Unit 540 Lead positive behavioural support |
Positive behaviour support (PBS) is an approach to providing services to individuals who exhibit challenging behaviour. Since the early 1990s, PBS has received increasing attention from the behaviour-analytic community. Some behaviour analysts have embraced this approach, but others have voiced questions and concerns. Over the past dozen years, an approach to delivery of behavioral services known as positive behavior support has emerged as a highly visible movement. Although PBS has been substantially influenced by applied behavior analysis, other factors are also part of its …show more content…

The tightening of eligibility criteria for social services has led to a larger number of people staying in their family home well into adult life and to reductions in opportunities for short breaks for families supporting people with profound learning disabilities. Since challenging behaviour is one of the common reasons why people need to leave the family home, pressure on families to manage without these options is also likely to be increasing. This is unlikely to be in the best interests of either the disabled person or their family, and may end in crisis.
Challenging behaviour is often implicated in the placement of persons with learning disabilities in residential homes. These placements are often disruptive of ties with family and community, so that families face particular problems getting local services which can provide the level of support needed when responsibility passes to adult services. The continued use of residential homes needs to be re-examined in the light of these problems, to explore the provision of local services which offer at least as good education and care.
There has been an increased focus on the management of risks to health and safety in social and health services, including ‘zero-tolerance’ for violence against staff.
Where inappropriately applied, these initiatives can lead to people with learning