Positive behaviour support Getting it right from the start

Positive behaviour support: Getting it right from the start - Facilitators reference manual 81
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Every evening at 8.30 pm the staff member on duty said, ‘Andrea, it’s our discussion time. Come
into the staff room and let me know what went wrong today.’ Then in a caring and genuine way,
staff listened to what Andrea had to say. They always arranged the seats in a certain way and
turned off the main light and turned on a reading lamp. At the end of ten minutes (if it was fair to
end at this point) staff praised Andrea for sharing her complaints with them.
If Andrea made complaints during the day which didn’t need to be acted on then, staff would say
‘Andrea, remember that one for our discussion time tonight.’
Steps involved in setting up a situational control program
1. Select the target behaviour
2. Select an incentive to establish situational control (this may simply involve giving positive
feedback).
3. Select a signal that the behaviour is OK now (select one which you control).
Immediate response strategies
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?
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Change the
environment
Teaching skills
Introduce short-term
change strategies
for rapid change to
behaviour
Rather than waiting for incidents to occur, it’s much wiser to be prepared. This is where
immediate response strategies come in.
Before these strategies can be planned, it is imperative that the warning signs (precursors)
to incidents of behaviour are identified. The warning signs are the behaviours that the person
engages in during the lead up to the actual behaviour (as opposed to triggers that are the setting
events that occur immediately before the behaviour).
Reactive strategies should be planned in a ‘hierarchical manner’, that is, there should be a
series of steps incorporated into the plan, which match the level of escalation that the person
is displaying at any particular time. Steps should always reflect the principles of the ‘least
restrictive alternative’ ranging from the least to the most restrictive strategies. If a restrictive
intervention is to be used the option chosen should be the least restrictive as possible in the
circumstances (s 140 (b) Disability Act 2006).