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Working effectively within support networks and with Circles of Support

Holistic practice for engaging people in behaviour support

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Working effectively within support networks

Transcript

Teresa Micallef, Building Community Networks Manager
(Belonging Matters Inc.; Melbourne, Victoria)

It might be described that a person has a network of support around them that might be made up of paid workers, professionals and family and friends.

And all of those people provide support in some manner.

A Circle of Support is distinct in that it is informal support who are unpaid that intentionally come around, a person with a disability, with a specific focus and purpose. And often that's to enhance their life and provide a good life for and with them.

Cherry Reynolds, Director / Senior Clinician
(Woollybutt Specialist Services; Darwin, Northern Territory)

They are the ones that are there day to day. They're the ones that actually work closely with the person as a behaviour support practitioner where often there maybe once a week if you're lucky, you might come in once a month and you may read a lot of information about the person in between, but you're not there in their lives, you're not the expert on their lives. The people who are there supporting them are.

Heather Lambert, Clinical Lead – Positive Behaviour Support (Marathon Health; Albury, New South Wales)

They're also the ones that are going to be here for a lot longer than any of the formal supports. Formal supports will come and go. The informal supports last and we want to strengthen those and build on those so that they do last and we can sustain them throughout the participant’s life because they're the ones that they'll lean on when it's outside of working hours really, or it's on the weekends, the formal support network isn't there forever.

Keith McVilly, Professor of Disability and Inclusion
(The University of Melbourne; Melbourne, Victoria)

Where behaviour support practitioners fail to meaningfully and authentically engage with their clients, they run a grave risk of missing out on a lot of essential knowledge and wisdom that needs to be built into and incorporated into the behaviour support plan.

Sarah Bingley, Core Positive Behaviour Support Practitioner (Marathon Health; Albury, New South Wales)

If you develop a behaviour support plan without gaining that extra knowledge and understanding from the people that are around the participant, the plan you develop will be useless because it won't actually apply to that person.

Teresa Micallef

You're going to miss the vital information about a person. You're going to miss the depth of knowing who they are at the core of their being.

And often people have a history as well, they know the history of a person. And those stories and anecdotal information can be pivotal pieces of information in a behavioural support plan.

Dariane McLean, Hayden’s Mum

What has really enriched Hayden's life is that behaviour support practitioners have taken the time to get to know him and to interact with the people around him who support him and know him really well.

Jodie Zutt, Heyden’s Friend and Art Mentor

I don’t work with Hayd, I hang out with Hayd. He's my friend.

His entire existence is about his creating of art, making of art.

We started communicating with each other with drawings, so he'd ask me to do a drawing and I'd ask him to do drawing.

And in that way we kind of formed this collaboration that was a functional tool to communicate to the rest of the team.

And I could then show them the drawings and go, hey look, this is what Hayd needs, this is what he wants.

I could become a bit of a translator because Hayd was decoding the drawings for me, so I could then explain the drawings to the speech therapist, to the other members of his MDT [multidisciplinary] team.

Dariane McLean, Hayden’s Mum

So it's really critical for a behaviour support practitioner to authentically engage with the support circle that gathers around a person. And that shouldn't just include support workers. You know, they're a critical part, but it definitely should include family and any other informal relationships that they have.

And that is really critical because otherwise a behaviour support practitioner will revert to their training and it will become very clinical or pathological rather than looking at the person as a whole.

Teresa Micallef

Remember that this is a person's life that we're talking about and that they are the centre of that life, regardless of how complex their needs or their behaviour is at the core of their humanity, they have the capacity for autonomy and control over the direction of their own life.

Sarah Bingley

People with disabilities are people. Every person should be able to have their own decision making and their own choice and control of their lives.

People with disabilities are not different than that. Their lives are just more challenging.

Cherry Reynolds

To support autonomy comes back to communication. It comes back to listening to them, to taking time to really understanding who they are and what's important to them.

Teresa Micallef

They have needs and aspirations, to hear that is vital and to find ways to access that is the responsibility of the professional sitting on the other side of them.

Closing credits (text presented on screen)

How will you use these ideas to improve engagement in your behaviour support practice?

Engaging within support networks

As a behaviour support practitioner, you will need to consider how best to engage with participants, especially those with high and complex communication support needs.

For participants with behaviour support needs, active networks of people who know and care for them are very important, in addition to service providers.

Ideally, the people who love and support the person with disability will interact with paid practitioners, forming a support network that works together to create a successful behaviour support environment.

There are several ways this can work effectively, including a group called a Circle of Support. While this means different things to different people, in positive behaviour support, ‘Circle of Support’ has a distinct and important meaning, which we explore here.

What are support networks?

Support networks are essential in a successful behaviour support plan and there are several different ways of thinking about how people might come together for a person with disability to work effectively as a support network or Circle of Support.

While paid practitioners are important, a person with disability is likely to have a more successful outcome when also supported by personal connections.

