What they say to DO #2
2. Use the simplifying models or metaphors to make complex science undestandable.
A good one is the metaphor of Levelness. This is the idea that children and their environments need to be brought into a functional state — the metaphor includes ideas of stability, the influence of a variety of causal factors, and the ability to make adjustments and modifications to achieve levelness. Below is an example of how the simplifying model of Levelness was executed in our research:
"Scientists say that children's mental health affects how they socialize, how they learn, and how well they meet their potential. One way to think about child mental health is that it’s like the levelness of a piece of furniture, say, a table. The levelness of a table is what makes it usable and able to function, just like the mental health of a child is what enables him or her to function and do many things. Some children’s brains develop on floors that are level. This is like saying that the children have healthy, supportive relationships, and access to things like good nutrition and health care. For other children, their brains develop on more sloped or slanted floors. This means they’re exposed to abuse or violence, have unreliable or unsupportive relationships, and don’t have access to key programs and resources. Remember that tables can’t make themselves level — they need attention from experts who understand levelness and stability and who can work on the table, the floor, or even both. We know that it’s important to work on the floors and the tables early, because little wobbles early on tend to become big wobbles later. So, in general, a child’s mental health is like the stability and levelness of a table."
What is important to include in the Levelness Model: • That Levelness is a quality, with analogy to a piece of furniture such as a table. • Levelness is important because it determines the functioning and usability of the table and, likewise, with children’s mental health. • In reality, there are many degrees of the levelness of a table, as there are also degrees of levelness of the floors they’re placed on. • There are many reasons that a table might be level or unlevel; it could depend on the condition of the table, the floor, or both. • Positive mental health can be achieved by adjusting the floor, the table, or both. • Tables don’t level themselves. They must either be made that way or they require intervention by people who know about furniture and levelness.
After being presented the model of Levelness, FrameWorks’ research informants could explain what child mental health is. As Erard et al. explain, “It [Levelness] easily generated a brain-based conception of mental health, as opposed to one based on emotional or moral conceptions, but without defaulting to genetics as the only explanation for changes in brain structure or functioning.”
In other words, because they could grasp that a table that isn’t level cannot function, they were able to consider that child mental health was important to children’s overall functioning. Finally, equipped with the metaphor, informants recognized the existence of multiple causal factors of mental health and the need for flexible and multi-modal intervention strategies that would address “levelness.”
Jane, this is where you add in all those issues that challenge "levelness" , the
10 original ACEs, plus racism, bullying, witnessing violence outside the home, involvement with the foster care system, involvement with the medical care system, attending a zero-tolerance school, involvement with the juvenile justice system, homelessness, moving often, etc.)