Does My Child Need Behavioural Support?

February 18, 2020

Parenting can be tricky, even more so if you have a child with special needs. Knowing how to handle concerning behaviour is not always straightforward, and sometimes there can be the need to reach out for help.

There are many reasons why children use behaviours that are concerning. In fact, there is often more than one reason or factor contributing. Everyone’s life is different. Some general reasons for the ‘why’ might be that the child;

• wants something that is important to them but can’t get it
• wants to avoid something they don’t like
• has strong feelings like anger, sadness or fear and doesn’t know what to do with them
• isn’t sure about what is happening in their day
• Has had a really big event or change happen like, for example, someone has died, abuse, transitioning to school, parents have separated or person is moving out of home.

Behaviour Support aims to improve the quality of a child’s life through understanding why they are using behaviours that are of concern for themselves or those around them.  All behaviour happens for a reason, and the concerning behaviour is one way of communicating what is happening for them, inside and out.

Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) is a set of research-based strategies used to increase quality of life while decreasing problem behaviour by teaching new skills and making changes in a person’s environment. PBS combines:

• Valued outcomes;
• Behavioural and biomedical science;
• Validated procedures; and
• Systems change to enhance quality of life and reduce problem behaviours.

PBS is a group effort between the person, their carers and any other important people in their life. Practitioners are able to support people at all stages of life, from early childhood all the way through to ageing.

For further information on how PBS can help improve your child’s well-being, contact our Behavioural and Allied Health team on 1300 668 123 or alliedhealth@interactionservices.org.

This article has also been published on Kiddipedia.