What does the term childhood behavioural disorders mean in the context of Aboriginal culture within Australia? Part 2: Historical and social context

Abstract

Childhood behavioural disorders (CBDs) are a common reason for referral to paediatric services and are associated with negative individual and societal outcomes. This article addresses how childhood became a distinct entity and how historical changes shaped its definition. Thereafter, the evolution of diagnostic criteria for CBD and associated limitations will be summarised. This will be followed by a discussion about Aboriginal culture, and the impact of colonisation on social and emotional well‐being. This will provide a contextual frame for understanding how social and cultural context influences diagnoses of CBD in Aboriginal children. From this, a conversation about the journey moving forward will begin.

Ngaramadhi Space: An Integrated, Multisector Model of Care for Students Experiencing Problematic Externalising Behaviour

“…In Australia, there is a need for innovation that is culturally responsive and where community members have a real and tangible role in the co-design of services [12,18,26,79]. Schools are an under-utilised community space within Australia and the health sector can play a pivotal role in improving the wellbeing of children by forming effective partnerships with schools [26, 52].…”

“…The community acceptance of this type of model provides an important first step in addressing inequitable access and can form a base for prevention and early intervention models [26]. Furthermore, the NS model of care is centred on understanding the student in the context of 'people, place and land' thereby recognising the role of culture, society and history on behaviour [79].…”

“…The committee met regularly and developed agreed upon terms of reference. The community members expressed a need to scale up the NS model because the holistic approach was seen as an effective way of improving access and engagement with health and education services [67,79].…”

“…For the Aboriginal community it was critical that the SEWB of students was recognised, a term which reflects the important connection between physical, mental and emotional health with social, spiritual and cultural wellbeing [12,14,18]. Amongst the Aboriginal community SBHC is an effective way to address inequity with collaborative partnerships between the health and education sector that seek to understand the 'whole of the child and family' valued [67,79]. NS was governed by a community reference group, Wouwanguul Kanja, that oversaw all aspects of the design and evaluation of the initiative.…”

“…NS was governed by a community reference group, Wouwanguul Kanja, that oversaw all aspects of the design and evaluation of the initiative. This active participation from the community led to acceptance of the model along with calls to scale up the model so that other students could benefit from the approach [67,79]. It is important for this level of community participation to be maintained and improved upon as the model evolves and is scaled up.…”