‘We want to be included’: Cairns doctor speaks on the response to youth crime

A Cairns doctor has called for greater involvement of pediatricians and other health professionals in the response to youth crime in Far North Queensland.

Dr Angela Wilson is a pediatrician at Cairns Doctors on Barr St. Picture: Daintree Paediatrics.

A Cairns pediatrician has called for greater involvement of health professionals in the response to youth crime in Far North Queensland.

Dr Angela Wilson, a general pediatrician who specialises in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, said FASD screening for detained children was important, but delays meant many go without testing.

Experts say detained children are more likely to have FASD or other developmental impairments, yet public FASD assessments in Queensland carry waiting times of up to two years, and private assessments cost thousands of dollars.

“There are undoubtedly young people who are sitting in cells at the moment who’ve got developmental disorders that are undiagnosed because they haven’t had an opportunity to be seen by a pediatrician and a multidisciplinary team,” Dr Wilson said.

“The delays in getting a FASD assessment in Far North Queensland are in excess of what would be possible to do to meet those needs for a young person to be assessed properly.

A 2018 study found that 36 per cent of WA’s detained children had FASD. Picture: Canva

“It’s just not feasible at the moment, which is a massive opportunity lost.”

FASD is a form of brain injury caused by prenatal alcohol exposure, which can cause a range of physical, behavioural and cognitive problems, such as impacted decision making skills and impulse control.

The Cairns Post recently launched ‘Cause and Effect’, a campaign calling for mandatory FASD testing for Queensland’s at-risk children, such as those in involved the youth justice system.

Dr Wilson’s comments come after other Queensland experts called for improvements to FASD diagnostic services as a part of the campaign.

Mayor Amy Eden and Cairns MP Michael Healy have publicly supported improvements to testing for at-risk children in Far North Queensland.

Dr Wilson has more than 10 years experience diagnosing FASD and has completed youth justice assessments for detained children across Australia.

She moved to Cairns in 2024 after seven years as a consultant pediatrician in the Northern Territory.

Queensland Minister for Youth Justice Laura Gerber and Member for Barron River Bree James at a Cairns crime rally in February. Picture: Brendan Radke

Dr Wilson (pictured, right) said to adequately respond to youth crime, decision makers needed to more greatly involve youth healthcare workers, such as pediatricians and allied health professionals, in the response.

“Paediatricians are experts on adolescent behaviour,” she said.

“We need to be included in the solutions … so we can actually understand what’s driving behaviours and identify young people who’ve got disabilities, rather than just assuming that they need more punitive responses to what’s happening.

“The justice system is predicated on the assumption that people are able to make decisions based on their chronological age,” she said.

“But some of these kids (with FASD) will have the thinking and reasoning skills of seven or eight year olds, and they may not be able to articulate what their difficulties are.

“If we’re not given an opportunity to work with young people and to assess them properly, then we’re not going to be able to influence their behaviours and to keep them safe and keep the community safe.”

Dr Wilson said it was important this process happened before children were sentenced.

A FASD diagnosis requires at least two assessments, one from a pediatrician or youth psychiatrist and a psychologist. Picture: Canva

“We’re not able to assess young people that we’re not able to see,” Dr Wilson said.

“So we need to have pathways and clinics in place to help us to access these young people to assess them … which means that we need to have greater investment into diagnostic services, children’s development services and into youth justice as well.

“My public colleagues do an incredible job with the resources that they have available to them and they would all love to be able to do more.

“But they’ve only got so many resources.”

Dr Wilson said improvements to FASD testing in detention, wouldn’t only help the community become safer but also provide important clarity and closure for children who are perplexed by their own behaviours.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli recently announced an expansion to the state’s ‘adult crime, adult time’ laws. Picture: Supplied

“There are lived experience studies on people who have diagnosis of FASD who are relieved when they’re able to find out that they have this diagnosis,” she said.

She also said early intervention and diagnosis of FASD would give affected children the best chance to change the trajectory of their lives.

“We know that with early diagnosis and intervention, people with FASD will have two to fourfold improved outcomes in life,” she said.

“We know if we are able to identify them and intervene, we can assist them to change their life courses.

“To be able to support them through a neuro-affirming, disability-orientated lens and to give them stable relationships, to give them access to occupational therapy and speech therapy can be life-changing.”

Dr Wilson ultimately said healthcare professionals need greater chances and support to improve at-risk children’s outcomes and community safety, whether or not in relation to FASD.

“Paediatricians want to be part of the solution to the high risk behaviours that we’re seeing in the community.

“We’re often overlooked as experts in child and adolescent behaviour, as are our allied health colleagues.

“But we can help these young people if we’re given the chance.”

Originally published as ‘We want to be included’: Cairns doctor speaks on the response to youth crime