Page 16 - Course Handbook 2023

Brain Shaping can make it easier or
Unit 4: Brain Shaping
Why some young people struggle more than others
harder to manage daily stressors

WHAT WE KNOW / UNDERSTAND PICTURE PROMPTS

▪ Some children enjoy strong attachments, good basic care and
plentiful positive, enriching experiences. This helps to build strong
brain pathways and in turn, Executive Function skills. early in life.
These connections form the foundations for later connections.

▪ Strong attachments, good basic care and positive, enriching
experiences help a child to feel physically comfortable, connected
and cared for, to feel they count, to feel capable and have a sense
of control over their lives. They fill a child’s ‘5C Needs’.
▪ A child who has had the right experiences to build strong early
brain pathways and whose 5C needs are met well, finds it easier
to follow routines and do what is expected. The child wears yellow
lenses in life; and when stressors come their way, they can
manage well.

▪ Other children are not so lucky. They have not built such strong
brain pathways either due to poor attachments, few enriching
experiences, adverse experiences or because their brain is wired
differently, not due to environment or experiences, but genetics.

▪ These children do not have such strong Executive Function skills.
Their 5C Needs are often not met so well and they have higher
levels of stress chemicals in their body. They enter situations
wearing blue or red lenses and can react to stressors more easily
and strongly. Life is more difficult for them. It is not their fault.