positive behaviour support Flashcards
what is PBS?
Positive behaviour support is the application of the science of Applied behaviour analysis in support of people with challenging behaviour.
it starts with an assessment which is an attempt to understand the meaning of the challenging behaviour from the clients’ point of view.
what kind of approach does PBS adopt?
PBS does not just use a linear approach that focuses on the three term contingency of: antecedent-behaviour-consequence.
PBS is nonlinear, they include adaptations the environment based on a comprehensive understanding of the impairments and support needs of the individual.
what do the non-linear supports include?
- They involve teaching skills to replace the aggressive behaviour.
- They include focused support strategies to achieve rapid reductions in their frequency of behaviour, such as the antecedent control i.e. removing or reducing behavioural triggers and schedules of reinforcement.
- They include reactive strategies designed to reduce the episodic severity of behaviour.
why should a constructive behavioural perspective?
the range of support strategies increases when one adopts a behavioural constructional prospective.
- a constructional prospective seeks to identify a new behaviour that could replace the target behaviour and achieve the same functions for the person.
when will a new behaviour be selected?
A new behaviour will be selected if it elicits more valuable reinforcement, more reliable reinforcement or more needed reinforcement, or if it requires less effort (either cognitively or physically) than the target behaviour.
what is one of the central messages of PBS?
one of the central messages of PBS is that the focus should be on fixing the context in which behaviours occur rather than fixing problems behaviours themselves.
what was found in Carr’s article on motivations for self-injurious behaviour?
Carr’s article on the motivations for self-injurious behaviour, which were translated into experimental observation conditions by Iwata, can be understood as an indictment of the environments into which people with challenging behaviours are placed.
…environments in which attention is difficult to attain, or in which activities are so aversive or meaningless that escaping from them is worth injuring oneself.
what is the link between contexts and behaviour?
every behaviour occurs in multiple contexts.
each context adds a layer of depth to the meaning of the behaviour.
many of these contextual factors exert an indirect influence on behaviours
what can ameliorating the impact of these contextual variables on the three term contingency model do?
Ameliorating the impact of these contextual variables on the three term contingency (of antecedent, problem behaviour and consequence) significantly increases the range of interventions available.
what did Kincaid in 2002 specify?
Kincaid in 2002 specified a number of components of quality of life as the criteria for outcomes of PBS practices. these include:
- emotional well-being
- interpersonal well-being
- material well-being
- personal well-being
- physical well-being
- self-determination
- social inclusion
- rights
what are the key features of PBS in summary?
1) Functional assessment of behaviour:
the function is understood not simply in terms of the reinforcer it elicits, but also in terms of the support needs of the person and the contextual variables that influence the frequency and episodic severity of the behaviour.
2) Multi-element behaviour support plans:
these seek to prevent behaviour through environmental changes, skills teaching and contingency management and to respond to behaviour so as to reduce episodic severity.
3) Life enhancing interventions: these remove barriers to community participation. Effective PBS often involves a reconstitution of the meaning of the client’s life, a reassessment of what is important to the client and a vision for a better future.
what are the four main components of designing a behaviour support plan?
- environmental accommodations
- skills teaching
- direct interventions
- reactive strategies
what constitutes environmental accommodations? (1)
- low arousal
- rapport
- picture sequencing
- activity sampling
what is low arousal, as part of environmental accommodations?
Interventions are designed to reduce the effects of stress. Arousal can include removing, reducing or ameliorating the effect of antecedent stimuli, such as: demand noise, complexity of language, proximity refusal, disappointment and surprise.
what is rapport, as part of environmental accommodations?
rapport interventions improve the quality of relationships between the client and those in their interpersonal environment.
what is picture sequencing, as part of environmental accommodations?
picture sequencing interventions involve using carefully designed sequences of pictures to communicate to climb schedules of activity that will occur.
- visual activity schedules have been found to operate as antecedent interventions that limit the impact of setting events such as unpredictable translations and stressful activities.
- picture sequencing can be used to alert a person to upcoming changes in routine, as a means of negotiating the time of preferred activities and as a means of cueing a transition from one activity to another.
… an example of picture sequencing protocol is to rehearse the full sequence with the client first thing in the morning, early afternoon and late afternoon.. at the start of each activity remove the corresponding picture and give it to the client.. guide the client to the activity and prompt them to place the cards beside the activity.
what is activity sampling, as part of environmental accommodations?
activity sampling involves brainstorming potentially enjoyable novel activities for clients, observing their responses to these and recording these responses.
- it is especially important when functional analysis suggests that behaviours are more likely to occur when the person is bored or under-stimulated.
… an example of activity sampling protocol: for each new activity record by the client’s initial reaction, how long the client participated, and their reaction to the cessation of the activity and a 1-5 rating of their enjoyment.
designing a behaviour support plan, skill teaching: what is skills teaching involves error-free learning?
skills teaching involves error-free learning; this means using prompts to ensure correct performance.
teaching involves gradually and systemically fading the prompts until the client can complete more of the task independently.
what is teaching is in context,m in relation to skills teaching?
where possible, skills are taught in the situations and conditions that best approximates those in which they will actually be used.
what is physical prompts are easier to fade, in relation to skills teaching?
prompts can be faded from hand-over-hand to hand-over-wrist, hand-over-elbow and hand-over-shoulder.
what is teaching is silent, in relation to skills teaching?
silent teaching reduces the demands and clients during skills acquisition.
- If the instructor speaks during the teaching style, then in order for the learner to process the information they need to switch attention of the task and transfer attention to the teacher.
- many learners can still learn while an instructor’s speaking, however for some learners who have difficulty switching attention may find the requirement to switch attention for visual to verbal and back to visual modalities excessive for them the process.
…may amount to a form of attentional gymnastics! lol
what constitutes skills teaching? (2)
- skills teaching involves error-free learning
- teaching is in context
- physical prompts are easier to fade
- teaching is silent
what else may a behaviour support plan include?
- another type of skills teaching typically included in a behaviour support plan involves teaching coping and tolerance skills:
- noise, disappointment, criticism, refusal, waiting transitions and non-preferred tasks frequently arise as events that people may be motivated to avoid.
- a behaviour support program may involve teaching a person is skills for coping with these events.
what constitutes direct interventions? (3)
- antecedent control
- instructional control
- stimulus control
- differential reinforcement procedures