.png)
HOME - POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR SUPPORT (PBS)
Building Positive Skills
POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR APPROACH
Positive Behaviour Support
Understanding behaviour. Identifying what is driving it. Building better support around the person.
Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) looks beyond the behaviour we can see.
When behaviours are impacting a person's safety, wellbeing, relationships, independence or participation in everyday life, it is important to understand why they are happening — not simply how to stop them.
At Bridge to Understanding, our Positive Behaviour Support approach is person-centred, trauma-informed and neuro-affirming. We work alongside the participant, their family and the people who support them to understand behaviour, identify unmet needs and develop practical strategies that can be used in everyday life.
UNDERSTANDING POSITIVE SUPPORT
What is Positive Behaviour Support?
Positive Behaviour Support is an evidence-based approach used to understand behaviours of concern and improve a person's quality of life.
Rather than viewing the person as the problem, PBS considers the bigger picture.
We explore questions such as:
What is happening before the behaviour?
What might the person be communicating?
What purpose is the behaviour serving for them?
Are there environmental, sensory, communication or emotional factors contributing to it?
Does the person have another effective way to communicate or meet the same need?
What can the people and environments around them do differently?
Understanding the answers to these questions helps us develop meaningful strategies based on the individual person.
BEYOND SURFACE BEHAVIOUR
Looking Beyond the Behaviour
Two people may show exactly the same behaviour for completely different reasons.
A person may refuse an activity because they don't understand what is expected.
Another may be overwhelmed by sensory input.
Someone may become physically aggressive when they cannot communicate that they need space.
Another person may withdraw when demands become too difficult.
Someone may damage property during periods of significant emotional distress.
This is why simply responding to the behaviour itself is often not enough.
We want to understand what is happening underneath it.
FUNCTIONAL BEHAVIOUR ASSESSMENT
Functional Behaviour Assessment
An important part of Positive Behaviour Support is gathering information to understand the person's behaviour and the factors that may be influencing it.
Depending on the person's needs, a Functional Behaviour Assessment may include:
-
Discussions with the participant
-
Parent and caregiver interviews
-
Meetings with support workers and other important people
-
School or workplace consultation
-
Direct observations
-
Review of existing reports and assessments
-
Behaviour data
-
Incident reports
-
Information about routines and environments
-
Communication and sensory considerations
-
Quality-of-life factors
-
Relevant assessments and screening tools
-
Identifying patterns, triggers and setting events
-
Exploring what happens before and after behaviours
We bring this information together to develop hypotheses about why behaviours may be occurring and what support may be needed.
INDIVIDUALIZED SUPPORT PLANS
Behaviour Support Plans
Where required, a Behaviour Support Practitioner can develop an individualised Behaviour Support Plan.
Depending on the person's circumstances and NDIS requirements, this may include an Interim Behaviour Support Plan followed by a Comprehensive Behaviour Support Plan.
A plan may include:
✦ Information about the person and what is important to them
✦ Communication needs
✦ Behaviours of concern
✦ Early warning signs
✦ Proactive strategies
✦ Prevention strategies
✦ Regulation strategies
✦ Safety considerations
✦ Recommendations for families, carers and support teams
✦ Strengths, interests and preferences
✦ Sensory considerations
✦ Known triggers and contributing factors
✦ Functional Behaviour Assessment findings
✦ Environmental strategies
✦ Skill-building recommendations
✦ Response strategies
✦ Strategies for supporting recovery following an incident
✦ Restrictive practice information where applicable
A Behaviour Support Plan should not simply describe what to do when something goes wrong.
A strong plan should help reduce the likelihood of reaching that point in the first place.
PREVENTION BEFORE REACTION
Proactive Support Comes First
A large part of Positive Behaviour Support happens before a behaviour occurs.
We may look at changing environments, increasing predictability, adapting communication, reducing unnecessary demands, supporting sensory needs, developing routines or teaching the person new ways to communicate what they need.
For example, this might involve helping someone learn to:
-
Ask for a break.
-
Communicate that something is too difficult.
-
Recognise early signs of overwhelm.
-
Request help.
-
Express discomfort.
-
Cope with changes.
-
Develop regulation strategies.
-
Make choices.
-
Communicate boundaries.
-
Problem-solve difficult situations.
When we understand the function of behaviour, we can focus on giving the person safer, more effective and meaningful ways to meet the same need.
