The Role of Positive Behaviour Support for Children
Childhood is a core developmental period, where an individual first becomes aware of themselves, and the surrounding world. For children who present with behaviours of concern, specialised interventions and strategies are often needed in order to support them in achieving their developmental milestones. Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) is a foundational method that offers a range of tools, techniques and skills that parents, caregivers, and other professionals can implement to support growth and development. To provide you with an idea of how PBS works for children specifically, we encourage you to read on below.
Functional Assessments & Positive Behaviour Support Plans
When you’re new to PBS, there are a range of new terms that you will come across, and at times, it can be quite overwhelming. So, let’s break it down for you.
Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) is a therapeutic modality that aims to identify the function (or purpose) of a behaviour, in order to reduce distress, dysregulation, and discomfort for individuals and their support networks. For children who present with behaviours of concern, which describes actions that can cause significant and enduring distress to the person and to those around them, PBS strives to address the root cause of the problem, in order to help a child maximise their engagement in the core developmental phase of childhood. Examples of behaviours of concern in children are far-reaching, however can include task refusal, tantrum behaviour at developmentally inappropriate ages, and anxiety.
The idea behind PBS is to teach children the skills required to function in the real world, which are taught and delivered in an age-sensitive and appropriate manner. Practitioners identify the areas of concern that a child presents with by undertaking a Functional Assessment, which evaluates a child’s current presentation, and informs the establishment of a Positive Behaviour Support Plan. These plans are developed based on a person-centered approach, that taps into evidence based practice. Once complete, these plans are delivered to you and the child’s network, including other allied health professionals, schools and community immersion programs. The purpose is to create consistency in how a child is responded to across a range of environments to create predictability, and steer behaviour in the desired direction.
But, you might ask, who are the people who make these plans? They are referred to as Positive Behaviour Support practitioners, who are trained and qualified professionals who have a background in a range of speciality areas including nursing, education, psychology, counselling and beyond. Their role is to create and deliver tailored interventions and strategies using scaffolded programs, which focus on creating incremental change that is both sustainable and progressive.
Developing Core Skills
If we pivot the conversation slightly, it is worth touching on the fact that who children become as adults, is the result of what they were taught during their childhood. Much like how parenting styles shape who a person becomes, PBS does the same, by specifically addressing behavioural presentations, and meeting the behaviour with a specific response. This creates “association” for a child between (a) the behaviour, and (b) the response. Over time, a child will begin to “expect” that when they do (a) the result is (b), which is how core skills including emotional regulation, self-care, play, communication, and social engagement are developed. However, based on the needs of the child, the dynamics of the immediate support network, and the presence of specified diagnoses, PBS practitioners apply a “bottom up” approach, which focuses on building the appropriate foundational skills before moving on to other key learning areas.
The Inner Voice
Further to the above, children are very much like “sponges”. They absorb what they see, hear, and observe in the world around them, and begin to form their “inner voice” early in life, which is based on “core beliefs”. A “core belief” defines the ideas each person has about who they inherently are. For example, adults who believe that they cannot do something developed the “core belief” that they are incapable during their childhood. When this “core belief” remains unchallenged, particularly during childhood, it becomes who a person identifies themselves as throughout their lives. Because of this, PBS aims to gently challenge and redirect how children process and respond to themselves and their environment, in order to create a sense of mental clarity and order. This ensures that a child’s mentality is consistently monitored and addressed, in order to avoid the future escalation in their behaviour as they respond to the world around them. Recall that the phrase “behaviours of concern” or otherwise the term “behaviour”, identifies ways that individuals act in order to communicate, when they are unable to achieve this using words or alternative actions.
Supporting “The Village”
Everything we’ve shared above provides you with a snapshot of how PBS supports children, but, what about you? Supporting children who present with “behaviours of concern” is a key focus for PBS practitioners, however so is helping the network of people in the child’s immediate world. We recognise that making suggestions and recommendations on how you can help a child in your care is one thing, but for this to be successful, you also need support. PBS recognises this and aims to provide the support network of a child with an ongoing flow of communication, to ensure that the needs of both the child and the adults are equally considered. Our goal is to support you in supporting a child, meaning that your needs and wellbeing are important considerations when we work with you.
The Goal to Thrive
Finally, PBS does not end when a session is over. Instead, practitioners can offer tools, techniques and strategies that can be implemented within the home, to create a sense of consistency, predictability, and routine day-to-day. Guidance on ways that the environment can be adapted to support this can also be provided, which can include creating a “Sensory Station” or a “Calm Corner” within the home, to promote skills such as emotional regulation. The purpose of PBS is to help children thrive, as we recognise that the process of creating change goes beyond the sessions we have with them, as it extends to their day-to-day lives.
Positive Behaviour Support has the power to play a vital role in helping children who present with behaviours of concern in achieving and exceeding their goals. Just as children attend school to satisfy their academic growth, PBS strives to support personal growth in order to improve quality of life during the core developmental period of childhood. If your child or someone you know could benefit from PBS, we encourage you to speak to your primary healthcare provider to explore the options that are available to you.