Behaviour support is about creating individualised strategies for people with disability that are responsive to the person’s needs, in a way that reduces the occurrence and impact of behaviours of concern and minimises the use of restrictive practices. This approach includes undertaking a functional behavioural assessment, then developing an NDIS behaviour support plan containing evidence-based, proactive strategies that meet the specific needs of the participant.
The responsibilities of a behaviour support practitioner change each day and may include a wide variety of duties such as meeting with participants and their families, allied health providers, conducting behaviour assessments; collecting and analysing data to determine why behaviour is occurring and developing interventions; and adjusting interventions as necessary.
A typical day in my role as a Psychologist - Behaviour Support Practitioner includes the following:
8:00am
This morning, I get straight into the car and head towards a participant’s house to conduct a cognitive assessment using the WAIS-IV. As I arrive at the participant’s supported independent living (SIL) accommodation, I sign into the premises put on my mask and used the available hand sanitiser. I was then greeted by a support worker who was supporting the participant. I walk towards the participant and become delighted to see the participant sitting on the dining table and finishing off a painting. The participant remembers me from my last visit and asks me to join them with their painting. After a few moments of painting and re-establishing rapport, I explain to them the purpose of my visit today and take out the iPads from my bag to conduct the cognitive assessment. I also ask the support workers to complete a couple of behaviour inventory forms for me to ensure I have accurate and up to date data when writing the behaviour support plans. The day varies from each participant and sessions focus on each participant’s individual needs to ensure every day of delivery is person centred and adapted appropriately. Sessions are prepared in advance but may have to be adapted last minute due to the participant’s presentation on that day. During sessions, we are providing therapeutic intervention, support with developing and improving life skills, sharing practice in behaviour management or just providing company a safe space to talk to participants about their behaviours of concern.
10:30am
I drive towards another participant’s house for a skill building session. For this lovely participant, I was assisting the parents in creating more flexibility in their child’s rigidities and teaching them how to respond to behaviours of concern when they occur through the use of ‘zones of emotional regulation’. Clearly, the parents had already practiced some of the response strategies and skills given to them at the previous session. Our next goal is to ensure that a sensory profile assessment is completed by an occupational therapist, and a speech/language assessment is completed by a speech pathologist. Working alongside allied health therapists will help us collaboratively build the participant’s independence in other self-care and communication domains.
12:00pm
I drive towards my home office to catch up on emails and phone calls for the day. I respond to emails from service managers who would like me to book in sessions with other participants on a 3 weekly basis for face to face sessions with the participants. I make phone calls to a couple of support coordinators who have sent 2 new participant referrals this week. I try to gain as much collateral information as possible and request for any allied health reports to review at a later time. I make contact with the service providers of the new participants to book the initial assessment appointments in. I sometimes have a team meeting with the rest of the Assessable team. This allows time for me to handover any information/concerns from sessions but to also catch up with colleagues – this is so important as all staff members face new challenges each day, and at Assessable everyone is so supportive and goes out of their way to ensure everyone is okay.
1:00pm
I review my list of upcoming behaviour support plans, assessments and review reports schedule that are due in the month. I prioritise this list and begin analysing behaviour incident data, assessment data and updates from the participants into these plans and reports. I email the participant’s treating medical professionals and request for them to fill out a clarification of purposes of medication form to complete as a requirement for the behaviour support plan. I also analyse behaviour inventory data and assessments that have been completed by the support workers, teachers or family members of the participant. Part of this analysis includes trying to find function of these behaviours of concern through a formal functional behaviour assessment. I begin writing these functional behaviour assessments into the participant’s behaviour support plans. I also set myself tasks on the systems portal to analyse the cognitive assessment from this morning on another day.
3:00pm
I join an online stakeholder meeting with a participant’s support team which includes their support coordinator, occupational therapist, speech therapist, physiotherapist, service manager, community access provider and house manager. This meeting discusses all our current progress with the participants and any barriers or challenges in working towards their NDIS goals. I discuss some of the participant’s behaviours of concerns and response strategies they can all use to ensure we are all being consistent with the participant. I email them all the participant’s current behaviour support plan and offer to organise staff training on these strategies by booking in an upcoming face to face training. This training would include all support workers who work closely with the participant. We wrap the discussion by focusing on the tremendous progress the participant has made towards their skill building, social participation and independence.
4:00pm
I get into the car and make my way towards another participant’s house to ensure the support workers are implementing the behaviour support plan I had completed. This involves going over the plan with the support workers and ensuring they are familiar with the participant’s triggers, antecedent control strategies, response strategies and how to report any behavioural instances. I also remind them of their reporting requirements for the use of authorised restrictive practices and ensure they are all familiar with following through with the behaviour support strategies. The ultimate aim of using the behaviour support strategies is to reduce or eliminate some of the uses of restrictive practices with time and improve the participant’s quality of life. After going through the implementation plan with the support workers, I end the session by playing a game of bingo with the participant and listening to some of their favourite music with them.
5:00pm
My last item of the day ensures all my notes have been entered and updated for the day and any urgent emails have been responded to. I confirm appointments a week in advance and ensure I allocate enough time during the week to complete the reports, plans and assessments before their deadlines. I close my laptop and call it a day.
After a long and rewarding day, it’s time for my yoga lesson!
Other behaviour support duties on a typical day include:
Conducting Functional Behaviour Assessments;
Completing Positive Behaviour Support Plans;
Development of social and coping skills;
Implementation of strategies to support change;
Development of routines and ways of managing sensory challenges;
Enhancement of social inclusion;
Case management over extended periods of time;
Liaising with specialist support coordination;
Counselling and skill building therapy
Facilitating self-advocacy and empowerment;
Working with a range of allied health professionals to provide a holistic and integrated approach to supports.
Providing clinical advice and guidance to individuals, families and support staff, to develop strong collaborative relationships with government and non-government service providers for ongoing support.
These duties are conducted by the following services:
Completing a Functional Behaviour Assessment
Data collection through behavioural forms and incidents
Writing and help implementing a Positive Behaviour Support Plan;
In home/community consultations;
One-on-one therapy;
Group sessions;
Multidisciplinary sessions with other allied health professionals; or
A range of other supports and services.
Working as a Behaviour Support Practitioner is an extremely rewarding job where I come home feeling so happy with interactions I have had or progression I may have witnessed. It can sometimes be draining after a challenging session, but overall, I know that everything I am doing is helping improve someone else’s quality of life and that makes it all worthwhile! I am extremely passionate about improving the quality of lives of people who experience complex disabilities and/or mental health conditions through advocacy, education, collaboration and integration of supports to achieve a common goal: optimum quality of life.
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