NOFASD Australia in collaboration with the FASD Hub Australia is delighted to announce that the recipient of the Heather Jones Community Award is April Wilson.
This award celebrates unsung champions, advocates and mentors who have made a significant and lasting contribution to supporting people living with FASD, their families, and communities. Named after the inaugural recipient Heather Jones, the award honours her leadership, dedication to positive change, and commitment to raising awareness and understanding of FASD.
April Wilson is a worthy recipient of this award as for over 30 years she has tirelessly and generously given so much of herself for the benefit of others who are impacted by FASD.
April’s journey with FASD began within her own family and with her driving passion to ensure the best possible outcomes for those in her care. She was entrusted with the care of a great niece and nephew when they were infants and nurtured them alongside her own four children. Both of these children faced numerous significant learning, behavioural and developmental challenges and following April’s persistent and impassioned advocacy, her nephew was eventually diagnosed with FASD at the age of eight. Using her own initiative April sought out NOFASD Australia (National Organisation for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders), committed to learning even more about FASD, and began volunteering her time to assist in better informing others about the impacts of FASD from a lived experience perspective.
Over the ensuing years, April has very generously shared her time and wisdom as a vocal parent advocate presenting in numerous conferences and forums around Australia. Her presentations have outlined the challenges her children faced, the strategies that she has found useful and the barriers that need to be addressed in order for more positive outcomes to be achieved for families impacted by FASD.
April’s ongoing advocacy work has spanned diverse audiences including staff in the Department of Education and health staff in hospital settings. In addition to such presentations April has made herself available to speak one-on-one to many individuals seeking the understanding and advice of someone with lived experience with whom they could discuss their experiences and challenges without fear of judgement or stigma.
As an Aboriginal woman from the Kaurna, Raukkan and Ngarrindjeri people, April is a proud Narungga woman who has a deep connection and understanding of the extra difficulties Aboriginal families face with the stigma surrounding FASD. April’s gentle empathy is felt by others as she takes her time to share, support and teach others who are open to hearing from an Aboriginal woman, with whom they can relate. Beneath her kind and unassuming demeanour is a strong, determined and extraordinarily resilient woman who continues her quest to share her FASD knowledge with others thereby fostering a deeper understanding of this hidden disability and advancing the cause of FASD awareness and understanding.
Her unwavering commitment to raising awareness of FASD has touched the lives of countless individuals and paved the way for a more inclusive and compassionate society. April is both a Director of NOFASD’s Board and also a member of our Lived Experience Advisory Group and our organisation has benefitted greatly from her wisdom and lived experience.
Please join with us in congratulating April.