Tuesday 14 July 2020 8:18pm
Associate Professor Anita Gibbs.
Lecturer and social worker Associate Professor Anita Gibbs has been awarded the 2020 Critic and Conscience of Society Award for her tireless advocacy raising the profile of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) in New Zealand.
The lecturer in social work, sociology and criminology has been researching and raising awareness of the impacts of the neuro-disability since 2012.
She knows first-hand how debilitating the disability is, as she and her husband adopted two sons from Russia, now aged in their teens, who live with the disability.
FASD is a group of conditions that can occur in a person where alcohol has been consumed during pregnancy. Primarily, FASD is a lifelong brain injury that affects executive functioning, decision-making, emotional regulation and communication skills which can lead to behavioural, academic and social problems. In addition, some physical impacts like low birth weight, hearing and vision problems may occur.
About 3,000 babies are born in New Zealand annually with the neuro-disability and there are tens of thousands of undiagnosed sufferers.
The Ministry of Health now recognises FASD as a disability alongside other neuro-disabilities like Autism, but it does not fund core disability support services to help families and children where FASD is diagnosed.
Associate Professor Gibbs’ number one goal is to see the neuro-disability fully supported financially, just as Autism now is.
“Autism, a very similar disability can attract large sums of individualised funding, that those with FASD can not, and this is in spite of the fact that FASD is accepted as at least two to three times as prevalent as Autism,” she explains.
“It is not good to constantly read newspaper headlines where someone is not assessed as having the disability until their unmet needs lead them to appalling crimes or exclusion from school, or becoming victims of those who would exploit them.”
"... the judging panel felt Associate Professor Gibbs’ “extensive work” showed a true depth of commitment to the ‘critic and conscience’ role."
The Critic and Conscience of Society Award, sponsored by the Gama Foundation, acknowledges academic staff who provide independent, expert commentary on issues that affect the New Zealand community and its future generations. Recipients receive $50,000 to assist with research, conferences and other work-related expenses.
It is the second consecutive year that a University of Otago academic has won the award. Law Professor Andrew Geddis received the award last year for his public commentary on a range of legal and political issues.
The award is administered by Universities New Zealand and Chief Executive Chris Whelan says it attracted a strong field of applicants this year.
However, the judging panel felt Associate Professor Gibbs’ “extensive work” showed a true depth of commitment to the ‘critic and conscience’ role.
The lecturer says she is “completely stoked to be trusted as someone who could fulfil the role of critic and conscience of society”.
“It is hard to do research that focuses on reducing the damage caused by pre-natal alcohol exposure; it is an unseen and unpopular issue.”
As a result of receiving the award, she plans to do a number of things, including providing free seminars to health professionals, further training to Corrections staff, running caregiver support groups for Dunedin families and providing advice to the Ministry of Health on a new FASD action plan.
Story by Liane Topham-Kindley (Senior Communications Adviser).