Banksia Hill detainees show alarming rates of brain disorders

A NEW WA study has found a staggering 90 per cent of kids in custody have at least one severe brain disorder.

Banksia Hill Detention Centre.

IN an Australian-first study, Perth researchers have found that an alarming 90 per cent of youths in custody have at least one severe brain disorder.

The Telethon Kids Institute study of more than 100 young people aged 10 to 17 at the Banksia Hill detention centre reveals unprecedented rates of serious neuro-developmental problems affecting their ability to think and remember.

The groundbreaking research found 89 per cent of detained youths had at least one severe impairment, while two-thirds had three or more, despite many coming into frequent contact with government agencies.

Of 36 children who met the criteria for foetal alcohol spectrum disorder — caused when an unborn child is exposed to alcohol in the womb — only two had been diagnosed.

The study, published by the British Medical Journal, calls for formal neuro-developmental assessment of all young people entering the justice system and comprehensive training for detention centre staff.

The two-year project was led by FASD researcher Carol Bower and paediatrician Raewyn Mutch.

Professor Bower said the team had set out to look specifically for FASD but were surprised to find severe neuro-disability in almost every person they assessed.

“This is among the highest reported rate of neuro-disability among sentenced youth in the world,” she said. “Two-thirds of the young people had at least three domains of severe impairment.

“The sorts of domains we’re talking about are problems with executive function such as not being able to relate cause and effect or to plan, and problems with memory, cognition, motor skills, attention, social skills and adaptive behaviour. Almost half the young people had severe problems with language, how to listen and understand and how to reply and explain what they think.”

Dr Mutch said one-quarter of the young people were found to have intellectual disability, with an IQ score at or below 70.

Many of those found to have severe impairment had been written off as “naughty children”.

“What they do is socially unacceptable but it’s arisen from a brain that isn’t working properly,” she said.

Commissioner for Children and Young People Colin Pettit said the findings were alarming and showed that vulnerable young people who came into contact with the justice system were not being adequately managed.

Originally published as Banksia Hill detainees show alarming rates of brain disorders