Making sense of the whole story.
Understanding how people develop, so support fits where they really are.
What is NATI?
NATI stands for Neuro-Developmentally, Attachment and Trauma Informed. SAL Consulting developed the framework through years of direct practice. Plenty of services call themselves trauma-informed.
NATI names what sits underneath that: how the brain develops, and the early relationships that shape it. Once you understand both, behaviour starts to make sense, and support can match where a person is developmentally, not just their age.
Who is this for?
NATI suits anyone supporting a person whose early experiences still shape how they cope today. That includes children in care, adults with disability and complex trauma histories, and the families, carers and teams around them.
We work with:
Families, foster and kinship carers
Out-of-home care and child and family services
Disability services, including forensic disability programs
Clinicians, case managers and behaviour support practitioners
How does it work?
NATI brings together research on brain development, attachment and stress with the practical tools of positive behaviour support. It starts with the person's story, then builds support around what they can manage now and what they can grow into.
Here’s a typical overview of what you might expect:
We’ll aim to establish safety and stability first, with a safety plan where needed.
We’ll conduct an assessment that looks at development, relationships and stress responses, including NMT where appropriate.
We’ll develop a formulation built with the person and their carers, so the story makes sense to everyone involved.
It will include a planned rhythm of everyday experiences that are relational, repetitive, rewarding and matched to development.
We aim for regular reviews, with planned links to ongoing support so progress holds even after our involvement ends.
Here’s what we know:
Development builds from the ground up. The brain organises in sequence, so support starts with safety and regulation, then moves to relationships and, later, reasoning.
Relationships shape the brain, and can help repair it. Early relationships teach a person how to handle stress. Safe, predictable, attuned relationships are also how that learning changes.
Support must be sized to the person. Too little challenge and nothing grows. Too much and the person is overwhelmed. NATI plans support within what someone can manage, then widens it over time.
NATI is a powerful tool to support people
NATI shapes how SAL practitioners approach every piece of work, from a single assessment to long-term support for a whole team. If someone’s behaviour isn’t making sense, or support keeps breaking down, talk to us about taking a NATI view.
Building Trauma-Informed Organisations
Practical support for services moving from trauma aware to trauma informed.
Becoming trauma-informed takes sustained effort across a whole organisation, from direct support staff through to leadership and policy. Australian research describes this as a continuum, running from trauma aware through trauma sensitive and trauma responsive to trauma informed (AIFS, 2016). SAL uses NATI to help services see honestly where they sit on that path and plan the practical steps forward. We also contributed to Taking Time, an organisational self-assessment system for trauma-informed practice in disability services.
NATI and the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics
How our practice lens connects with Dr Bruce Perry’s leading clinical model:
NATI draws on the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT™), developed by Dr Bruce Perry, alongside attachment research and positive behaviour support.
NMT is a structured clinical assessment. NATI is the wider lens SAL brings to all our work, whether or not an NMT assessment is part of it. Where an NMT assessment would help, our accredited practitioners can provide one.