Chrissa Wadlow
Parents of disabled children and those with special educational needs are increasingly being accused of fabricating illness – and a Derby-based organisation is to host a week-long series of webinars with advice from leading experts to help arm them with help and advice.
Fabricated or induced illness (FII) is a term used by professionals to describe parents who appear to over-exaggerate or completely fabricate their child’s difficulties or illness. It can often start with parental blame and escalate quickly into having social care involvement.
Sunshine Support, which has its headquarters in Derby, held the first FII Awareness Week in 2022 with the intention of shining light on the accusations of FII and, next week, they will run another week-long series of online events.
Experts who will be taking part include Cathie Long and doctor Fiona Gullon-Scott, who will talk about FII accusations and how to deal with them, and professor Luke Clements who will cover the law for both professionals and parents to better understand.
PANS PANDAS – the UK’s only charity supporting children and families living with neuropsychiatric conditions – will also be hosting an event.
Reena Sharma, services manager at Sunshine Support, said: “We have worked hard to secure some of the most respected professionals who have working knowledge of FII.
“Those who are taking part are very committed in the SEND field; people like professor Luke Clements and PANS PANDAS.
“There is no actual diagnosis of FII but what this event will aim to do is to raise awareness amongst both professionals and parents/carers.”
Chrissa Wadlow, founder of Sunshine Support, will host the first event; an introduction to FII Awareness Week on Monday, May 1 (10am).
She said: “After conducting some independent research here at Sunshine Support, our research showed us the 37% of accusations started at school.
“With this knowledge we decided to dedicate this year’s awareness week to providing educational resources to schools and educational establishments.
“Out intention is not to blame or shame, but to support those with their education and to, in turn, improve practice within schools, health and social care.”
For further details and to book a place on one of the webinars, visit www.fii-awareness.co.uk/awareness-week
