Heath Ferguson is a Canadian FASD self-advocate from Alberta whose work emphasizes the lifelong realities of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, the need for coordinated supports across adulthood, and the importance of including living experience in public policy. In 2026, Ferguson submitted testimony to the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology in support of Bill S-234, An Act respecting a national framework for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. In that submission, he identified himself as an Albertan living with FASD and urged policymakers to look beyond childhood-focused awareness and prevention toward the long-term support needs of people already living with the disability.
Ferguson’s advocacy is grounded in the gap between how capable a person with FASD may appear and how difficult it can be to sustain that functioning without appropriate structure and support. He has emphasized that FASD affects not only cognition and behavior, but also stress regulation, physical health, and the ability to function consistently in everyday life.
His advocacy is strongly informed by his own experience navigating health and education systems. Ferguson has described situations in which he had to take an unusually active role in managing his own care and, at times, explain FASD to professionals in order to obtain appropriate support. He presents those experiences not simply as individual frustrations, but as evidence of broader gaps in professional awareness, service coordination, and adult FASD care.
A recurring theme in Ferguson’s work is the difference between willingness and capacity. He argues that people with FASD can work, participate in their communities, and contribute in meaningful ways when appropriate supports are in place, while the same person may struggle significantly when those supports are absent.
Within the Adult Leadership Cooperative of FASD Changemakers, Ferguson brings a particularly strong perspective on adult health-system navigation, lifespan supports, capacity-based advocacy, and Canadian federal policy. His work reinforces the importance of having people living with FASD participate directly in shaping the policies and systems that affect their lives.