Positive Behavioural Support (PBS)
is an effective and ethical way of supporting people with learning disabilities who are at risk of behaviour that challenges them. PBS is a framework
for developing an understanding of behaviour that challenges rather than a single therapeutic approach, treatment or philosophy. It is based on an assessment of the broad social, physical and individual context in which the behaviour occurs, and uses this information to develop interventions.
The overall goal of PBS is to improve the person’s quality of life and of those around them, thus reducing the likelihood of challenging behaviour occurring in the first place.

Values

The core aim of PBS is to improve the quality of life of the person and those around them by preventing
and reducing challenging behaviour.
It works by developing and building skills of the person and of those who support them rather than using
aversive (i.e. unpleasant) or restrictive (i.e. limits the person’s movement or activities) interventions.
Practitioners work in partnership with the person and all of those who are important to them including their
family and friends, carers, and other professionals and actively include them in assessments, defining targets,
implementing interventions, and reviews

Theory

All behaviour, including challenging behaviour, happens for a reason – understanding what this is
(practitioners call it the function of the behaviour) can suggest how to make sure the person has access to the
things they need in other ways (e.g. by changing the environment, teaching them new skills etc.)
PBS uses the principles and procedures from behaviour analysis to assess and support skills teaching and behaviour change.

Other, complementary evidence-based approaches may be included in PBS plans (e.g. Cognitive
Behaviour Therapy, Parent training for children who display challenging behaviour, early intervention for
children 3-5 with emerging challenging behaviour).
Processes
PBS bases decisions on information gathered about a person’s skills, behaviour, and needs
A functional assessment helps to identify the reasons (function) for a person’s behaviour and is used to
create a clear and structured plan of action
A PBS plan will include proactive strategies to prevent challenging behaviour from happening, strategies to
teach new skills to make the challenging behaviour less likely and reactive strategies that minimise restriction if it does occur.
PBS is not a quick fix: the aim is to actively support people over the long-term and to monitor and maintain their quality of life.

Active Support

Active Support (also known as Person-Centred Support or Person-Centred Active Support (PCAS)) is a way of supporting people with a learning disability, autism or both that promotes independence and better outcomes. It is driven by example and effective leadership and can lead to increased job satisfaction and therefore better staff retention for social care providers.
This could be a simple task such as putting a spoon in the drawer or closing a drawer. Being actively supported in tasks builds skills and confidence enabling them to be in more control over what they do in their own lives.

Using Active Support consistently means that the person is more engaged, and this can reduce behaviour that can challenge and can even improve people’s health.
Using the Active Support approach: supports people to have an ordinary life promotes inclusion, independence and choice in everyday activities
improves staff team confidence and morale
turns person-centred support into person-centred action.

At Right Opportunity active support is one of our programs to best support and manage children and families in crisis time.