Reframe Training is an evidence-based program developed by researchers at the Telethon Kids Institute which aims to educate frontline professionals to recognise and understand neurodisability in young people, reframe their behaviours, and respond appropriately to their needs.
Individuals living with neurodisabilities can experience lifelong difficulties across a number of areas including cognition, emotion, communication, motor skills, behaviour and learning. These conditions can sometimes lead to problems at school, socially unacceptable behaviour, alcohol and other drug use, and early interactions with the justice system. Neurodisabilities include intellectual disability, autism, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, however some individuals with a neurodisability will not have been given a specific diagnosis.
Reframe Training is delivered as a 4-hour face-to-face workshop facilitated by an expert presenter. The workshop format involves a combination of lectures, group discussions, peer-to-peer learning and the viewing of nine short, educational videos. Topics covered incluce an introduction to neurodisabilities including FASD; understanding the behavioural presentations in those living with neurodisabilities; and strategies to assist managing behaviours that are appropriate for use in a variety of sectors.
Specifically, the areas of neurodevelopment discussed are:
- memory and learning,
- language and communication,
- adaptive function,
- attention and sensory processing,
- executive function,
- motor skills,
- academic function, and
- cognition.
Reframe Training was developed following an extensive two-year consultation process with young people in detention and professionals in the Western Australian justice and health sectors. This program was initially tailored for the youth justice workforce but has been identified as having great relevance to a variety of other workforces that interact with individuals with complex needs and behaviours. These include the child protection, education, police, adult corrections and community justice, community services and disability sectors.
The Presenter
Dr Hayley Passmore has qualifications in child health, criminology and psychology. She has previous experience working with adult offenders and their families, and with vulnerable children and families across Western Australia. In 2019, Hayley completed her PhD at the Telethon Kids Institute and The University of Western Australia Medical School (Paediatrics), focusing on the workforce development component of the Banksia Hill study. Hayley was a Finalist in the 2019 WA Premier’s Science Awards Student Scientist of the Year category. Hayley currently works in the Alcohol, Pregnancy and FASD research group at the Telethon Kids Institute and the FASD Research Australia Centre of Research Excellence. Most recently, Hayley was awarded a 2020 Churchill Fellowship to explore international approaches to managing and supporting young people with neurodisability in justice and secure care settings