Behaviour Support
Supporting both Adult and Children’s behavioural needs
How can our team help?
Behaviour Support
Our Behaviour Support Team is a dedicated group of professionals who are passionate about supporting individuals, their families and their service providers to manage challenging behaviours and improve people’s quality of life. Our team consists of Developmental Educators, Social Workers, and a Teacher, in addition to holding experience specialising in education, mental health, psychosocial rehabilitation, addiction and exceptional needs. To see our team’s professional biographies, click here to “Meet the Team”.
PAHS’ behavioural support service is further enhanced by having access to a large collaborative team of other specialists including: Occupational Therapists; Speech Pathologists; Mentors and Youth Workers
We are a registered NDIS provider and can provide services under the Capacity Building and Improved Relationship funding lines, including Specialist Behaviour Support.
Positive Behaviour Support
Our team uses Positive Behaviour Support (PBS); an evidence-based, holistic practice which is person centred and tailored to an individual’s needs. A Positive Behaviour Support Plan (PBSP) is an individualised plan aimed at providing support when a person has behaviours of concern (or “challenging behaviours”). Behaviours of concern are behaviours which place an individual or those people around them at risk, and subsequently have a negative impact on the persons quality of life.
A PBSP is developed based on a thorough functional behaviour assessment, including a hypothesis of why the behaviour occurs and what function it serves. The PBSP may also be informed by a variety of information sources and assessments, such as direct observations, structured interviews, incident reports, sensory reports, psychological reports, communication assessments and much more.
Restrictive Practices
Where a person has restrictive practices in place to manage their behaviour, our Behaviour Support Team will assist by developing certain types of Behaviour Support Plans (BSP) as per the requirements of the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. Restrictive practices include chemical restraint, detention, environmental restraint, mechanical restraint, physical restraint and seclusion. Where unsafe or prohibited restrictive practices are in place, our team will do everything we can to ensure that this practice stops immediately and that the rights and dignity of people with disabilities are upheld. Where regulated restrictive practices are in place, our team will complete an Interim BSP followed by a Comprehensive BSP which provide guidance around how to use these practices safely, in addition to the other elements of a PBSP. For further information regarding these requirements, please see the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission website.
Behaviour Therapy
We provide one-on-one therapy for children and adults who experience a range of challenges which have an impact on their behaviour and emotional wellbeing. This includes (and is not limited to):
- Development of social skills and social reciprocity
- Emotional regulation skills (anxiety, stress, anger etc)
- Distress tolerance
- Mindfulness
- Functional communication skills
- Learning and understanding boundaries
We also offer group-based programs which focus on social skills, anxiety, resilience, skill development, behaviour support and capacity building for parents.
Counselling
We also provide one-on-one counselling for children and adults who are experiencing a range of social and mental health issues. We are experienced in supporting people with many complex needs, including:
- Difficulties with relationships
- Bullying and peer pressure
- Anxiety and depression
- Trauma
- Grief and loss
- Managing anger
Advice and Support
Our team understands that finding the right service for you or your family member can at times be stressful and overwhelming. If you are unsure of what type of service would be the best fit, we offer consultation, advice and support to help you to make a plan that you feel comfortable with. Every service that we offer is tailored to individual needs, and we will work closely with individuals and their support network to achieve a positive outcome.
What is a Positive Behaviour Support Plan?
Positive Behaviour Support Plans (PBSP) have a strong evidence base to support them as an effective approach for challenging behaviours. PBSP work positively, meaning it aims to increase and strengthen helpful behaviours through reinforcement, rather than using punishment or negative consequences to reduce the challenging behaviours. They also work proactively, to identify when and where things may go wrong, resulting in the challenging behaviours, and putting strategies in place to prevent them from occurring in the first place.
It is important to acknowledge, that there is a purpose or reason behind all challenging behaviours. This purpose or reason is called the function and has the general aim of either getting something, or to get away from something.
Through collaboration and consultation with the family, school staff, and other stakeholders, information is gathered about the behaviours, the situation and the circumstances in which they occur. This is then complemented through completion of assessments and observations in various environments to identify the antecedents, or triggers, of the behaviour and to start identifying strategies to minimise or mitigate these antecedents.
Following the observations and assessments, a PBSP is developed which will include a number of different sections. These will cover:
- Identifying, developing and reinforcing an appropriate behaviour that replaces the challenging behaviour.
- Creating an environment that minimises and removes the antecedent whilst reinforcing and promoting positive behaviours.
- Developing an action plan to respond to the challenging behaviour when it occurs.
Once the PBSP has been completed, it needs to be implemented across all settings to ensure consistency and effectiveness and will need to be reviewed and revaluated regularly to ensure it is still relevant and effective.