How to choose a Behaviour Support Practitioner.
BY MELISSA SLIMMING
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My primary role has always been a Special Education teacher. I have dealt with many practitioners, therapists, doctors and support workers who have had great ideas and strategies on effective positive behaviour change however, I often felt there were missing links.
I have asked these questions to myself before - Have these people ever worked in a school setting? Do they know how hard it is to replicate these strategies at home with two other siblings? For many years, I have worked alongside parents, grandparents, carers, support workers and colleagues, whose intent was behaviour support for school aged children, primary and secondary school aged. This is where my main focus has been and this has always been a priority to the behaviour support plan we were creating.
As a behaviour support practitioner, I have been in the homes of families. I have spoken to their nearest and dearest and I have lived life through their eyes. As a teacher, I have worked with families and children who are on behaviour support plans. I have worked hard to have children access the curriculum by making adjustments that meet both them and the curriculum standards. I have worked along side some fantastic occupational therapists, speech therapists and support workers. I have been lucky enough to have experience on both sides of a child’s life. I am also a mum. I have two wonderful boys and I know how challenging it can be running a household, having a career, having a social life and spending quality time with my family. This is what makes me an ideal behaviour support practitioner for my focus age group. I can create strategies for the home, for siblings, for teachers, for support workers, for after school care, weekend respite and other transdisciplinary support workers in a person’s life. This is where my experience is and this is what I enjoy doing.
Now, what are you requiring?
How to choose the best practitioner for you. Here are my three top tips on how to choose the perfect practitioner.
Do you feel connected to them?
When having your first consultation with a practitioner, whether that being on the phone, face to face or email. Do you feel they can relate to you? I often get an initial ‘vibe’ from someone by the way they speak or write. How do they speak to me about my issue? How do they respond to my family? What is their tone of voice like? Do I resonate with their ideas, their drive? I believe you can get a lot of information from someone in that first conversation.
Will they be able to fit into your schedule?
As you live your day to day life, with the routines and schedules you need to maintain, I believe a practitioner should fit into your schedule. A practitioner should meet your needs and having someone who has an extremely busy calendar may not be a good fit for you. Which brings me to my next tip…
How many other clients do they have?
Writing behaviour support plans are comprehensive. These require many hours and a lot of communication with you. I believe having a small workload is the upmost importance when delivering quality behaviour support plans. Having written plans before, I know it is very important to be able to be there for families, for support workers and observing every facet of a person’s life. It takes time getting to know a person, inside their mind and outside in their environment. So, is the practitioner’s workload too heavy? Will they be able to fit into your schedule? This is important when you decide on a practitioner.
These three tips are important when deciding on the right support for you.
