people in jail because of a disability they have no control over,” he told the Star in November.

FASSY and the Canadian Bar Association’s Yukon branch will likely come before the federal committee — slated to meet in March — as witnesses.

After reviewing the issue, the committee will issue recommendations to be tabled in the House and responded to by government within 30 days.

“It’s a serious issue, it’s prolific in Canada, and the diagnostic caps are requiring federal attention,” Leef said two months ago.

The Yukon government is still waiting on results of the Whitehorse Correctional Centre’s FASD prevalence study, expected in 2015.

Up to 200,000 cases of FASD remain undiagnosed across Canada.

The annual cost of FASD has been estimated at approximately $7.6 billion.

Justice Minister Mike Nixon has noted a five-step plan, announced by the government in 2002, to address FASD via prevention, early diagnosis, family support and supportive housing.

The government said it is also confronting gaps through a new sexual health clinic in Whitehorse that addresses, among other things, the risks of drinking while pregnant.

Awareness campaigns, school curriculum adjustments and a new interdepartmental committee will all work to “improve coordination for collaborative action on FASD,” Graham said.