Positive behaviour support
Why it happens and what helps
Someone you love is doing things that frighten or exhaust everyone close to them. Behaviour support looks for the reasons behind the behaviour, then changes what’s around them so it’s less likely to happen. Here’s the work, start to finish, and your part in it.
No quiet months
Every person is different, so timing varies with their needs, risks, supports and funding. Weeks and months count from the engagement date on your service agreement.
- Anytime
Referral
You, a support coordinator or someone acting for the person can make a referral. We talk it through and work out what support the person needs, and whether we can help.
Your partYou can call us first, before you make a referral.
- Week 1
First meeting
We meet to go through the referral, risks, goals and current supports, and agree what matters first.
Your partThis is your meeting to tell us what’s working, what isn’t and what matters most.
- Weeks 2–4
Interim plan
We read existing reports, start getting to know the person, and talk with the people who support them. If there’s no current plan, we write an interim plan within one month of the engagement date on your service agreement. It sets out early steps to make the behaviour less likely and keep everyone safe while the full plan is built.
Your partYour knowledge is the foundation we build from.
- Assessment phase
Assessment
We spend time with the person at home and wherever else they spend their days, and keep records to find patterns, triggers and unmet needs. This is called a functional behaviour assessment (FBA). We try early strategies and adjust them as we learn the reasons behind the behaviour.
Your partYou see what we don’t, so we’ll ask you a lot.
- Months 3–6
Full plan
We set up the strategies with the team, see how they work, and adjust them. The full plan (comprehensive behaviour support plan) is built on what the assessment found. If a restrictive practice is in use (anything that limits the person’s rights or freedom to move), the plan covers it. We finish the plan within six months of the engagement date. It’s written for your family, the support workers, the school and community access.
Your partRead it, and tell us if anything doesn’t make sense.
- Months 6–9
Training
Hands-on training for family, support workers and anyone else who supports the person, with regular check-ins while the plan beds in.
Your partYou and the support team use the plan every day. If part of it isn’t working, tell us and we’ll change what needs changing.
- Months 9–12
Review
We keep checking in. We look at the records, change what isn’t working, and check progress towards the person’s goals and quality of life. If the plan includes a restrictive practice, we review it at least once a year, and sooner if things change. We send each version to the NDIS Commission.
Your partYou help decide whether the plan is working.
Inside a plan
These are the parts a full plan can include. Which ones it has depends on the person.
The person
Who the person is and what matters to them: their strengths, how they communicate, their sensory needs and their daily life.
The reasons behind it
For each behaviour of concern: when it’s likely to happen, what sets it off, what happens afterwards, and the reasons behind it.
New skills
Other ways for the person to meet the same need (replacement behaviours), who will help them learn, how progress is measured, and how their surroundings support it.
Before it happens
Changes to the person’s surroundings, routines and the way people communicate with them, so the behaviour is less likely to happen (proactive strategies).
When it happens
What the team does when the behaviour happens, in plain words, with everyone’s safety first (response strategies).
Restrictive practices
Any restrictive practice in use, when it can be used, how it’s authorised, and the steps to use it less (a reduction plan).
Records and review
What we record, how often, who sees it, and when we review the plan.
Team and training
Who does what, what training they’ve had, and what training will help next.
When a restrictive practice is in use
The NDIS rules name five kinds:
- medication used mainly to change behaviour (chemical restraint)
- holding someone to stop them moving (physical restraint)
- a device that limits movement (mechanical restraint)
- limiting where someone can go, or what they can use or do (environmental restraint)
- keeping someone alone in a room or space they can’t leave (seclusion)
Our job is to check that other ways have been tried first, that it’s the least restrictive option for the person, and that it’s making things safer. Alongside that, we work on the skills that mean it can be used less, and stopped where possible.
With every plan that includes a restrictive practice, we:
- help the team understand why it’s in place and how to use it safely
- help the provider using it get it authorised (formally approved)
- help everyone understand the skill building and the plan to reduce it
In South Australia, the provider using the practice or the Department of Human Services authorises it, depending on the practice. It’s never our decision, and it isn’t the NDIS Commission’s. We prepare what’s needed and explain it. Throughout, you’re kept informed and you have a say.
Note for referrers
If the person has a restrictive practice in use and no behaviour support plan, tell us on the referral.
Paying for it
Behaviour support is paid for from the Behaviour Support (Improved Relationships) part of an NDIS plan. Our prices follow the NDIS Pricing Arrangements.
Before we begin, we set out the costs in a service agreement. They normally match their NDIS funding for behaviour support, and we’ll tell you early if it’s running low.
Make a referral when you’re ready, or call 1800 123 654 and talk it through first.