Drug and alcohol services (CICADA Centre NSW)

The CICADA Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) service conducts assessments on babies, children, and young people between 0-17 years of age for FASD.  

Diagnosing FASD involves:  

• Confirming prenatal alcohol exposure  
• Looking for facial and other physical features of FASD  
• Assessing for neurodevelopmental impacts

Clinics are run with a team of paediatricians, neuropsychologist, speech pathologist, occupational therapist, social worker, Aboriginal care navigator and clinical nurse specialist.

 Our team completes a holistic and comprehensive assessment of a child's neurodevelopmental and psychosocial circumstances, eliciting their strengths and attending to the areas that require support. 

We provide personalised and practical recommendations that will benefit the child's development.

Contact: 02 7825 2446

Email: SCHN-FASD@health.nsw.gov.au  

Clinic: The Children's Hospital at Westmead, the FASD Clinic is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 8:30am-5pm

Our Baby Clinic run five times a year and prioritises 0-3yrs old.  The baby clinic highlights the importance of early intervention and seeks to provide education and support.

Please note we do accept GP referrals for 0-3yr olds. 

2024 dates:

• 12 February 
• 8 April 
• 17 June
• 2 September 
• 11 November

The Family service supports the health and wellbeing of children, young people and their families who have a parent with a drug and alcohol history.  

Clinics are run with a team including a paediatrician, psychologist and/or social worker who provide assessment, management, and interventions for a variety of concerns including:  

• Physical health and nutrition  
• Growth and development  
• Sleep difficulties  
• Attention and learning difficulties  
• Mood problems including anxiety and bereavement
• Complex trauma  
• Family relationships and attachment issues
• Parental support and education including positive parenting classes
• Assistance with coordination of services  
• Consultancy service for advice and recommendations in this field  
• Case coordination with local family and AOD services (where applicable) .
   

The Adolescent service is for young people under 17 years of age seeking treating for alcohol and drug use.  

Clinics are held within the Department of Adolescent Medicine at the Childrens Hospital at Westmead, the Centre for Adolescents and Young Adult Health at Westmead, the Centre for Adolescent and Young Adult Health at Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick.  

We have a team including paediatricians, clinical psychologists, social workers, occupational therapist, speech pathologist, clinical nurse consultants and Aboriginal clinical care navigators.

Comprehensive adolescent health assessment, drug and alcohol assessment, counselling and intervention can be provided according to the needs of the young person.  

Hospital consultation and liaison service is provided for patients accessing the emergency department or admitted to the ward.  

Support is also offered to parents and carers of young people with substance abuse. A GP or medical referral is required for a specialist appointment. 

If enough information has been gathered on a referral, we can progress to a FAST Track appointment. This is available for patients accessing the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) service. 

Fast Track is offered as a case conference with the referrer (may be a GP,  paediatrcian or specialist depending on the patient) and at least three of our team members. 

The case conference:

• supports the referrer and offers interventions/support individual to the patient
• the team will answer any questions the referrer may have 
• we will also give you support/tips in feeding back the outcome to the family.

If the referrer is accepted into the Fast Track framework, we require:

• Genetics: Fragile X and Microarray
• Baseline Bloods including: EUC, LFT, FBC, Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Creatine 'CK', B12, Vit D, Glucose, TFT, Differential bloods, Iron, Transferrin ,Ferritin
• Urine Metabolic Screen
• Photos:  please make sure you use an appropriate sticker that is 20mm -  the FASD Clinic can send stickers if needed
• Blue book with birth measurements if possible  

We deliver training designed for health professionals diagnosing or caring for patients with FAS disorders. 

Clinical resources and expression of interest: Go to FASD clinical hub