Positive Behaviour Support
and Active Support
Active Support
Aims to provide enough help to enable
people to participate successfully in
meaningful activities and relationships so
that they gain more control over their lives,
develop more independence and become
more included as a valued member of their
community irrespective of degree of
intellectual disability or the presence of
challenging behaviour.
Positive Behaviour Support
Is a multi-component framework
• For developing an understanding of the challenging behaviour
displayed by an individual,
– based on an assessment of the social and physical environment
and broader context within which it occurs, and
– With the inclusion of stakeholder perspectives and involvement;
• Using this understanding to develop, implement and evaluate the
effectiveness of a personalised and enduring system of support
• That enhances the quality of life outcomes for the individual and
other stakeholders
Gore et al (2013
Positive Behaviour Support
• Seeks to understand why challenging behaviour
occurs, particularly focusing on the role of the
physical and social environment
• Brings together person-centred values and science
• Proactive Strategies that will make it less likely that
challenging behaviour will occur in the future
• Reactive Strategies - to cope right now
• It is Behaviour Support that is Positive
Active Support and
Challenging Behaviour
“While the primary purpose of this approach is not to teach skills nor
reduce challenging behaviours, it provides the context within which these
desirable outcomes can become more possible.”
Jim Mansell, 1998
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
baseline
1st QA obs - 1 year after
training
Engagement
2nd QA obs - 3 years after
training
Challenging behaviour
Self Injurious Behaviour
0.4
0.35
0.3
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
baseline
1st QA obs - 1 year after training
2nd QA obs - 3 years after training
Active Support promotes:
– social and physical environments that work for people
– Interactions that are positive, enabling, sensitive and thoughtful
– Plentiful opportunities to do things and communicate
– Predictability of events through time
and requires supporters to:
– develop effective person centred planning, implementation & reviewing
– provide individually tailored, systematic, consistent support
Positive Behaviour Support in USA Schools
– Multi-tiered System of Supports
Sugai et al (2000)
Active Support & Positive Behaviour
Support
Families and Friends
• Ask about Active Support and Positive
Behaviour support
• Attend some training
• If your family member or friend has an
individual budget, recruit staff who have
an understanding of Active Support
Providers
• Implementing Active Support requires a whole
system approach
• Policies and procedures
• Induction, supervision and learning and
development
• Practice leadership
• Hands on training
• Quality Assurance systems
Commissioners and Care Managers
• Increase your knowledge
• Visit and observe services that you don’t know,
especially before placing someone with challenging
behaviour
• Raise awareness with current providers
“The provision of Active Support and Positive
Behaviour Support will be easier to achieve in small
dispersed settings that are designed around the needs
of the individuals they support.”
Resources
Positive Behaviour Support and
Active Support – Essential elements
for achieving real change in services
for people whose behaviour is
described as challenging
United Response, The Avenues Trust and Tizard Centre
at the University of Kent.
www.unitedresponse.org.uk
www.avenuesgroup.org.uk
Mansell, J. & Beadle-Brown, J. (2012) Active
Support: enabling and empowering people with
intellectual disabilities. London: Jessica Kingsley
Publishers
Mansell, J., Beadle-Brown, J., Ashman, B. &
Ockenden, J (2005) Person Centred Active
Support: A multi-media resource. Brighton:
Pavilion Publishing
Ashman, B., Ockenden, J., Beadle-Brown, J. &
Mansell, J. (2010) Person Centred Active
Support: A Handbook. Brighton: Pavilion
Publishing
Gore, N.J., McGill, P., Toogood, S., Allen, D., Hughes, J.C., Baker,
P., Hastings, R.P., Noone, S.J. & Denne, L.D. (2013) Definition
and scope for positive behaviour support. International
Journal of Positive Behaviour Support 3 (2) pp.14-23.
Mansell J, (1998) Editorial - Tizard Learning Disability Review 3
(2).
Sugai, G, Horner, R, Dunlap, G, Hieneman, M, Lewis, T, Nelson,
C, Scott, T, Liaupsin, C, Sailor, W, Turnbull, A, Turnbull, H, III,
Wickham, D, Ruef, M, & Wilcox, B. (2000). Applying positive
behavioral support and functional assessment in schools.
Journal of Positive Behavioural Interventions, 2, 131-143