Positive behaviour support Getting it right from the start

Positive behaviour support: Getting it right from the start - Facilitators reference manual 43
Frustration and loneliness caused by the inability to communicate effectively may lead some
people to behave in a disruptive manner. Other people may withdraw from any attempt at
communication. These reactions limit their opportunities to form friendships and develop
social skills.
In fact, some people will have become so frustrated that they appear to have given up trying
to communicate. They may resist attempts to engage them in conversation or misbehave when
people try to use other forms of communication with them. Without support these people
become more and more isolated and limited in their participation in the community.
However, most people will try to influence their environment through some form of
communication. Those with poor speech may make more use of gestures or sounds (rather than
words, signs or symbols). Some may have learned that a loud shout can be more effective than
persistent, pleasant requests.
Some may become physically expressive by grasping and through bodily contact. These acts
can be communicative, but where physical assertion is intense the acts are often misinterpreted
as aggression.
Your first impression may be that a particular behaviour (e.g. head banging) has nothing to do
with communication. Perhaps it hasn’t. However if you see a person striking his head and you
have never observed this before, then you should at least consider the likelihood that the person
is trying to convey some message, such as I have a headache, I am bored or I am angry.
Unfortunately this behaviour can become habitual and its correlation with communication
diluted, if in the past people have not responded sensitively to these attempts at communication.
Behaviour which may have started out as a communicative act merely becomes a troublesome
habit for those who live with the person.
So much depends on how familiar you are with the person, your knowledge of their preferred
methods of expressing feelings and your ability to interpret.
People with profound and multiple disabilities often express emotion, pain or boredom in
non-conventional ways. Some people who are non-speaking may turn in on themselves and
communicate by what appears to be self-absorbed behaviour (hand waving, teeth grinding or
rocking). Others express themselves more outwardly (throwing objects, damaging furniture and
hitting out at other residents).
So called disruptive behaviour and various inappropriate behaviours may be an attempt to initiate
social contact or gain attention. It may also be a reaction and response to what is happening
(such as when expectations are unreasonable or not understood).
People with developmental disabilities will sometimes have confused or conflicting feelings.
Like everyone else in this situation they will have difficulty expressing themselves clearly
because they are not sure what they are trying to convey. Understanding the ‘communicative
intent’ of the behaviour requires understanding the person’s communicative ability (whether
they are intentional or unintentional communicators) a functional behaviour assessment
and the systematic introduction of appropriate AAC systems that are linked to the function
of the behaviour.