Peer-reviewed article
Family-centred, therapeutic camps for Aboriginal children with complex neurodevelopmental needs and early life trauma in remote Australia: a qualitative study of the Marurra-U family camp.
Pickard A, Stubbs T, Davies J, Napier-Raman S, Carter E et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examines the Marurra-U family camp, a therapeutic recreational program in remote Australia designed for Aboriginal children with neurodevelopmental needs and early life trauma. Through interviews with 13 parent-carers and camp observations, researchers found that the camps helped children improve emotion regulation, social skills, and behaviour, while also empowering and building knowledge in parents. The program uses a two-way, trauma-informed, strengths-based approach led by the local Aboriginal community.
Key points
- Parents reported improvements in children's emotion regulation, social skills, confidence, and behaviour following camp participation
- The camps empowered and motivated parents, building their knowledge and skills to support their children
- Local Aboriginal leadership combined with a two-way, trauma-informed, strengths-based approach was key to success
- The family-centred, therapeutic, recreational camp design provides a unique opportunity for supporting children with complex needs
- This model could potentially be adopted by similar communities elsewhere
Limitations
This qualitative study relies on parent-reported outcomes from participants who attended the camps, so it does not include comparison groups or objective measures of child outcomes. The findings reflect the perspectives of families who chose to participate and may not represent experiences of all families in the community.
Abstract
Background Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations in the Fitzroy Valley are internationally recognised for their leadership in supporting children with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder and early life trauma, and their families. This study investigates the design and parent-reported impact of the Marurra-U family camp, a family-centred, therapeutic, recreational camp for Aboriginal children with complex neurodevelopmental or social-emotional needs. Methods An Aboriginal Participatory Action Approach was used. Nine yarning sessions with 13 Aboriginal parent/carers who attended the Marurra-U family camp in 2024 or 2025 were conducted. Researchers also conducted ethnographic observations whilst participating in the camps. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings Four themes were constructed: 1) The unique characteristics and design of the Marurra-U family camp, 2) Children actively engaged in camp activities, leading to improved individual, family, and social wellbeing, 3) Parents were motivated and empowered to support their children and communities to thrive, 4) Two-way teams were effective in delivering child and family support. Interpretation Parents reported that the camps supported emotion regulation, social skills, confidence, and behaviour in children, and empowered, built knowledge, and skills in parents to support their children. This demonstrated that family-centred, therapeutic, recreational camps provide a unique opportunity to support Aboriginal children with complex neurodevelopmental or social-emotional needs. Local leadership, combined with a two-way, trauma-informed, strengths-based approach was key to the success of the family camps. This approach could be adopted by similar communities elsewhere. Funding This study was supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia Partnership grant (#APP1171880).
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Marurra-U family camp: a family-centred, therapeutic, recreational camp combining activities with parent support, delivered using a two-way, trauma-informed, strengths-based approach by local Aboriginal-led teams
- Population
- Aboriginal children with complex neurodevelopmental or social-emotional needs and their families in remote Fitzroy Valley, Australia
Key finding
Parents reported camps supported emotion regulation in children
A et al. · Europe PMC · 10 Sept 2026