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Positive Behaviour Support & Plans (PBSPs)

What is Behaviour Support & How can it help me? 

​Behaviour support is an evidence-based approach to working with people who sometimes use behaviours (aka behaviours of concern) that are a barrier to achieving their goals.

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A Positive Behaviour Support Practitioner will support you to understand that there are alternatives to using  behaviours of concern to have your needs met. We will focus on supporting you to build skills and create an environment that brings out your best qualities. 

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At Choosing Harmony, we develop our Positive Behaviour Support Plans (PBSPs) so that they work to explain the way our participants navigate the world and what they are needing from their environment to have their needs met, to such an extent that they are able to feel safe and regulated.

 

We legislatively need to refer to these plans as PBSPs and the assessments we conduct as Functional Behaviour Assessments (FBAs) in order for our participants to use the appropriate categories of funding, however, we do not practice applied behaviour analysis in any way.

 

We acknowledge the significant harm applied behaviour analysis has caused autistic individuals and actively reject any practice utilizing applied behaviour analysis strategies.

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What are the steps involved in the creation of a Positive Behaviour Support Plan?

PHASE ONE – GATHERING INFORMATION (Intake Phase)

​“How do I design the services to be provided for this participant and what are the key goals for the person and/or their family?”

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PHASE TWO – DEVELOPING RAPPORT AND ESTABLISHING SAFETY (Safety Phase)​

“How can I help this person to feel safe with me, not need to suppress or mask their needs, and what are the biggest key issues that they or their family are struggling with?”

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PHASE THREE – ASSESSING SENSORY NEEDS AND SELF-REGULATION (Regulation Phase)​

“What does this person need from others and the environment to remain feeling regulated, safe, happy, and settled? How does this person need others to engage with him/her to maintain this?”

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PHASE FOUR – ROBUST ASSESSMENTS AND CLINICAL INTERVENTIONS (Participation Phase)​

“What are the robust parameters of this behaviour? Does it happen everywhere or is it only seen at certain places? Is it due to particular people or environments, or expectations? Is mental health or other health or disabilities related to this?”

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PHASE FIVE – WRAP UP AND IMPLEMENTATION​

“How can we successfully implement this plan and teach all workers to use the strategies included within? What is the best method of training to help this team and when should I book in a review?”

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PHASE SIX – MAINTENANCE​​

“Is everyone implementing the Positive Behaviour Support Plan (including the Functional Behaviour Assessment) the way designed and does everyone know what they need to know to do this as optimally as possible?”

How long will it take? How much funding will it use?

Please be mindful that the timing and hours allocated will be dependent on the individual circumstances and needs of the participants.

 

The minimum number of hours required would be:

  • 15 hours (Face to face - 11_022_0110_7_3 – Specialist Behavioural Intervention Support $214.41 p/h)

  • plus 23 hours (Written - 11_023_0110_7_3 - Behaviour Management Plan Incl. Training In Behaviour Management Strategies $193.99 p/h).

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The maximum, for more complex matters, can be up to and over 100 hours, but most can be completed within the “standard” 65 hours allocated under CB Improved Relationships.

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At any stage of the process, we are happy to discuss costings and provide further planning to you and/or any other parties, upon request. We will also be able to provide a better estimate of the number of hours we will require by the Participation phase.

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To enquire about Positive Behaviour Support Plan or Function Behavior Assessment, please send Damien Smith an email HERE with your name and phone number and we'll call you.

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Do I need a Functional Capacity Assessment (FCA) as part of my application for the NDIS? 

During the assessment of your access request, the NDIS will evaluate evidence of your disability, which may be provided via assessments or reports from health professionals. On the new Access Request Form, your treating health professional can complete section 2, or complete the NDIS Supporting Evidence Form.

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The NDIS legislation itself states that you need only provide what you have available as evidence for your application. A full Functional Capacity Assessment (FCA) is often expensive and financially out of reach prior to receiving NDIS funding (a full FCA is approximately a 10-14 hour assessment process – including a comprehensive report).

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Demonstrating the impact of your disability can be done in a variety of ways outside of a functional capacity assessment. You can demonstrate the information yourself, or have a treating health professional who knows you (the participant) write a supporting letter addressing the following:

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How your disability impacts your everyday life in the following areas, including a description of how each area is impacted:

  • Communication: includes being understood in spoken, written, or sign language, understanding others, and the ability to express needs.

  • Social interaction: includes making and keeping friends, interacting with the community, behaving within limits accepted by others, and the ability to cope with feelings and emotions in a social context.

  • Learning: includes understanding and remembering information, learning new things, and practicing and using new skills. Learning does not include educational support.

  • Mobility: means the ability of a person to move around the home and community to undertake ordinary activities of daily living requiring the use of limbs.

  • Self-care: relates to activities related to personal care, hygiene, grooming, feeding oneself, and the ability to care for own health care needs.

  • Self-management: means the cognitive capacity to organise one’s life, to plan and make decisions, and to take responsibility for oneself. This includes completing daily tasks, making decisions, problem-solving, and managing finances.

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The NDIA recognises that people will usually have both functional strengths and weaknesses. In recognition of this, it is not necessary to have substantially reduced functional capacity in all six of the life skill areas. A person only needs to have substantially reduced capacity in one area. The NDIA considers both what a person can and cannot do within each life skill area.

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A person is likely to have substantially reduced functional capacity if they usually are not able to function without support for most activities within at least one of the six life skill areas.

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Once your access to the NDIS has been approved, it is recommended that you attend your first planning meeting with a request for funding to complete a full FCA, which can assist in comprehensively identifying your unmet needs, and the support required to help you achieve your goals.

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A Functional Capacity Assessment process involves:

  • Review of previous reports by your psychologist, psychiatrist, doctor, and/or other allied health professionals.

  • Completion of standardised questionnaires by the child, teen, or adult, and their parents, caregivers, family members, and/or partner.

  • Scoring and interpretation of questionnaires by your therapist/allied health professional.

  • An initial 90-minute interview prior to undertaking an assessment to determine whether it will be useful to conduct the whole assessment. Your assessment will be conducted in a separate session.

  • Between one and three hours of assessment, including semi-structured interviews and use of standardised assessments and measures. You will be advised length of the assessment prior to testing.

  • A one-hour feedback session to convey the results of testing and the recommendations arising from the results.

  • A comprehensive report prepared by your therapist/allied health professional.

  • The fee for the Diagnostic/Functional Assessment includes report preparation (approx. 10-15 pages).

  • When booking a Diagnostic/Functional Assessment, please let the admin know if the report will be required for funding purposes, and which type of funding e.g. applying for the NDIS.

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Caroline uses the following standardised assessments to complete a full Functional Capacity Assessment for the NDIS:

  • Vineland-3

  • Sensory Profile 2.0            

  • WHODAS 2.0

  • LSP-16

  • The REALe (dependant on age)

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Please contact me in regard to financial considerations for people experiencing financial hardship. I also offer progressive payment options.

To make a booking for a Functional Capacity Assessment CLICK HERE

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