Behavioural Support Services in Australia
Our Behaviour Support Practitioners assist people of all ages with disability, and their families. We work with the individual and those supporting them to promote positive behaviour change.
Effective Behaviour Support results in improvements in quality of life, acquisition of valued skills, and increased community and social inclusion.
The role of a behaviour support practitioner is to reduce and eliminate the need for the use of restrictive practice.
The purpose of behaviour support interventions is to empower and develop strategies for individuals with disabilities who present with behaviours of concern. Any behaviour that puts them or those around them (such as their relatives, peers, or caregivers) at risk or results in a lower quality of life is considered a behaviour of concern. Their capacity to participate in regular activities may also be impacted by these behaviours. A few examples of behaviours of concern include aggression, pacing and self harm.
The goal of behaviour support is to protect the dignity and quality of life of people with disabilities who require specialised behaviour support by focusing on evidence-based strategies and person-centered supports that address the needs of the person with a disability and the underlying causes of behaviours of concern.
The clinician develops individualised strategies, including proactive and preventative strategies that are sensitive to the individual’s needs and make an effort to reduce the behaviours of concern by understanding and then meeting the individual’s needs and wants. The clinician works with the individual and their support team to acquire new skills, improve communication, regulate their emotions and much more.
The clinician also develops reactive strategies, they are not a treatment but are sometimes necessary when proactive and preventative strategies have not prevented an individual from presenting behaviour that is challenging. Reactive strategies are safe and ethical responses that are put in place after the behaviour has occurred