PRACTICAL, USABLE PLANS
A Plan Is Only Useful if People Can Use It
Writing the Behaviour Support Plan is only one part of Positive Behaviour Support.
Implementation matters.
We work with the people supporting the participant to help them understand why strategies have been recommended and how to use them consistently.
This may include:
-
Parent and caregiver coaching
-
Support worker training
-
School consultation
-
Stakeholder meetings
-
Modelling strategies
-
Developing practical resources
-
Reviewing incidents
-
Observations in everyday environments
-
Ongoing practitioner support
-
Monitoring progress and updating strategies
Our goal is for a Behaviour Support Plan to become a practical resource that people actually understand and use — not a document that sits in a folder.
COLLABORATIVE TEAM APPROACH
Working With the Whole Team
Behaviour can look very different across environments.
A participant may cope well at home but experience significant difficulty at school.
Someone may manage with familiar support workers but struggle when unfamiliar staff are present.
A child may appear to cope throughout the school day and then become significantly dysregulated once they arrive home.
This is why collaboration is an important part of PBS.
With appropriate consent, we may work alongside:
-
Parents and caregivers
-
Support workers
-
Schools and educators
-
Support coordinators
-
Occupational therapists
-
Speech pathologists
-
Psychologists
-
Counsellors
-
Medical professionals
-
Other allied health professionals
-
Other important members of the person's support network
Bringing different perspectives together can help us develop a much clearer understanding of what is happening across the person's life.
MINIMIZING RESTRICTIVE PRACTICES
Restrictive Practices
Sometimes a person's existing supports may involve a regulated restrictive practice.
Where this occurs, Positive Behaviour Support has an important role in identifying, documenting and reviewing restrictive practices in accordance with relevant requirements.
Our focus is on understanding why the restrictive practice is being used, ensuring appropriate safeguards are considered, and developing strategies aimed at reducing and, wherever possible, eliminating the need for restrictive practices over time.
This can include building skills, changing environments, improving communication and addressing the factors contributing to behaviours of concern.
BEYOND COMPLIANCE
Positive Behaviour Support Is Not About Compliance
PBS is not about making someone "behave."
It is not about removing harmless differences simply because they are inconvenient to other people.
And it is not about expecting someone to tolerate environments or expectations that are genuinely overwhelming or unsuitable for them.
✦ We consider the person's rights, preferences, communication and quality of life.
✦ Sometimes the person needs to develop a new skill.
✦ Sometimes the people supporting them need a different strategy.
✦ And sometimes the environment needs to change.
TRACKING MEANINGFUL PROGRESS
Measuring Progress
Meaningful progress is not always simply "the behaviour stopped."
We look for changes that make a genuine difference to the person's life.
Progress might include:
✦ Behaviours occurring less frequently
✦ Faster recovery following difficult situations
✦ Communicating needs earlier
✦ Increased use of regulation strategies
✦ Increased participation in everyday activities
✦ Increased choice and control
✦ Environments becoming better suited to the person's needs
✦ Reduced intensity or duration
✦ Recognising early signs of escalation
✦ Asking for help or a break
✦ Greater independence
✦ Improved relationships
✦ Support teams responding more consistently
✦ Reduced reliance on restrictive practices
Sometimes progress begins with something very small.
One successful transition.
One different response.
One moment where the person communicates what they need before becoming overwhelmed.
Those small changes matter.
SUPPORT ACROSS LIFESPAN
Positive Behaviour Support Across the Lifespan
Positive Behaviour Support is not only for children.
We support children, teenagers and adults with a range of needs and circumstances.
The way PBS looks will change depending on the person's age, communication, environment, goals, support needs and stage of life.
A young child's plan may focus heavily on communication, regulation, family support and school.
A teenager's support may include independence, relationships, community participation and self-advocacy.
For an adult, PBS may involve home life, relationships, daily living, community safety, independence, support workers and quality of life.
The approach changes because the person comes first.
UNDERSTANDING BEFORE SUPPORTING
Understanding First. Supporting Second.
Behind every behaviour is a person.
A person with strengths, preferences, relationships, experiences and needs that extend far beyond the behaviours others may be concerned about.
Our role is to understand the whole picture.
To listen.
To observe.
To ask why.
To work alongside the person and the people who know them.
And then to build support that makes sense for their life.