Presuming competence and starting with dignity
Presuming competence means assuming that a person understands more than they may be able to show, has preferences worth listening to, and is communicating something real through their behaviour. It's a stance, not a test. And it shapes how respectfully and effectively support is provided.
When we begin from dignity rather than low expectations, we look for the meaning behind behaviour and the supports that help a person take part in their own life. Positive behaviour support is never about doing things to a person; it's about understanding them and working alongside them and the people who know them best.
Communication and skill-building
For many people with intellectual disability, behaviours of concern are closely tied to communication. When it's hard to be understood, frustration and distress build. Paying attention to how someone communicates, and giving them more accessible, reliable ways to express needs and choices, often reduces the pressure that drives difficult moments.
Skill-building is part of this too. Rather than focusing only on stopping a behaviour, PBS looks at what would help the person meet the same need in a safer, more effective way, taught patiently and at the person's pace.
- Understanding how the person communicates, including without speech
- Offering accessible ways to express needs, choices, and discomfort
- Teaching new skills gently and at the person's own pace
- Building on strengths, interests, and what already works
- Giving real, everyday choices wherever possible
Ruling out pain and health issues first
One of the most important things behaviour support does is take physical health seriously. Diagnostic overshadowing is when a person's distress or change in behaviour is put down to their disability, and a treatable cause (pain, infection, dental problems, constipation, reflux, medication side effects, poor sleep) is missed.
A sudden change in behaviour, in particular, deserves a careful look at health before anything else. A good behaviour support process works with families, GPs, and other health professionals to make sure that nobody assumes 'that's just how they are' when the real issue is that the person is unwell or in pain.
Adjusting the environment, not just the person
A great deal of what makes a day hard sits in the environment and routines around a person rather than in the person themselves. Predictable routines, the right level of support, meaningful activity, and surroundings that suit someone's sensory and access needs can prevent a lot of distress before it starts.
Because each person's circumstances are their own, behaviour support comes with no promise of a set result. Its value lies in changing what can be changed, such as routines, support levels, surroundings, and the chances a person has to make their own choices, so that day-to-day life sits more comfortably with who they are, rather than asking them to fit a setting that was never quite right.