Acknowledgement of Country

Sovereignty was never ceded. No treaty was ever signed. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the Traditional Custodians of the lands and waters on which this work is made, and that does not become less true with time, legislation or silence.

FREE 2B ME acknowledges Elders past, present and emerging. This body of work exists because systems cause harm when they ask people to become easier to accommodate. No community in this country has been asked to do that more often, or for longer, than First Nations peoples.

We hold that as a matter of practice, not sentiment.

Frameworks & Tools · Operational rule

Access Before Intervention

Access Before Intervention asks whether a person can meaningfully access the communication, relationship, environment, body position, pace and modality an intervention requires - before difficulty is interpreted as resistance, lack of insight, lack of motivation or lack of capacity.

Applications

The same principle, different settings

Counselling

Adapt the therapeutic process before interpreting reduced engagement as resistance.

Specialist Behaviour Support

Understand communication, function, unmet need and conditions before targeting visible behaviour.

Participation

Distinguish lack of access from lack of skill.

Organisations and systems

Identify the process, language, sensory, time and power conditions shaping what becomes visible.

Counselling and Specialist Behaviour Support share this principle but remain professionally distinct services.