Understanding Positive Behaviour Support for Better Care

Introduction

When behaviours become challenging or disruptive, it can significantly impact your well-being and the lives of those around you. These actions often stem from unmet needs, communication difficulties, or environmental stress. Positive behaviour support (PBS) offers a caring, evidence-based approach to understand and address these behaviours. Through frameworks like the National Disability Insurance Scheme, you can access support that focuses on improving your individual’s overall quality of life and fostering meaningful, positive alternatives.

Key Highlights

• Positive behaviour support focuses on understanding why concerning behaviours happen to improve an individual's quality of life.

• Specialised behaviour support services offer tailored strategies for individuals with complex or high-risk behaviours.

• A behaviour support plan is developed based on a functional assessment to teach new skills and create supportive environments.

• The NDIS Commission regulates providers and the use of any restrictive practice to ensure safety and quality.

• Collaboration between practitioners, families, and support networks is essential for creating lasting positive change.

What is Positive Behaviour Support?

Positive Behavioural Support is a person-centered approach that incorporates positive behavioural support and looks at why someone may show behaviours of concern. Instead of just trying to stop these actions, PBS aims to improve a person’s overall quality of life by identifying the underlying causes of the behaviour and teaching new skills.

A behaviour support practitioner works with you to create a support plan that promotes positive, meaningful alternatives. This focus on skill development and creating a supportive environment sets it apart from more intensive specialised behaviour support, which plays a vital role in addressing more complex or high-risk situations.

The Core Principles of Positive Behaviour Support

Positive behaviour support prioritizes dignity and understanding, recognizing each person’s strengths, preferences, and needs. Practitioners collaborate with you and your support network to create personalized plans.

A positive behaviour support plan outlines practical strategies to achieve your goals, serving as a guide for consistent, long-term success.

Core principles include:

• Person-Centered Approach: Involving individuals in decisions and focusing on their goals.

• Skill Building: Teaching new communication and social skills to replace challenging behaviours.

• Environmental Changes: Adjusting surroundings and routines for better support.

Why Positive Behaviour Support Matters in Care Settings

Positive behaviour support (PBS) improves care by focusing on quality of life, not just managing challenging behaviours. PBS sees behaviours as signs of unmet needs or distress and promotes empathy and respect.

For people with disabilities, PBS is transformative. It identifies triggers and teaches better communication and emotional management, leading to more independence, stronger relationships, and greater community involvement.

PBS also empowers families, caregivers, and staff with practical strategies and a shared understanding. This teamwork provides consistent support and lasting positive change for everyone.

Challenges in Positive Behaviour Support Implementation

Implementing a positive behaviour support plan presents several challenges related to NDIS funding. A major hurdle is ensuring all support workers and providers consistently apply strategies across settings like home, school, and the community; inconsistency can hinder progress.

Addressing behaviours of concern also requires a thorough understanding of the individual and their motivations, often involving detailed assessments and ongoing analysis—processes that are time-consuming for practitioners and families seeking specialist support.

Common difficulties include:

• Insufficient training or confidence among staff

• Challenges in collecting accurate data to track progress

• Aligning all stakeholders with the plan’s objectives

Understanding Specialised Behaviour Support Under the NDIS

For complex or high-risk behaviours, a more intensive approach is often required from service providers. Specialized behaviour support, funded by the NDIS, addresses the underlying triggers of challenging behaviours and develops formal strategies through a structured NDIS behaviour support plan.

Unlike general therapy, this occupational therapy service targets individuals whose behaviours significantly impact learning, safety, or community participation. As part of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, it provides tailored, expert-led interventions for those with the most complex needs. The next sections outline eligibility criteria, service details, and when to consider this support.

Who Qualifies for Specialised Behaviour Support Services?

Eligibility for specialist behaviour support under the NDIS is based on how an individual's behaviour affects daily life, not just their diagnosis. You may qualify if behaviours are frequent, intense, risky, or limit community participation. Your NDIS planner will assess your needs and may include your support team in the evaluation process.

This support is for people with complex needs related to disability, developmental delay, or mental health. You must show that a highly individualized approach beyond standard therapy is needed.

The table below compares general therapy and specialist behaviour support to help you choose the best option:

Core Strategies Used in Specialised Behaviour Support

Specialized behaviour support uses evidence-based strategies tailored to each person’s needs, as outlined in their behaviour support plan, addressing the underlying causes of behaviours. The focus is on proactive measures—creating environments and routines that prevent challenging behaviours before they occur, rather than just reacting.

Proactive strategies are preventative, like modifying environments or teaching new skills. Reactive strategies offer safe, respectful responses when challenging behaviours arise. Health professionals ensure all strategies promote dignity and independence.

Common strategies include:

• Proactive Strategies: Adjusting environments, using visual schedules, and addressing triggers early while considering the individual's support needs.

• Teaching Replacement Skills: Helping individuals communicate their needs safely and effectively.

• Emotional Regulation Skills: Supporting stress and frustration management in healthier ways.

• Reactive Strategies: Applying calm, consistent actions to de-escalate situations safely.

When Should You Consider Specialised Behaviour Support?

Seek specialized behaviour support when concerning behaviours are frequent, intense, or pose risks to the individual or others. If general therapies aren't helping with specific needs and complex needs, a targeted approach may be needed. This support is for situations that seriously affect safety, learning, or family life.

