Positive behaviour support Getting it right from the start

Positive behaviour support: Getting it right from the start - Facilitators reference manual 75
Teaching skills
Positive Intervention Framework
Proactive strategies
What to do to prevent the behaviour
Immediate response
strategies
What might help when
the behaviour occurs;
beginning with least
restrictive strategies?
Change the
environment
Teaching skills
General skills
Replacement skills
Communication
Independence
Coping
Introduce short-term
change strategies
for rapid change to
behaviour
People with disabilities often require more time to learn new skills than others. As there are an
infinite number of general skills that anyone would benefit from learning, select general skills to
teach that are of interest to the person and based on the person’s strengths.
Use person centred active support to assist the person to engage in meaningful activity.
Teaching replacement skills
PowerPoint Once we know the function that the behaviour serves for the person we need to figure out how
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they can achieve the same through using an alternative skill. It is important that whatever the
replacement skill is, it must be more efficient in performing the function than the behaviour
does. Otherwise there will be no point for the person to use the replacement skills instead
of the behaviour.
In considering replacement skills it is important to think about the following factors:
- Effort involved
The replacement skill being taught must require less effort than the behaviour (asking for a break
takes less time than breaking a chair, making a full meal when you are hungry is more effort than
stealing food).
- Impact on the environment
The replacement skills needs to impact on the environment in the desired way more often than
the behaviour.
- Time for a result
The replacement skill should lead to a desired result more often than the behaviour (telling staff
that you have lost something will probably lead to finding it quicker than crying and withdrawing
to your room or asking ‘can you please talk to me?’ will be easier way of getting interaction than
pinching staff who may perceive the behaviour as a form of aggression.
- Response match
The replacement skill must match the function of the behaviour it is meant to replace.