Brain Story Certification: Module 1
The Brain Story course focuses on developmental neurobiology, health and wellness – seeking to show how these components interconnect. As it’s goal is to make the information accessable to individuals in and out of the scientific field, this learning opportunity presents itself as a continuing competency and potential intervention for individuals who are attuned to life learning. Being that the framework of the brain story considers health, education, justice, and social services, it is an intervention that can be used at a systems level to provide education to a wide variety of individuals or professions.
Module 1 – Video 1: How Science Can Shape the Future of Public Policy
Positive experiences are the focus of this session. Dr. Jack Shonkoff (n.d.) is the speaker in video 1. Shonkoff notes that there are 3 branches of professions (research, service delivery, and policy) and that each one of these composes of silos. Shonkoff argues that the disciplines need to work from the same science base to improve their effectiveness – as opposed to inter-agency data-sharing or collaborative agreements.
There are several domains of outcomes that can be addressed through having healthy childhood development. First is the long-term outcomes, where there are improved health-related behaviours, improved educational achievements and economic productivity, and finally improved physical and mental health.
Part of what is identified is the gene-environment interaction and physiological disruptions. Physiological adaptations to the environment influence gene expression. When the adaptations are maladaptive (in areas such as the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus) then there can be negative impacts on development – such as stress regulation and management. This can, in turn impact the immune system and circulatory system. The outcomes are thus either a build-up of adaptations or wear and tear on the bodies systems. One consideration Shankoff brings up is that there are specific critical periods of development that can be impacted by the environment.
Shonkoff outlines severall foundations for healthy development. First is stable, responsive relationships. Second is safe, supportive environments, and third is appropriate nutrition (eg. family supports, family education, food security, parks, and environmental toxins). These are framed as key considerations for social policy for families and beyond.
Another component considered by Shonkoff is the caregiver and community capacities. Shonkoff outlines considerations such as time and commitment, financial, psychological and institutional resources, and skills and knowledge as factors that can influence development. This fits well with systems theory, the concept of social planning, and community capacity building. This arguably moves from the micro to more of the mezzo and macro areas of practice – depending on the point of intervention. Here we can consider how the subsystems are interacting, and if there is entropy. Should there be entrophy, we can look at resources in the system that can be adjusted to address the disequlibrium, or work with subsystems to create other subsystems that can restore balance. A community asset map may be useful in this process (see Fuller, Guy, & Pletsch, 2002).
The last component Snonkoff mentions is the Policy and Program levels of innovation. Here we are directly speaking to service delivery mechanisms that are clearly subsystems if looked at from a systems theory perspective. Some of the subsystems included were primary healthcare providers, child care and early education services, public health initiatives, and child welfare. Other services considered included income supports, community development, housing supports, and private sector initiatives.
In summary of the multiple sectors, Snonkiff sees components as interconnected in addressing child development. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory, and systems theory – along with asset mapping and evidence-based policy-making – all have a role to play in a social worker’s role of enhancing communities so that child development can be enhanced. Noteworthy is Snonkiff’s emphasis of private and public sector partnerships that are informed by science. Social workers may have opportunities through community outreach and education to pursue goals of establishing those partnerships.
Video 2: Challenges for Policy Makers
Snonkiff outlines 3 challenges that intersect between early childhood science and policy. The first outlined is the “why” question – why we need to pay attention to early childhood development. Given the science, Snonkiff argues this is easy to answer, but gathering educators and an audience ready to learn is the primary task. Next, are the “what” and “how” questions, which are tougher. These questions bring awareness to the content that would otherwise be unknown unless purposefully educated. Here the task is finding ways to apply the science of childhood development to policy/programming. The last question, “what’s next,” is the most difficult to answer.
Snonkiff argues that enhancing quality and access to services is one piece. This also means making sure the intervention matches the need, ensuring there is sufficient professional development, and financial allocation to sufficient skillsets of professionals who can deliver services. It also means that the programming is scalable to a large enough portion of the population in need of services. As effective models emerge, there is a need to expand those models to other regions and ensure that the programs remain accessible in all communities while maintaining fidelity. The last component is building, testing, and promoting new theories of change. Don’t be afraid to build on and enhance programming from evidence-based research.
Video 3: Strategic Communications and the Swamp of Public Thinking
Kendall-Taylor discusses how communications can be distorted in “the swamp” along with “swamp orchids” that can be sued to enhance success of information translation. Cultural models of childhood development is brought into consideration. Preconceived notions around who influences childhood development. This video highlights the nature vs. nurture debate and various discourses. “The swamp” influences how people think about brain development. The family influence, willpower, and blackbox (lack of knowledge), what doesn’t kill you make you stronger (positivity of stress), genetic determinism (fatalism), quality as quantity (increasing access to programming over quality). These foundational models shape how people think about appropriate interventions for child development. What we need to do is address this is with a core story about child development (all the child development issues).
CORE stories are common sets of elements, an organized story, a responsive and flexible narrative, and is empirically tested. CORE stories are structured as a series of questions about child development that professionals need to fill in in their interactions with others, or the information will be filled in by the individuals from their own frames of reference. The goal is to displace the frames of reference with empirically-tested understandings of development – a new story.
Values are a significant guiding consideration for individuals to look more broadly at evidence-based policy. Metaphors may also need to be empirically tested
Video 4: A Brief Introduction into the Brain Story
Early experiences shape brain architecture – positive interactions build a stable foundation. It is built through:
- Serve and return interactions (metaphor of building)
- Good vs bad stress – Toxic stress can lead to damage of the brain structure. It is more impactful and cost-effective to build solid healthy architecture in childhood than intervene later on.
- Executive function likened to air traffic control.
Video 5 – Getting into the Science: You Are Your Brain
The brain creates behaviour in the perceptual world that is constructed by the brain. We create our realities. The nervous system is a network of neurons. The network of neurons change in response to experience – this is plasticity.
Plastic changes result in behavioural change – such changes are known as learning, memory, addiction, maturation, ageing, recovery, fatigue, dementia, depression, PTSD, etc.
Experience alters brain activity, and gene expression (epigenetics). This can happen in parents and be passed on through to children. There is a multi-generational component. Experience is thus pre-and post-natally impacted. Synaptic pruning is the pathway by which the brain is shaped by experience in childhood.
References
Alberta Family Wellness. (2020). Brain Story Certification [e-learning online course]. Retrieved from https://training.albertafamilywellness.org/
https://ccednet-rcdec.ca/sites/ccednet-rcdec.ca/files/asset_mapping_handbook.pdf