Through conversation, you can get an idea of whether the person with disability has a personal Circle of Support in place (or the people who might form one) or whether they rely more on paid people for their support network.

You can also work together with the person with disability using a tool called the Hand of Trust to identify people who they trust most.

This is an important part of the process of engagement with the person with disability before you begin any clinical assessments or start on a behaviour support plan, because it can alert you to the presence or absence of personal connections who provide (or can provide) support to the person with disability. As such, it is an important part of informing your work as a behaviour support practitioner.

Understanding who they trust most is also important when writing the behaviour support plan and can also be used to initiate an effective Circle of Support, to both inform the development of the behaviour support plan and support its longer-term implementation.

People with disability will have different ideas of what their support network looks like, depending on how they see themselves in relation to it and where they position various groups.

Keep in mind this is dynamic and may change from day to day or even from hour to hour, depending on their situation and needs.

An older couple sitting around a table with a person with disabilities and support practitioners.

What are Circles of Support?

In behaviour support planning, a Circle of Support is a group of people who love and support a person with disability. They choose to come together as a Circle to support the person because they care about them and have their best interests at heart.

Circles of Support are important for several reasons, as they can:

  • hold a positive vision for a good life for the person with disability, journey with them, listen deeply to them, and develop an understanding of the person with disability.
  • support the person with disability to explore their options, try new things and realise their ambitions for a good life.
  • help the person to speak up for themselves and
  • give voice to the person’s preferences and ambitions where the person finds it difficult to do so themselves

Circles of Support can include people who add value to a person’s quality of life, such as:

  • family members,
  • friends (including peers with disability),
  • others who have a long-term personal connection with the person with disability.

Some members of the Circle might bring professional expertise, but their primary reason for membership in the Circle is because of their personal connection and commitment to the person with disability.

Members who are well connected to community or who share similar interests and passions may be called upon to become more involved and over time develop a deeper connection with the person.

A support practitioner holds out their hand with their thumb up while a person with disabilities holds the thumb.

Circle membership is a nuanced thing, as having the right people around is vital to the circles success and capacity to hold the person at the centre.

A Circle of Support can be vital in providing holistic advice to you as a practitioner about how to ensure a behaviour support plan supports the participant’s experience of what a good life looks like for them beyond your involvement in their support network.

In addition to engaging with service providers, behaviour support practitioners would also engage with a person’s Circle:

  • to understand a person with disability’s support needs and longer-term aspirations,
  • when proposing a behaviour support plan and the associated strategies, and
  • to discuss any proposed regulated restrictive practices.

Circles of Support primarily exist to ensure the person has a good life. They can advise service providers and others about what is important for the person with disability, and what the person with disability needs to have a good life.

Importantly, a Circle might also need to hold service providers and others to account, upholding the person with disability’s rights and ensuring the person with disability’s voice is heard and acted upon.

A Circle of Support can work on many of the issues and life-building factors that are not directly addressed by a behaviour support plan, but that still affect the person with disability’s health, wellbeing and quality of life, and which can, in turn, affect their behaviour.

Beyond the behaviour support plan, a Circle of Support that is successfully engaged can act as one important safeguard against both:

  • support services reverting to old ways of working, and
  • the person with disability being placed in a restrictive environment, and

Find out more about Circles of Support and how to create and/or strengthen one from Belonging Matters.

A support practitioner kneeling on the ground while person with disabilities is his knee in front.

10 tips for engaging support networks in behaviour support planning

When supporting a person with a behaviour support plan, engaging people in their support network – or, where present, a Circle of Support – when planning and implementing their behaviour support plan can be a powerful way to create lasting, positive change.

This person-centred approach to engagement respects the individual and their rights and increases the chance of long-term success.

  • The person is at the centre

    Support plans should be developed with the person, not just for them. Their voice matters

  • Building trust and relationships

    The person will respond better to behaviour support strategies if they feel safe and understood by their support network

  • Choosing the right people for support

    The right people in the support network (or Circle of Support) need to understand and follow the behaviour support plan to create consistency.

  • Clear goals and support strategies

    The support network (or Circle of Support) can reinforce positive behaviours and help track progress toward behaviour goals.

  • Open, honest and positive communication

    Ensuring the support network (or Circle of Support) uses consistent language and positive reinforcement will encourage progress.

  • Regular check-ins and flexibility

    People in the support network (or Circle of Support) can provide feedback on what’s working and suggest adjustments to improve the plan.

  • Encouraging independence and choice

    This level of engagement provides the person with stronger opportunities to be involved in creating and adjusting their behaviour support plan, empowering them to take control of their progress.

  • Respecting privacy and confidentiality

    Only those who need to know should have access to the behaviour support strategies, ensuring dignity and respect.

  • Using positive, proactive approaches

    he support network (or Circle of Support) can help model and reinforce positive behaviour strategies in daily life.

  • Long-term commitment to growth

    The support network (or Circle of Support) provides consistent, long-term support, ensuring that positive behaviour strategies continue over time.

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