Talking about behaviour support in ways everyone can understand

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

Behaviour support practitioners work with a whole host of people.

People with disabilities, family members, other professionals, and it's important that we adapt our language to meet the communication style and the communication needs of each of those groups.

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

I'm reading them and reading how they're going in that moment and adjusting my communication accordingly, adjusting the way that I present information, whether that means that I start one way and then make adjustments and acknowledge that, ooh wait – maybe I started a bit ‘not quite right’, and so let's try that again.

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

Often it's that stop. Stop yourself, check yourself. Where am I going? Who am I talking to? What's relevant for this person?

I'm lucky enough to have worked cross-culturally for quite a few years when you're working with people whose English is a second language, you've got to stop, check, okay, how do I explain this concept?

Keith McVilly

It may well be quite appropriate to speak in technical language to another allied health professional, but for a family member, using those technical words and phrases could alienate them, could mean that they don't engage with the process.

Cherry Reynolds

Using technical languages can be really problematic when supporting people with a disability, because a lot of people don't understand what the terms mean. A lot of the support people who work with them don't understand what the terms mean.

Stuart Martin, Core Positive Behaviour Support Practitioner
(Marathon Health; Albury, New South Wales)

Technical language is a, a language of its own and if it's not a language that's understood by the participant or by their family or their supports, then there's no point using it.

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

It distances people, it clinicalises people. It's not typical. It's not normal to be spoken about or with in that manner.

Heather Lambert

It also creates a bit of a power imbalance and a sense of a hierarchy that is this kind of indication that we as practitioners, if we're using that technical language, are these ‘big experts’ who have come in to solve the problems or to do something to the participant again.

Cherry Reynolds

That power imbalance is actually one of the big barriers for communication in general with participants.

We actually have a lot of control and a lot of say in these people's lives.

We're developing a plan of how they're going to be supported, it's something that I feel very, very blessed to be able to provide that support. But it's an amazing responsibility and it's something that I think a lot of people don't show enough consideration for.

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

It's really important to be able to explain the jargon that we use in a way that the person we're communicating to will actually understand it.

Danielle Quinlan, Clinical Consultant, Speech Pathologist
(SAL Consulting; Darwin, Northern Territory)

When dealing one on one with participants we’re using plain language or easy English and we try as well to create resources that share what we're finding back with our participants in that easy-to-read way as well.

Sarah Bingley

Behaviour support plans are typically like 30-to-60-page documents.

Giving that to somebody who's already stressed, burnt out, overwhelmed, a 60-page document, they're just going to look at it and then put it down and forget about it. It's not something that they can comprehend or deal with.

Whereas if you give them a 10-page document that's more concise, easier to read, they're going to engage with it more.

Nandita Patel, Team Lead – Positive Behaviour Support
(Marathon Health; Albury, New South Wales)

With easy read, there's a lot of pictures and one sentence or maximum two sentences of instructions.

Cherry Reynolds

Using visuals, using easy English, breaking it down in terms of what are the key concepts of the plan, what's really important for them to understand about the plan themselves and what do they think about it?

So gaining their feedback around that.

Heather Lambert

If the behaviour support plan is written in a way that everyone's going to understand, if it's written for the intended audience, then it actually makes the whole process much more efficient as well as much more effective.

You're not going to have to sit down and re-explain things that you've written.

Cherry Reynolds

If everyone understands what you're talking about, you're all on the same level. You're all working together. It's more collaborative. There aren't people going, I don't know what that means and I don't feel safe asking a question about it. Everyone understands.

Keith McVilly

People know what's going to happen, people know what's expected of them and people have a clear understanding of what they need to do to make things happen safely.

Closing credits (text presented on screen)

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