Positive Behaviour Strategies for People With Autism

1. Positive Behaviour StrategiesforPeople With Autism Martin Hanbury Thursday 5th July 2007

2. Aims • To consider whether there is an association between autism and challenging behaviour • To explore how the principles of behaviour support are conducive to developing positive outcomes for people with autism • To examine ways in which we might develop ourselves as carers and practitioners in order to support people with autism • To investigate strategies which will support the development of positive behaviour for people with autism

3. Challenging Behaviour

4. The world’s most annoying question is … Is it the autism or is he just being naughty?

5. because … • it assumes a causal relationship between ASD and Challenging Behaviour • it separates the person from the condition • it disregards the fact that everyone is a product of everything that influences them • it has never been asked of Francis

6. An Association ? • Not causal • Not determinist • Behaviour is plastic – it can be shaped, altered, changed

7. Impact of Autism By focusing on the impact of ASD on an individual we can identify those features of the condition which are contributing to challenging behaviour and thereafter devise appropriate remedial or compensatory strategies which support the individual in developing alternative, positive behaviour

8. Behaviour Support Why is behaviour support an effective and ethical means of supporting individuals with ASD ? The Three Ps

9. 3 Ps • Person centred • Proactive • Positive

10. Behaviour Support • Emphasis on enabling individuals to develop behaviour patterns which are positive and fulfilling • Focuses on developing an individual’s capacity to respond to challenges and obstacles they face • Enhances an individual’s repertoire of skills via proactive strategies

11. The Behaviour Support Pyramid Positive Proactive Function

12. Understanding Ourselves as Carers and Practitioners

13. “Human behaviour never occurs in a vacuum” (LaVigna and Donnellan, 1986) “ ... a function of the context in which it occurs” (Hanbury 2007)

14. Functional Analysis functional analysis is a means by which we can better understand the dynamic interaction between ourselves, the people we are supporting and the context-environment in which we are operating

15. What is functional analysis “An assessment process for gathering information that can be used to build effective behavioral support plans.” (Mace, Lalli & Lalli 1991)

16. You are the variable you can most immediately affect

17. My Qualities • An audit • What qualities and characteristics can I offer the process of behaviour support? • What do I derive from these interactions?

18. The ‘Behaviour’ • What is it about this behaviour which makes me want to change it? • Who am I changing it for? • What happens to me when I am around this behaviour?

19. Self improvement • How can I best improve my practice with the individual I am supporting? • What features are in need of development? • How can I achieve this? • What do I need?

20. Positive Strategies

21. Three tiers of strategy • Proactive – things we teach • Active – things we introduce to calm or distract • Reactive – planned interventions

22. Timing is everything

23. Process

25. Intervention Points

30. Optimal learning conditions

31. Clearing space for learning to occur • Duality of being both a proactive strategy and promoting the conditions in which proactive strategies can thrive

32. 3 ways • Medical intervention • Improved lifestyle options • Incident specific strategies

33. Improved Lifestyle Options • Diet • Health • Leisure • Self-advocacy • Sensory support • Skills and knowledge

34. Characteristics • Longer term • Not immediate • Benefits can be missed or overlooked • Profound and enduring change

35. Improving Lifestyle Options – Evaluation Schedule

36. Incident specific strategies • Avoidance • Calming techniques • Distraction • Options

37. Characteristics • Shorter term • Immediate impact • May not be sustainable • Several concurrent strategies • Behavioural ‘First Aid’

38. Integrating Strategies Developing systems for enabling strategies to operate concurrently Enabling a holistic view of a person Looking to the future but addressing the here and now

40. The detail ? • Down to you … • You know your individual, your context • You’re full of ideas • Persevere

41. It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer. Albert Einstein

42. Summary • Proactive strategies enable an individual to learn alternative ways to meet their needs • Proactive strategies build on an individual’s capacity to learn and require optimum learning conditions • Identifying periods when an individual is calm is critical to the successful implementation of proactive strategies • Proactive strategies can be short term or long term • Improving a person’s lifestyle options will promote optimum learning conditions • Identifying techniques which enable an individual to remain calm increases the likelihood of implementing effective proactive strategies • Proactive strategies both promote optimum learning conditions and can be implemented during optimum learning periods. This virtuous cycle is the aim of positively supporting individuals with autism.

43. It doesn’t matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop Confucius