Action 1: Approach the person, assess, and assist with any crisis cont.
safeguarding responsibilities and when confidentiality needs to be broken. Therefore, always check the policy for your setting.
Adapting your approach for pre-adolescents The approach with pre-adolescents may occur more organically through play or when completing a task. Instead of being alerted by what a pre-adolescent tells you directly, a Youth MHFAider may realised there is a cause for concern due to the actions and body language of pre-adolescents The Youth MHFAider should consider what might be driving behaviours such as anger or frustration. This can be achieved by thinking about the pre- adolescent’s Frame of Reference. It is a good idea to eliminate causes related their basic needs, which will help assess whether a pre-adolescent is presenting distress due to a decline in their mental health. A useful acronym to help assess pre-adolescents is HALT. A pre-adolescent presenting distress may be experiencing one or a combination of all of these factors. Ask yourself, are they feeling: (96) H ungry A ngry L onely T ired It is important to remember that if you know the pre-adolescent well then a change in behaviour or personality is what you
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