A Behaviour Support Plan, or BSP, outlines the evidence-informed, person-centred strategies and interventions chosen to improve the quality of life of a participant.
While no two plans are the same, every plan details why a participant is engaging in behaviours of concern and outlines how to best support them to prevent or decrease these behaviours. Each plan focuses on skill development for the participant and on teaching their support network how to modify the environments that influence the participant’s behaviour as well as how to react when behaviours occur. When the people in a participant’s life understand how to best interact with them, it increases their quality of life and improves relationships. “Every Behaviour Support Plan should be implemented with respect for the participant’s needs, rights and dignity. Quality of life is a human right and a good quality of life includes interpersonal relationships, social inclusion and participation, self-determination (independence), and emotional and physical wellbeing,” explains Better Rehab Clinical Lead, Positive Behaviour Support, Emma McCarthy.
Who can create a Behaviour Support Plan (BSP)?
In Australia, positive behaviour support practitioners (PBSPs), psychologists and professionals with similar expertise can create and manage Behaviour Support Plans for NDIS participants.
PBSPs are allied health clinicians who are qualified to provide positive behaviour support (PBS), which is an evidence-based person-centred intervention approach to behaviour focused on improving quality of life.
How is a Behaviour Support Plan created?
To create a BSP, a positive behaviour support practitioner first conducts a Quality of life (QoL) Assessment followed by a Functional Behaviour Assessment (FBA) of a participant.
The QoL assessment involves the PBSP talking to the participant, their family, carers, support workers and teachers and gathering information from a variety of sources, such as case notes and reports from health professionals. This information collecting is to gain an understanding of the participant’s needs, daily life, goals and aspirations, as well as their supports in place, relevant health information and personal preferences, or likes and dislikes.
The FBA is conducted to gain an understanding of the function of – or reasons for – a person’s behaviours of concern (BOC). This involves the PBSP analysing the participant’s physical and social environments, such as their home, school and community centre, and the triggers and consequences of their behaviours to identify patterns and develop targeted interventions.
The PBSP will also observe the participant’s BOC and their support network are asked to take data on this behaviour to note their frequency, duration, severity, triggers, consequences, and function, which is what the participant gains from them.
With this information in hand, the PBSP will include in the BSP:
- recommendations for person-centred environmental changes that improve quality of life and reduce any behaviours of concern;
- skill development strategies to teach and reinforce alternative positive behaviours in the participant;
- proactive strategies to set the participant and their support network up for success by shaping or changing the social environment or the way they interact with the participant to reduce the frequency of a behaviour of concern or prevent it from occurring;
- reactive strategies, or responses, to behaviours of concern including ways to maintain the participant’s safety and that of others, prompts for positive behaviours, and distraction from trigger(s);
- and goal setting around quality of life and behaviour change.
What are strategies and interventions?
Strategies and interventions are ways to improve the quality of life for participants and can include learning emotional regulation and new positive behaviours and making changes to their daily/weekly routine, activities, home environment and other places they spend time to reduce or remove any triggers of stress and challenging behaviours.
How are BSPs actioned?
After the BSP is accepted by the participant and their family members, carers, support workers and teachers who will be actioning it, the PBSP will provide training in the implementation of the plan’s strategies and interventions. This can include coaching, role playing and mentoring.
“It’s important that everyone involved in the implementation of a Plan is ‘on the same page’. This is because consistency is important to the plan’s success. Consistency means all the participant’s main environments meet their needs and challenging behaviours are managed and responded to in the same way, which can improve the learning of coping skills and new positive behaviours,” explains Emma.
Throughout a BSP’s duration, which is usually 12 months, the PBSP will regularly monitor and evaluate the Plan by talking to the participant and their support network to find out whether the participant’s quality of life has improved, reviewing the effectiveness and relevance of the strategies and interventions, and resolving any issues around its implementation.
The duration of each BSP varies, however they usually continue until there is significant improvement in the participants’ quality of life. BSPs for NDIS participants are also required to be reviewed by the NDIS at least every 12 months while active.
5 signs of an effective Behaviour Support Plan
The below approaches for actioning and managing a BSP can enhance its effectiveness in improving a participant’s quality of life.
- Respect and consideration for the participant’s rights and dignity, needs, physical and emotional wellbeing, personal preferences, goals and aspirations.
- Team collaboration between the participant, their family members, support network, positive behaviour support practitioner and other health professionals.
- Training and support of the participant’s family and support network to action the strategies and interventions and manage any challenging behaviours according to the Plan.
- Consistency in the application of the plan’s strategies, interventions and data collection by everyone involved in its implementation.
- Flexibility to adjust the Plan as situations and behaviours change.
Restrictive Practices
While restrictive practices are not a positive behaviour support, a BSP can detail how any restrictive practices in place are to be reduced and eliminated.
There may be limited circumstances in which a regulated restrictive practice is used for a participant with behaviours of concern in a BSP and there are strict NDIS guidelines surrounding their application. This includes restrictive practices being the least restrictive possible, proportionate to the potential negative consequences or risk of harm, used for the shortest time, as a ‘last resort’ to ensure the safety of the participant and others, and only after evidence-based, person-centred and proactive strategies have been ‘explored and applied’.
Restrictive practices also need to be authorised with the state or territory requirements, then lodged with the NDIS Commission.
Better Rehab’s approach to Behaviour Support Plans
Our positive behaviour support practitioners create NDIS-compliant Behaviour Support Plans to improve quality of life for participants around the country.
Our PBSPs prioritise the needs and rights of each participant and collaborate with their support network throughout the creation and implementation of every Plan.
The PBS team at Better Rehab comprises practitioners with a variety of backgrounds, qualifications and experiences that enables us to match the right PBSP to each participant and provide quality support. Participants also benefit from our PBS practitioners being supported by Senior and Clinical Lead clinicians.
The PBS team’s The Good Life Booklet is just one example of how they place each participant front and centre of every Plan. The interactive booklet was written by our PBS team to help participants feel empowered and respected, to encourage them to share their needs, personal likes and dislikes, choices, and goals – all the ‘ingredients’ they need to enjoy a good life.
Ready to Improve Quality of Life with a Behaviour Support Plan?
Take the next step in supporting someone with a Behaviour Support Plan by submitting a referral today. Our team of experienced positive behaviour support practitioners will create a personalised plan that enhances quality of life and fosters positive change.
