This AVITH in Context webinar focused on the topic of reframing young person violence through a neuroaffirmative lens and was facilitated by Karalyn Davies (Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare). The webinar featured a panel of practitioners, the panel included:
Summary
Canada’s National Consortium on Aggression towards Family and Caregivers in Childhood and Adolescence (AFCCA) doesn’t use the word ‘violence’ in relation to these behaviours by children and young people. They focus instead on trauma-informed and neuroaffirmative practice.
In Victoria, young person violence has typically been viewed through the lens of intergenerational family violence. Many specialist AVITH practitioners here report that many of the young people they work with are neurodivergent. Is it time to consider new ways of conceptualising this issue to bring about changes in language, prevention and response? In this webinar we heard from Dr Allison Cox and Jessica Wright on considerations for working with young people who use violence in the home and their families through a trauma-informed and neuroaffirmative lens. Who is this relevant for?All practitioners and managers working in programs with children, young people and families.
What can be viewed as overload or aggression by one person, isn’t always viewed in the same way as somebody else. Different environments can have different levels of tolerance for expressed emotion.
Stimuli is processed through past experiences, and this can then be perceived as a stressor, activating a higher heart rate and as such, a fight or flight response. Responses can be individualised, where one person may not have the same response to the stimuli as another (e.g., some people may respond aggressively, some people may retreat).
Trauma presents similarly to a neurodivergent presentation – both can be true at the same time for a young person. A key part of trauma-informed practice is for practitioners to accept the young person as they are, affirming that they are good and worthy, uplifting their identity of being neurodivergent, and including them in all decision-making processes.
Cross-sector teams can provide opportunities to think outside the box. This can be done through secondary consults with specialists who are able to bring a different perspective to a challenge or question.
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