What do the PBS team do?

The aim of this service is to work proactively with individuals with a focus on identifying the function(s) of behavioural challenges and teaching functionally equivalent alternative skills.

As a core value of Positive Behavioural Support, we work to reduce restrictive practices. PBSS Involvement aims to lead to:

• Increases the individuals use of functional skills to meet their needs
• Improvements in the quality of life of the individual and the people around them
• Reductions in the occurrence of challenging behaviour

We will focus on working with individuals in the context of their environment, including their home and staff. We will also work with service providers seeking to improve upon how they support individuals with behavioural challenges to meet their full potential.

The support each individual receives will be tailored to meet need but it may include:

• Identification of strengths and limitations of the individuals physical, social and organisational environment
• Functional Behaviour Assessment to identify the context in which the behaviour is likely to occur, to gain an operational definition of the challenges, and to identify the maintaining variables
• Positive Behaviour Support Plan to include teaching of functionally equivalent skills
• Bespoke Positive Behaviour Support training (may include Active Support)
• Training and support to create effective environments.
• Training and support for skill building and targeted teaching
• Modelling and demonstration of strategies suggested
• The team will also give support to providers seeking to implement whole service Positive Behavioural Support or skills training

"I am a Positive Behavioural Support Practitioner in Adult Social Care. As a PBS, I get involved with people who have some kind of diagnosis of learning disability, autism, dementia, or a acquired brain injury.

When we get a referral, we usually get involved with the person and we conduct the Functional Behavioural Assessments which will tell us usually the function of the behaviour and why they do what they do. From there, we are able to provide some specific inventions to families or a specific provider, teams, or needs to be able to support the person more effectively" - Isabel Saez-Villagra, PBS Practitioner