Graduate Certificate in the Diagnosis and Assessment of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD)

This online course provides graduates trained in psychology, speech pathology, social work, occupational therapy, medicine (including paediatrics and psychiatry) with the specialist knowledge and clinical skills required to participate in team-based diagnosis and assessment of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD).

Two coursework units provide in-depth knowledge of FASD concerning characteristics across the lifespan, common comorbidities, current theoretical accounts and issues, national and international diagnostic criteria, differential diagnoses, assessment tools and multidisciplinary team assessment. One practical unit provides training in FASD and another provides graded placement experiences of diagnostic assessments.

You will develop your oral and written communication skills in both academic and clinical contexts, including needing to communicate with professionals from other disciplines and with clients and their families, particularly within a cross-cultural context. The technical skills needed to carry out discipline relevant standardised assessments (e.g. relevant neuropsychological, speech pathology or occupational therapy tests) will be developed throughout the course, particularly in the practicum unit.

Graduates from the program will be able to complete discipline-specific assessments of children and adults presenting for FASD diagnosis, prepare appropriate reports, effectively coordinate their work with other members of multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary teams, and work responsibly in an agency providing diagnostic services.

Psychology can take you anywhere and everywhere. Psychology is relevant to almost any human endeavour, meaning a psychology degree, or some complementary psychology studies, are relevant not only for traditional psychology careers, but for a wide range of careers. 

Teaching excellence

• Learn from experts who operate at the cutting edge of the discipline. We don’t just teach the textbooks, we conduct the work in the textbooks.
• Our teaching standards are high and teaching is constantly evaluated by our students. Our scores are among the best at UWA, with about 90 per cent of our students agreeing or strongly agreeing that we provide a good educational experience.
• We offer fantastic student support staff to provide you with advice and guidance.

Research excellence

• You'll be involved in the cutting-edge research from your first year of postgraduate study.
• Our School has received the top rating of 5 in all three rounds of the Commonwealth’s Excellence in Research for Australia exercises (2010, 2012, 2015). Our research is rated as 'well above world standard'. We are one of only two Australian psychology schools to achieve this.
• We consistently rank in the top 100 psychology departments in the world (QS World University Rankings by Subject) and are the only WA school in the top 100.

Industry connections

• We offer work-integrated learning through our large network of corporate partners.
• Our postgraduate programs are leading the way in terms of research-integration, evidence-based practice and innovation. Our students are in high demand across many sectors.
• UWA is an international hub for the areas of Business and Industrial and Organisational Psychology, and we have strong links with various industries.
• Our clinical programs are recognised as among the very best in the country, and we have extensive networks with clinical service providers.

Student choice

• UWA courses are progressive, flexible, and benchmarked against the world’s best.
• Flexibility means you're not locked into a named degree from first year.
• Graduates are equipped with communication and critical thinking skills at the highest international standards, and are trained to have a interdisciplinary, global perspective.

"The opportunity to complete the Graduate Certificate in the Diagnosis and Assessment of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) was an opportunity to fully understand the condition, presentations, assessment, and intervention process guided by the evidence base. 

Hearing from some leading professionals in the field from across the world and individuals with FASD helped us, as Psychologists, Occupational Therapists, Speech Pathologists and Nurses, to face the practical issue of FASD. 

I have benefited from knowing the strict criteria of differential diagnosis and referral pathways to holistically benefit the participates and those working with them. I hope that this will lead to empowering people to realise that they may have access to supportive services to help them figure out how their brain works rather than expecting them to cope with these ‘behaviours’ and barriers to living an independent life.

FASD is a ‘hidden’ disorder and it would benefit those impacted by FASD to understand that it is ‘a problem someone might have and that the person is not a problem themselves’. If anything I’ve learnt that it will take every person working together to facilitate the prevention, identification and support of individuals effected by FASD. 

I would recommend this course to anyone willing and able to learn more about FASD. This course supported my work in the Kimberley to both understand the process of assessment and the means to which perceive and support the individual’s intervention and story."Elizabeth Sydney-Smith, Speech Pathologist