Queen Letizia of Spain received several representatives of patient organisations on Friday. The audiences, which were held at Zarzuela Palace, were organised in order to inform Her Majesty of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and celiac disease and the work of the associations.
On Friday morning, the Queen met with members of Visual TEAF, an association that aims to improve the lives of children, adolescents and young adults who are affected by fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders entail a wide range of physical, mental, behavioural and cognitive abnormalities that an individual can have because of the exposure to alcohol during the prenatal development. The association strives to bring people and professionals together from all sorts of fields so that multidisciplinary networks of knowledge and experience can be built.
TEAF aims to defend the rights of young persons that have been affected by early adversity. In addition, the network raises awareness by organising campaigns about the dangers of drinking alcohol during pregnancy. Many volunteers make sure that the organisation can continue its important work. It is because of this reason that Her Majesty wished to meet some of the families who have been involved with the association. The Queen and her guests were seated in a circle as they discussed how the association works to improve the lives of the families.
After the inspiring meeting, another group of visitors arrived at the Zarzuela Palace. This time, representatives of FACE, the Federation of Associations of Celiacs of Spain, were welcomed by Queen Letizia. The federation consists of 15 associations and two federations and has a total of 21,000 families as members. The improvement of the quality of life of those with celiacs is one of the core missions of the federation as well as achieving the social integration of those with celiacs. FACE lends direct support to celiacs and their families by carrying out awareness campaigns, conducting research and informing about food security. People who are affected by celiac disease need, among others, to follow a gluten-free diet. Her Majesty has praised the organisation for their remarkable work that is supported by many volunteers. The hour-long audience ended with a group photo.
