Talking about behaviour support and the planning process
A guide to communication and resources for engaging with behaviour support participants and their support networks
The Right Direction resources do not aim to teach the clinical practice of behaviour support, but instead focus on integrating the principles of communication and engagement into behaviour support to help behaviour support practitioners engage with people throughout the process.
When visiting a behaviour support participant or members of their support network, it’s important to remember that people may not know (or remember) who you are and what you do.
Behaviour support planning and implementation is a process that involves a lot of people and is a process that takes place over a long period of time. It can be difficult to find the best way to communicate about what behaviour support planning is and how the process works.
Making sure participants and their support networks feel confident they understand why you’re there and how you’re going to help is central to upholding the participant’s communication rights and underpins the trust required for successful behaviour support planning.
Explaining what’s involved
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission provides information about behaviour support that can be helpful in terms of some language and information that helps you explain what’s involved.
How do I communicate this information to engage effectively?
As a behaviour support practitioner, you will communicate with a variety of people as part of the behaviour support planning process.
It is critical that the participant and the people closest to them understand what this process is, why it’s important and what will happen during the process, as well as once the plan is in place.
People need to know their rights. People need to know their options and the choices they can make. People need to know what they can expect of you as a practitioner; what you will do and how you will behave when working with them.
This is fundamental to upholding the participant’s communication rights during the behaviour support process and also central to ethical, effective behaviour support planning.
Some key issues you’ll need effective communication for include:
- Formulating a plan for understanding who you need to engage as part of the process, including who you need to speak with and what you need to know from meeting with them.
- Gaining background information to familiarise yourself with the participant, their needs and their situation by reading what’s already available via reports or discussions with other key people.
- Understanding how best to use this information, including the boundaries of privacy and confidentiality.
- Navigating how gathering all this information informs the behaviour support plan in a way that will benefit the person and improve their quality of life.
Consideration and planning for:
- how the participant communicates best,
- signs the participant may not understand what you’re saying,
- how to adjust the conversation to better meet their communication support needs, and
- how to build and maintain trust.
Prepare yourself to switch communication tactics based on cues from the participant and anyone else involved in the discussion.
Embedding new routines
One of the biggest challenges you may face in behaviour support planning is establishing new routines and getting people to follow the changes required as part of the behaviour support plan.
You may wish to familiarise yourself with the following resources about effectively changing behaviour:
Communicating in plain language
Familiarise yourself with vocabulary or key phrases that might be helpful in the discussion, considering the participant and their support network’s communication needs.
When preparing, consider:
- the nature of the participant’s disability in terms of understanding and communication style, needs and preferences,
- people’s culture,
- people’s first language,
- people’s English language knowledge, fluency and literacy,
- previous experiences with the behaviour support process (including the possibility they may have had negative experiences previously and how you will support them through this – adopting a trauma-informed approach)
Visual tools and supports to improve engagement
You can download the practitioner guide Talking about behaviour support and the planning process (download Word version for desktop), which guides you through key questions for engaging with participants and support networks. It also provides space for recording your thoughts and observations, while linking to The Right Direction resources for:
- explaining behaviour support planning,
- communicating effectively,
- building trust,
- involving the right people,
- talking about behaviour support planning, and
- planning and implementing the behaviour support process.
Next steps
Also see:
- The need: Moving in The Right Direction
- Communication rights in behaviour support planning
- Talking about behaviour support in ways everyone can understand
- Understanding communication and engagement
- Spectrum of Participation in behaviour support
- Engaging effectively through 2-way communication
Other useful links (external sources):
- View the Positive behaviour support video on the homepage of the Promoting Positive Behaviour Support Practice website
- Introducing positive behaviour support, made by Promoting Positive Behaviour Support Practice provides several useful introductory resources
- NDIS Policy guidance: Developing behaviour support plans, outlines the NDIS Commissioner’s expectations for developing behaviour support plans that contain regulated restrictive practices
- NDIS Restrictive Practices and Me includes resources to help you talk about restrictive practices in a meaningful way that upholds participants' rights
- NDIS resources on Evidence-informed practice and Person-centred practice outline what is expected of NDIS providers, including what the practices are, why they are important, how they can be implemented by NDIS providers, and where to find further information
- Working and walking together, National Disability Insurance Scheme Learning Place provides information for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practitioners to learn more about working under National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) services
- NDIS How to develop behaviour support plans, talks about types of behaviour support plans, and provides: templates; guides and checklists; and information about submitting a behaviour support plan
- NDIS participant resources also include easy read versions about:
- Choosing a specialist behaviour support provider
- What to expect from your specialist behaviour support provider, and
- What to do if you are not happy with your specialist behaviour support provider