StatewideBehaviour Intervention Service

Building B, Level 1, 242 Beecroft RoadEPPING NSW 2121Ph (02) 8876 4000Fax (02) 8876 4041

Website: www.dadhc.nsw.gov.au

David DoyleSenior Clinical Consultantdavid.doyle@dadhc.nsw.gov.au

Session outline

1. How SBIS provides services.

2. How this service provision lead to the development of the Practice Guide.

3. Information about the Practice Guide.

4. Show and tell.

5. Questions

What is SBIS?

• Statewide, specialist service within DADHC.• SBIS provides clinical support for behaviour

intervention.• SBIS works as a tertiary service.

• DADHC local clinical services• Non Government (DADHC funded)• Non Government (non DADHC funded)• Other government departments

Eg. Health, DoCS, DCS, DJJ, DET, OPG

Who do we provide services to?

What does SBIS do?

Provides: • Clinical support to local services.• Immediate response \ advice to clinicians• Training• Resource development.

SBIS Contributes to: • The development of best practice in clinical services

• Policy and legislative development across agencies.

Services we offer :

SBIS provides advice and support in relation to:

• Behavioural assessment

• Intervention design

• Implementation planning

• Implementation

• Monitoring and review of interventions

• Service system evaluation

When would you contact SBIS?

• Locally based intervention has been unsuccessful

• There is a need for an independent perspective – a second opinion.

• Assistance is needed with training.

• Clinical experience in similar cases is needed.

• The clinicians general practice would benefit from collaborative involvement.

Overview of inconsistencies in practice highlighted by our process

of work.•Extent of information collected and depth of analysis varies.

•There is different understandings of what constitutes a Behavioural Assessment.

•Process of assessment (knowing what to do).

•Practical knowledge (knowing how to do).

•Differences in use of language and terminology.

•Depth of understanding of the client \ behaviour varies.

•The need to link assessment information collected, the function / formulation and the intervention.

Understanding The Function Of

Behaviour: A Practice Guide

Resilience through capacity building

David Doyle and Brett Owens

• This guide is for staff of Government and Non-government organisations whose role is to attempt to understand a clients challenging behaviour. These staff include psychologists, community workers, and other regional behaviour intervention workers.

Who is this guide for?

• A clear presentation of the process of developing an understanding of the function of a clients challenging behaviour.

• Guidelines for developing an overall clinical formulation around the clients behaviour.

• A clear explanation of how to conduct each step of the process. Including:•Definitions and explanations•Tips and cautions•Guidance in the analysis of information.

What is the practice guide?

What is the purpose of the practice guide?

Two key outcomes of implementing this practice guide are:

1) a comprehensive assessment of the person engaging in the challenging behaviour.  Ultimately the assessment hypothesises reasons why the person is engaging in challenging behaviour in order to meet his/her needs.

2) a Behaviour Intervention Plan (BIP)/ Multi-Element Support Plan (MESP).  These aim to decrease the client’s reliance on challenging

behaviour. 

Why is the guide needed?

• Not everyone enters this field knowing how to assess behaviour. People also have different levels of experience, confidence and support.

• There are many job types and disciplines – with no common skill set.

• Some poor practice can be perpetuated via peer advice eg use of indiscriminate and sole use of the M.A.S. in assessing client behaviour.

• Informed assessments improve:• The effectiveness of interventions.• The client’s image in the staffs perception via

explanation of their behaviour.

Who is it pitched at?

• The information is pitched at people ranging from novice staff to those who have had moderate experience in conducting behavioural assessments.

• If you use this guide in an early attempt at this kind of assessment, please utilise support to do so.

• Mentoring, peer support, and supervision are important source of this support.

What does the guide cover?• How to develop a lifestyle and environment review

(LER)

• Incident Prevention and Response Plan (IPRP)

• Gathering information for the assessment.

• How to deduce the hypotheses for the function\s of the behaviour?

• How that function\s fit into a larger formulation of the client and their context as a whole?

• How to use this function and formulation  to develop recommendations into a MESP?

How to use this technology?

• This guide is produced in html (internet) format.

• It will work inside a web browser.

• It will be available on CD, via the web and downloadable to your own CD.

• You can follow the guide sequentially to gain knowledge about the process of developing a functional understanding of challenging behaviour and you can also branch off to gain more details about the practicalities and pitfalls of implementing this methodology.

Advantages of the guide.

• Fills the gap between policy and literature.• Creates a framework for clinicians to use.• Has both process and procedural

information.• Attempts to explain why each step is

included.• Easy to navigate and understand.• Can be used with parents and service

providers to explain what you are doing.• The guide can be used as a supervision,

collaboration or educational tool.• It will be free of charge and reproducible.• Will be updated regularly.