This support group is for anybody from the Australia, Asia & Pacific region who wish to join together to share information about albinism and enjoy fellowship with others who understand their circumstance.

What is Albinism? Albinism refers to a group of inherited conditions that result in having reduced or absent melanin pigment from an early developmental stage. This in turn leads to ocular changes that tend to result in poor vision within the legally blind range. Ocular Albinism (OA) is clinically characterised by visual aberrations only. Oculocutaneous albinism (OCA) is clinically characterised by visual aberrations combined with generalized hypopigmentation of the skin and hair, resulting in a lighter overall colouration when compared to individuals of the same familial background (King R. A., 1998)

Chat group created on 'Yahoo' (30-06-2005) by Helene Johanson, originally named “Albinism_AustraliaAsiaPacific”. Group became affiliated with Albinism Fellowship of Australia and Group name was changed to “AFA_Online” (05-10-2006). Group extended to facebook (24-08-2011).

AFA_Online also have a Facebook based chat option if you prefer that forum:https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/123584867740071/

We also operate in affiliation with and as the official chat group for the Albinism Fellowship of Australia (AFA). Membership of this albinism support organisation is NOT mandatory for joining AFA-Online. We will run polls and distributing information related to AFA including the newsletter 'Beyond Blonde' and advertising AFA social activities.

Feature Photo: Brad Hunter from Daily Telegraph won feature photograph of the year at the annual 2011 Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers Association awards last week with this gorgeous photo of AFA_Online member Matthew.

Photograph reproduced and used on AFA_Online Homepage with permission of Brad Hunter and the Zhou Family.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/gallery/gallery-e6frewxi-1226117993529?pag