Strategies for Addressing Challenging Behaviors
To be an effective advocate for people with disabilities who communicate through behavior, Support Brokers need to know a few basic positive support strategies. Many individuals who seek to become Support Brokers have already worked with adults with disabilities and have experienced the surprise, shock, frustration and sometimes even fear when a situation feels out of control due to a behavioral challenge.
When faced with a challenging behavior, the best strategy is to look carefully at all aspects of the situation prior to making any decisions. This approach is
based on the values of respect, individualized planning, supportive
environments, and prevention. At times, Support Brokers may be asked to "fix" a problem that appears to be caused by the behavior of an adult with a disability. When this occurs, the Broker will need to respond in a way that not only respects the person with a disability who is attempting to communicate their needs and wants, but also respects the feelings of the individual who is asking you for help. A positive, respectful approach to behavior is outlined in three steps.
Step One:
Look carefully at what is happening where,
when, and with whom
the behavior is occurring and not occurring.
Step Two:
Identify ways that people, circumstances, and events in the
environment can be adapted to prevent the behavior from occurring in
the first place. Identify a possible positive alternative skill or way for
the adult to communicate. Identify alternative ways to respond to
the behavior.
Step Three:
Meet with all concerned people to identify solutions.
Example:
Scenario #1
John is a large man who lives by himself with support. He is in the habit of hiding the phone from his support staff, including their own cell phones. His support
providers contact you because this behavior is very disturbing to them. In
particular, an aide thinks this is a safety issue and no
amount of encouragement or communication seems to
help; the aide is ready to quit. |
Support Broker Response:
Talk to the staff, John and his Circle of Support to understand more about the situation, and when and under what conditions John hides the phones. It becomes apparent that John only does this when female staff are with him. Encourage all staff to only use their phones when absolutely necessary and keep them in their pockets. Because this might be a safety issue you decide to look into the situation further and seek some additional input. |
When a behavior is interpreted by care givers or support staff as dangerous, harmful or risky, the Broker's role may be to facilitate a formal assessment with specialists who are trained to analyze behavior and plan specific responses in order to prevent the behavior from happening again.
The following provides an example of a Broker who must attempt to deescalate a difficult response.
Example:
Scenario #2
When Susan gets mad, she tends to throw
whatever is within reach at whomever has
made her mad. So far, she has thrown the
coffee pot, books, silverware and dishes.
Her primary support person has worked with
Susan for a year, but is threatening to press
charges because she is so frustrated with Susan. She feels that Susan may stop these horrible tantrums if the police were called. The support person believes that maybe a trip to the police station would teach her a lesson. |
Support Broker Response:
Throwing things at other people is not acceptable. It is potentially dangerous. Talk to the support staff about what is happening when Susan gets mad. You determine that it occurs throughout the day but mostly when support staff are not talking to Susan. You decide to call a behavioral assessment team to help better address Susan's needs. In the meantime Susan's Circle of Support, her providers and you decide that perhaps the support staff should increase their positive interactions with Susan throughout the day. |
Attention-seeking behaviors are often used by people when they are lonely or struggling. Regardless of disability, people in general sometimes seek any type of attention, even negative attention. A common belief is: The best response is no response at all. We tell ourselves: If I respond, he will keep on doing this annoying or difficult behavior". When in reality, individuals with disabilities who use behavior to communicate may not have the coping mechanisms to respond to being ignored. Therefore, behaviors could escalate to difficult or dangerous levels. In the case example above, the Support Broker suggests that staff increase their positive attention with Susan throughout the day. The next step would be to teach Susan a better way to get attention.
Example:
Scenario
#3
Paul likes to talk - about anything and to anyone. He just can't ever be quiet. He works at a movie theater and cleans up after the movie ends. His boss has called to say Paul is disturbing the viewers and it needs to stop bothering and disturbing people or he will be fired.
|
Support Broker Response:
Paul loves his job and
when he's happy he tends to want to talk to people. If people ignore Paul's conversation starters questions about their cars or if they know how the movie ends he tries to reword the same question, and repeats it using a louder voice. After you talk to other employees and watch the situation you determine that Paul does not take his scheduled break with any co-workers. You ask his employer if Paul can take three short breaks throughout his four hours at the theater with a co-worker. Also, when the movie is in session you ask co-workers to purposely interact with Paul while they are working. You explain to Paul that he may not talk to customers. This slight modification in the environment seems to have worked. You have not received a complaint from Paul's employer for two months.
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Please note, this is only a brief summary of a few ways to respond to challenging behaviors as a Support Broker. It is not intended to instruct you on how to provide complex behavioral interventions. If you become the Support
Broker for an individual who has challenging behaviors you may at some point need to seek assistance
in assessing the environment or receiving specialized strategies for addressing challenges. For more information on behavioral resources, please contact the Center on Disabilities and Human Development
Positive Behavioral Support Project at 208-885-3559 or go to the
website for more detailed information www.idahocdhd.org.
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