Positive behaviour support services are essential for many people with disabilities and these services are designed to combat bad behaviour, which can cause many issues. Indeed, supporting positive behaviour is an integral component for those with behavioural problems and these services are available under the National Disability Insurance Scheme or NDIS for short.
Behaviour Support Strategies
Fortunately, there is positive behaviour support available from a team of expert positive behaviour support practitioners who are trained in the following strategies;
- Developing communication and social skills.
- Coping with changes in the environment.
- Responding to unsafe behaviour with safe methods.
- Anger management.
All of the above are integral to dealing with bad behaviour in both adults and children; we must understand that positive behaviour support works because it is based on the concept that all behaviour serves a purpose. Difficult behaviour can be reduced if you know what the person is trying to achieve.
Autism and ADHD
Both of these conditions are conducive to difficult behaviour and a child might exhibit aggressive behaviour when separated from family members while attending school. This difficult behaviour might result in the child being suspended and returned home to their parents; if this was the purpose, then you can see why the child became aggressive. If a child is assessed by positive behaviour support specialists, the reasons for difficult behaviour might come to the surface and suitable strategies can be put in place.
Creating a Behaviour Support Plan
This might involve changing some of the child’s routines, to develop stability in the child’s life. Once the child feels less anxious, they realise that the outcome is a desired one and so the behaviour changes from negative to positive. Click here to find out what Board-Certified Autism Technicians do.
Response to Unsafe Behaviour
Of course, how you respond to unsafe behaviour when it is exhibited is very important; remember that all behaviour serves a purpose and try to assess what the child is trying to achieve. If a parent is not trained in responding to unsafe behaviour, they might be encouraging these dangerous practices without realising it.
- Understanding behaviour – When trying to understand behaviour, it is important to consider potential reasons, such as communication issues, needs that are unmet and sensory difficulties.
- Holistic approach – Every human being is unique, therefore a holistic approach should be taken. An NDIS psychologist would be the person to review a positive behaviour support plan, to ensure that it is suitable for the patient.
- Developing skills – Another important part of positive behaviour support is developing skills; indeed, teaching new skills is a great response to difficult behaviour and it might provide the impetus to change by redirecting focus. Teaching a child how to manage emotions can be challenging, that is where NDIS support comes into play. You, the parent, can receive training from a specialist to help your child learn new things.
- Modifying the environment – This is frequently required to facilitate the changes we would like to see; in a more supportive environment, the child has less anxiety and can focus on positive aspects. This could involve changing the layout of the home, using different languages to communicate or adapting different routines; the environment plays a critical role when it comes to supporting positive behaviour.
- Complete collaboration – It is crucial that the parents, child and support staff collaborate openly and transparently. Weekly meetings help parents to deal with unexpected issues and as mentioned above, a holistic approach is needed, which parents can find a challenge.
Assessing outcomes is the best way to move forward; if the desired results are forthcoming, reinforce what you are doing and with NDIS support, you have a team of trained and experienced positive support practitioners.
One organisation that is heavily involved in delivering essential NDIS support is Ability Action Australia, which includes the following:
- Occupational therapy
- Exercise physiology
- Speech pathology
- Employment assessment & counselling
- School leaver employment support
- Functional capacity assessment
- Early childhood support
If you are the parent of a child with autism or ADHD, register with NDIS and you can take advantage of the above services. They will refer you to NDIS-approved support and initial assessments can be made, then a support plan created, with goals set.
Working to Eliminate Unsafe Behaviour
This is the first goal when it comes to providing support; obviously, this type of behaviour can easily lead to an accident and it is important to assess the child to discover the reasons behind the said behaviour. This can be difficult without specialist help, which is NDIS-funded and is available to all Australians with a registered disability.