Consider this option if your support network feels overwhelmed and unable to manage behaviours. A specialist can offer expert guidance and a structured plan.

Specialized behaviour support aims to address root causes and provide effective intervention. If daily life is consistently disrupted and other options have failed, it's time to explore specialized support.

Developing Individualised Positive Behaviour Support Plans

A positive behaviour support plan is a written guide for everyone involved in an individual’s care. Created with input from you, your family, and support staff, it offers practical strategies to address challenging behaviours and improve quality of life as a type of behaviour management plan.

The plan provides clear, consistent guidance for carers and family members, helping the individual build skills to reduce challenging behaviours. Next, we’ll review the key steps in creating these plans and the roles of assessment and monitoring.

Steps in Creating an Effective Behaviour Support Plan

Creating an effective support plan begins by understanding the individual’s unique needs. An early intervention qualified practitioner—typically trained in psychology, disability studies, and NDIS—leads this process by working with the person, their family, and support network to set goals and assess their environment.

A Functional Behaviour Assessment (FBA) identifies the causes of specific behaviours, guiding a plan focused on skill-building in emotional regulation and communication. The aim is to create a supportive environment for the individual to thrive by incorporating aspects of the positive behaviour support capability framework.

Key stages:

• Assessment: Use FBA to determine behaviour functions.

• Planning: Develop a person-centered plan with proactive strategies and skill-building goals.

• Implementation: Train carers and support staff for consistency.

• Monitoring: Review progress regularly and adjust as needed.

Role of Functional Behaviour Assessment (FBA)

A functional behaviour assessment (FBA) is essential for creating an effective behaviour support plan. It aims to identify the reasons behind challenging behaviours by collecting information on when, where, and why they occur. This assessment is the first step in designing a plan that meets individual needs.

FBA methods include direct observation, interviews with the individual and their support system, and systematic data collection. This process reveals triggers, patterns, and the purpose of behaviours—often linked to unmet needs like attention, escape, or sensory input.

By understanding a behaviour’s function, teams can develop proactive strategies that address root causes rather than just reacting to symptoms. This leads to more effective, respectful interventions and lasting positive change.

Monitoring and Adapting Behaviour Support Plans Over Time

A behaviour support plan should evolve with the individual and focus on addressing challenging behaviours. Ongoing monitoring and adaptation, through continuous data collection, are essential to track progress and maintain effectiveness. Are concerning behaviours decreasing? Is the person using new skills?

Regular check-ins with the individual, family, and support staff provide crucial feedback. This, along with collected data, helps practitioners adjust strategies, refine techniques, set new goals, or modify supports.

A flexible, collaborative approach ensures the plan meets changing needs and drives lasting positive change by celebrating progress and making targeted improvements for the best outcomes.

Managing Restrictive Practices Within Behaviour Support

A restrictive practice is any action that limits a person's rights or freedom of movement, such as physical restraint, chemical, or environmental restraints (e.g., locked doors). These should only be used as a last resort to prevent serious harm.

In behaviour support, the aim is to reduce and eventually eliminate restrictive practices that affect the freedom of movement of a person. They are strictly regulated by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and may only be used if included in a documented behaviour support plan. The next section explains how the NDIS Commission oversees these practices to ensure quality and safety.

NDIS Commission Guidelines and Regulation of Behaviour Support Providers

The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission sets clear standards to ensure behaviour support services and therapy services are safe, effective, and respectful. These regulations protect the rights of people with disabilities and maintain high service quality.

Providers must register with the Commission and prove their practitioners are qualified and experienced. The Positive Behaviour Support Capability Framework helps assess skills, especially for complex needs.

Providers must report any use of restrictive practices, ensuring they are necessary, brief, and part of a reduction plan. These rules promote accountability and person-centered care.

Conclusion

Understanding Positive Behaviour Support is essential for improving care and quality of life. By applying its core principles and addressing implementation challenges, caregivers, including positive behaviour support practitioners, can create strategies that encourage positive outcomes. Individualized behaviour support plans ensure interventions meet each person's unique needs. A proactive approach fosters a healthier environment and empowers those in your care.

For guidance on effective implementation, contact us for a consultation or call daar at 02 9133 2500.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can Positive Behaviour Support improve the quality of care for individuals with challenging behaviours?

Positive Behaviour Support enhances care quality by promoting understanding of individuals' needs in everyday life, reducing challenging behaviours, and fostering positive interactions. This approach encourages caregivers to implement proactive strategies that create supportive environments, ultimately leading to improved outcomes for both individuals and care providers.

How does Positive Behaviour Support differ from traditional behaviour management approaches?

Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) focuses on understanding the reasons behind behaviour, promoting positive change through proactive strategies, and enhancing quality of life. In contrast, traditional behaviour management and behaviour management plans often emphasize punishment and control, lacking the supportive and individualized approach integral to PBS.

What are some effective strategies for implementing Positive Behaviour Support in a care environment?

Effective strategies for implementing Positive Behaviour Support in a care environment include fostering collaboration among staff, providing ongoing training on communication skills, using data to guide decisions, involving families and individuals in planning, and consistently monitoring outcomes to ensure the approach remains effective and responsive.