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Highlight praise and support positive aspects of an individual’s behaviour in order to reinforce positive behaviour

Positive behaviour can be reinforced by using praise and encouragement when an individual does something good.

 

For example, I work with an individual who is occasionally incontinent when out in the community. We put a support plan in place for staff to remind him to go to the toilet before going out. Several months later, we were getting ready to go out and he went to the toilet himself without being prompted. When he came out of the bathroom I told him how awesome he was for remembering to go the toilet and how proud I was of him and he repeated this positive the next time too, and he now remembers about 90% of the time.

 

I also worked with an individual that became very agitated at the thought of going to the dentist, so much so that staff had given up trying to persuade him to book an appointment. Over the course of several months, I observed that he always brushed his teeth twice a day and I praised him for his routine and how he kept his teeth in great shape. On occasions, I would also make a point of telling him how sparkling white his teeth looked and how I wished I’d taken care of my teeth as well as he does. Then, one day I mentioned to him that his teeth were so great, he should probably show them to a dentist so that they could see what a fine job he was doing and make sure there weren’t any problems at the back where he couldn’t see himself. After a little consideration, he happily agreed. After the dental appointment, I praised him for having a checkup and explained how much I admired him for conquering his fears. He’s never had a problem going to the dentist since.

Evaluate the effectiveness of proactive strategies on mitigating challenging behaviours

As part of my job role, I observe and manage challenging behaviour and use this knowledge to implement proactive strategies that can mitigate future similar behaviours. This is an ongoing process and involves constantly working with the individuals concerned to establish what works and what doesn’t and tweaking the strategies where necessary.

 

Proactive strategies are preferable over reactive strategies because their purpose is to prevent incidents of challenging behaviour, resulting in the avoidance of the negative repercussions that the behaviour may cause, thereby contributing to the individual’s well-being.

 

As an example, I work with an individual that has a history of superficial self-harm. When he first moved in, I spoke with him about ways we could prevent this behaviour from happening in the future and we agreed that all sharp implements that could cause him harm should be kept locked away and only accessed when necessary. This included kitchen knives, tools such as screwdrivers and his shaving razor. We also agreed on staff conducting a spot check of his bedroom each day to ensure there were no dangerous items in there. Since he moved in, there has not been an incident of self-harm, so this strategy is working well.

 

Another example is an individual I worked with that had auditory hallucinations which upset him and caused him to become aggressive towards people and property. Indicators that he was hearing unkind voices were that his head would drop and he would get an angry look on his face. Support staff would then ask him if he was hearing voices and then remind him that they were ‘talking rubbish’ and he could tell them to ‘get lost’. In around 90% of cases, this strategy would avoid episodes of violence.

Explain how a range of factors may be associated with challenging behaviours

There are a range of factors that may contribute to challenging behaviours including:

  • Boredom
  • Lack of boundaries
  • Mental health
  • Lack of understanding
  • Emotional expression
  • Excessive demands
  • Not having enough money to buy something

 

Challenging behaviours may be caused by one or more of these or something different entirely. It is important to understand the factors that result in challenging behaviour for each individual to establish a strategy for managing and/or preventing it.

Evaluate the impact on an individual’s well-being of using reactive rather than proactive strategies

Reactive strategies are more likely to disrupt the well-being of an individual than proactive strategies because they are used after an instance of challenging behaviour has already begun, so the individual has to deal with the consequences. This can include feelings of regret, guilt or unresolved anger as well as tangible repercussions such as a member of staff no longer wanting to work with them, spending time in a police cell or having to pay for damages to property they have caused. In contrast, proactive strategies aim to prevent a situation developing into one where an individual displays challenging behaviour and avoid the consequences that may follow it.

Explain the importance of reinforcing positive behaviour with individuals

By reinforcing positive behaviour, an individual learns that the behaviour is good and is more inclined to repeat it in future. Many incidents of challenging behaviour are caused by the individual requiring attention from others, but if an individual learns that they can get much more pleasant attention by behaving positively, they are more likely to satisfy their craving for attention in positive ways.

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