[Associate Professon Alexander Lehn]

Associate Professor Alexander Lehn attended medical school in Germany (Regensburg and Munich) and conducted his residency and basic physician training in the United Kingdom (Bristol) and Australia (Nambour and Brisbane). After a Fellowship in movement disorders at the Princess Alexandra (PA) Hospital, Dr Lehn undertook a further Fellowship in movement disorders in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.

Dr Lehn heads the movement disorder service at PA Hospital and together with Dr Sarah Olson runs the DBS service at PA and Mater Hospitals, Brisbane. Dr Lehn has a keen interest in Functional Neurological Disorders and from 2015-19 ran a dedicated FND clinic at Mater Hospital, Brisbane, the first in Australia. With a  multidisciplinary team of health professionals, he runs regular teaching courses for FND in Brisbane and across Australia and has published extensively in this area.

[Dr Shelley Dawson]

Dr Shelley Dawson is a sociolinguist/discourse analyst in the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington. Her research examines how language is used to reproduce and contest social inequalities and  she uses qualitative ethnographic and discourse analytic methods to address questions of identity, marginalisation, and belonging. She investigates functional neurological disorder from a discourse perspective, with a view towards challenging the taken-for-granted ‘truths’ about the disorder and the people affected by it.  

[Melanie Grace; FNDA]

Melanie Grace is the co-founder of FNDA: Functional Neurological Disorder Aotearoa. Many moons ago, Mel dropped out of her PhD in health policy to work in central government strategic policy, research and evaluation. She worked on health, housing, community development, gang communities, child abuse, and family and sexual violence. 

One day her boss sent her home with a nasty dose of PTSD and she began her ACC funded recovery. Seven years later, after a total of 10 years of intensive psychological therapy, Mel developed FND. She describes the experience as violent and overwhelming medically. From a policy perspective, she said it was akin to Alice falling down the rabbit hole. She was shown a different side of her community, one she did not recognise or understand.

No stranger to challenge, she sought to understand what happened and why it's happening . It quickly became apparent to her that the dire circumstances facing FND patients required  strong local leadership.  Melanie co-founded  FNDA .  She published  a comprehensive online local resource for patients, whanau and medics.  She continues to research, publish and socialise the experiences of her community in a campaign for positive change. 

We are privileged to have Melanie open the symposium, bringing together her lived experience and research work to highlight experiences of the FND community, the imperative for improvement and avenues for positive change.

[Dr. Filipo Katavake-McGrath]

Dr Filipo Katavake-McGrath (Kāti Rūāhikihiki, Kāti Huirapa, Tonga) holds an MPhil and PhD from AUT in economics and public policy. Filipo’s research career into the economic experiences of whānau Māori, Pacific peoples and LGBTI people was cut short by an explosion of his symptoms following a COVID diagnosis in 2021. In the following 3 years, a series of diagnostic tests encountered Long Covid, Parkinsons, Dementia and concluded in an FND diagnosis in 2024. Complicating the experience is the link for Filipo between FND and childhood abuse, which led the diagnosis to be considered as retroactive covering a host of symptoms experienced since the early 1980s. 

To overcome the challenges of living with FND and being unable to pull a full-day behind a desk, Filipo has developed a self-driven relaxation, self-care and therapeutic programme to consolidate the lessons he’s learned, while also opening a rehabilitation clinic for others with the condition. 

Filipo weaves together strands of whakapapa, professional training and lived experience to offer a Te Ao Māori perspective on FND  with his talk entitled "The Poutama and the Kakala: Purposive selection and staircased deployment of knowledge supporting knowledge creation by people with FND".

[FNDT treatment team]

Dr Eloise Watson (Neurologist),  Jenny Maley (Clinical Psychologist) and Mary Gamble (Physiotherapist) together run one of New Zealand's few dedicated FND services: a multidisciplinary outpatient FND treatment clinic. They work in collaboration with affected individuals to build a shared understanding of FND and develop a conceptual approach to treatment alongside specific strategies to improve symptoms. Whilst data suggests the clinic is beneficial for most attendees, they continue to look to develop and improve the service. They will share their experiences, challenges and areas of need, and invite feedback and suggestions from participants.