A Canberra family has set up a GoFundMe for their son who has a disorder many people have likely never heard of.

Bryn Child was diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) in July 2024, about two weeks after he turned 16.

Any money donated to Bucks for Bryn will go towards the costs associated with treatment via a clinic in Brisbane, and to therapy in Canberra which can cost up to almost $300 per session.

Bryn’s father, Julian Child, said the family realised there was something wrong mid-2024 when he had an epileptic-style fit.

“We were really lucky the doctor actually diagnosed him with FND that night as that’s not everybody’s experience,” Julian said.

He said when Bryn suffered from a seizure, it could be followed by disassociation, amnesia, forgetting his name, or not being able to recognise those around him.

Julian said Bryn’s diagnosis had impacted the family “a lot”.

“I think it’s probably impacted his brother (Charlie Child) a lot,” he said.

“Just our attention’s obviously on Bryn a lot and Charlie is in year 9 this year.”

Julian said this has resulted in Charlie not getting the attention he needed.

Neille Williams, Bryn’s mother, said it had been hard for the family to find the right place for treatment.

“It’s kind of a grey area in between a lot of things,” she said.

“We’ve had a real carousel of symptoms. One can stop then another can spring up.

“He’ll do this auto walking where he can’t stop his legs, we’ve had his eyes roll back into his head, losing the ability to see for a while.

“We’ve also had him not being able to feel things even though he’s touching things.

“A lot of locked in freezes where he just falls, and he can’t move for a while.

“We get a lot of those rotation of symptoms that come and go that can present quite differently at different times.”

Other symptoms include chronic fatigue and phantom pain.

The family put off setting up a GoFundMe for as long as they could.

“We just reached a point that we just couldn’t give to Bryn anymore with the constraints we had, but I know how much more he needs,” Neille said.

“I felt I had done everything I could for my son.

“We had so many people ask, ‘How can we help?’”

Bryn said he sometimes anticipated when a symptom of FND would hit.

“Sometimes more than others, but often there are signs before something big is about to happen,” he said.

Bryn said he found it hard to continue going to school while dealing with the symptoms of FND.

“If I can’t go to school, I’m essentially just resting my body and my mind,” he said.

While his parents take him to school during the breaks to socialise with his friends, he said the situation was tough.

One thing that has taken a back seat since the diagnosis is the family band, Manchild and The Blues Kids.

“Music is different for me (now). I’ve ended up playing a lot more solo piano than I did previously with the band,” Bryn said.

“It acts as a really good outlet — both to diffuse the various stresses going on in my mind, but also to just take full control, at the very least, my hands.”

Since speaking to CD, the family posted an update on the band’s Facebook page, which said enough money was raised for Bryn to start telehealth sessions with an FND specialist.

It also said there had been a breakthrough.

“Still a long way to go but progress is progress, and he is talking with more hope and confidence in his voice,” the post by Julian said.

“His therapist has also encouraged him to try playing with the band again but to start with baby steps — stay tuned for updates on this one!

“Mamma and I are overwhelmed with this news and with the generosity shown by all Bryn’s fans, thank you all it means the world to us.”

To support the family, donate at gofundme.com/f/bucks-for-bryn

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