Framing the ACEs' Message

The Frameworks Children’s Mental Health Tennessee Toolkit. This toolkit was developed for the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth (TCCY) with the generous support of the Annie E. Casey Foundation and KIDS COUNT. It builds on research sponsored by the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, the Jacksonville System of Care Initiative, and the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative to be a compendium of communications research and resources for helping the public better understand issues such as child development, child mental health, and programs informed by a “System of Care” operational philosophy.

The Brain Architecture Game is a tabletop game experience that builds understanding of the powerful role of experiences on early brain development – what promotes it, what derails it, with what consequences for society. Since 2009, more than 12,000 people in groups around the world have played the Brain Architecture Game, gaining a memorable, compelling perspective on the lifelong impact of early childhood experiences. The game is a 75-90 minute experience optimized for groups of 4-6 people per table. It can be played in small workshops, conferences, and large events, with as few as 8, or as many as 300 participants.

How Brains are Built: The Core Story of Brain Development, October 10, 2013- Palix FoundationThe Alberta Family Wellness Initiative (AFWI) launched an animated video that presents the core story of brain development in an accessible and visually engaging format for public audiences. The AFWI developed the video with considerable input from the Harvard Center on the Developing Child and the FrameWorks Institute. Using metaphors developed by FrameWorks and tested with audiences both in the US and in Alberta, “How Brains are Built” infuses core story concepts with energy, accessibility, and high fidelity to the science.