Behavioural Support Plans That Work at Home
A behavioural support plan (BSP) is a structured, personal, and positive way of understanding and responding to behaviours of concern at home. Often this kind of plan is used for children who show behaviours of concern, including those who have experienced trauma, and those with learning differences.
It works by assessing the social and environmental factors which influence behaviour. It works by identifying the triggers, teaching alternative skills, and providing a consistent response. An effective plan is proactive, centred around family, and customised to individual needs.
In this blog, we are going to explain what a behavioural support plan is, why it matters, and some examples of a behavioural support plan.
Behavioural support plans aim to balance your home and create a relaxed space.
What is a Behavioural Support Plan & Why Does it Matter?
A BSP is practical guidance that helps families understand why behaviours of concern happen and what to do about them. Rather than outright stopping behaviours, it intends to understand the purpose of the behaviour and redirect it to safer and more effective alternatives.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) explain that behaviour is often a form of communication, particularly for children and individuals with learning disabilities. Therefore, behaviour should not be seen as random or simply a passing phase; we should see behaviour as a product of the environment or an expression of discomfort.
In the home environment, emotions, relationships, and daily routines come together and can feel overwhelming. A detailed BSP allows caregivers to react calmly and proactively before things escalate. Over time, the plan will help to build trust through predictable results and reduce stress.
Examples of a Behavioural Support Plan
According to The Challenging Behaviour Foundation, there are seven steps to a successful BSP:
1 Identifying Challenges
First, you should identify the behaviour you are trying to change. The Challenging Behaviour Foundation describes behaviours of concern as the range of behaviours a child might use to get their needs met, which might include aggression towards themselves, others or the environment. Behaviours of concern impact the child’s quality of life by preventing them from accessing ordinary provisions, due to the appearance, frequency, severity and/or duration of the behaviour itself.
It is important that we only create plans to change behaviours that are harmful to the child or those around them, and that we don’t try to change behaviours such as hand flapping, rocking or other ‘stims’ which the child uses as a way of coping and regulating their emotions.
2 Triggers and Functions of Behaviour
Now that you know the behaviour you would like to tackle, you need to identify the underlying reasons for this behaviour. As mentioned previously, behaviour typically reflects the environment or an expression of emotion.
Consider the outcome that the child could be trying to obtain from the behaviour:
Need for interaction, care and support
Avoid an environment that they find overwhelming, or a task that they find difficult or uncomfortable
Gain an item or activity that they enjoy
Gain something emotional or a sensation
These are called ‘functions’ of behaviour - underlying unmet needs that result in behaviours of concern occurring.
Behaviours serve particular functions in the presence of ‘triggers’ in the environment. These can be slow triggers (things that build up over time) or fast triggers (things that ‘spark’ the behaviour).
For example, a child might be asked to do something that they don’t want to do - this might result in them hitting out at the person who has asked them to do it, so that the person leaves them alone (and stops placing the demand on them).
Now that we understand what the child is seeking from the behaviour of concern, we can address it.
It’s not always easy to identify the triggers and functions of behaviours of concern; sometimes, this requires a specialist to look at the environment and to create a tailored BSP. If you are looking for expert guidance on creating a BSP, we can help. Get in touch with us to learn more.
With a successful BSP your child can go on to express themselves in healthy ways.
3 Proactive
All behaviour happens for a reason, and behaviours of concern are no different; identifying the unmet need and meeting it before the behaviour occurs means that the behaviour does not occur in the first place.
This method seeks to prevent the behaviour at its root by removing the need altogether.
This stage should aim to put the child at ease. This might come in the form of creating a list of things that they like and keeping them engaged. To address the root of the need, without them needing to resort to behaviours of concern.
Adjust routines to reduce stress: consider the times at which the child is most and least able to tolerate demands, loud noises, and other environmental stressors, and ensure that decompression time is planned into the day. If you need to change a routine at short notice, you might consider explaining this change via a ‘Now and Next board’, or other visual aids.
Change environments in the home: If you have noticed that your child struggles with particular noises, lighting, or other sensory experiences, create ‘safe spaces’ in the home or signals to prepare the child in advance of when particular sensory experiences are going to enter their environment.
Praise and reward for positive behaviour, especially when it meets the same underlying need as the behaviour of concern: For example, if a child requests something by pointing rather than hitting out, this should be rewarded wherever possible in order to encourage this to occur more often in the future.
Set boundaries without saying ‘no’ explicitly: Such as by offering an alternative activity or explaining when the activity will become available instead.
4 Early Warning Signs
Often, as your child starts to become upset, ‘early warning signs’ become evident, which show that they are starting to need some more support before the behaviour of concern occurs.
Often, signs of stress might be subtle but present when you know what to look for:
Sweating
Facial expressions
Increased pacing
When these signs are present, alongside known triggers of behaviour, you can make changes to the environment before the behaviour of concern arises. If you can identify these early warning signs, there are a few strategies you could employ:
Remove the triggering factor
Distract
Provide appropriate support or meet their needs, only if it is appropriate.
It is always better to meet a need before the behaviour of concern occurs, rather than after, in order to prevent situations arising whereby you are rewarding the behaviour of concern.
5 Reactive
The behaviour of concern is taking place. The child might be in a state of extreme anxiety or beyond normal control. The key here is to respond quickly and calmly, to ensure that the chance of an accident or injury is reduced.
In this situation, you should:
Stay calm
Speak in a calming voice
Distract or redirect
Use space to create distance or reassure
Your plan should give step-by-step instructions on how to reduce the behaviour, and use the least intrusive steps first.
This section doesn’t focus on preventing the behaviour of concern from occurring, either now or in the future - it simply focuses on making sure that everyone is safe, and that the child feels heard.
6 Post Incident
Once the behaviour subsides, the individual is at a high likelihood of repeating the behaviour. This is the time to calm the child and return them to a normal state.
It is also the time when reconnection and repair of your relationship with the child is important, so that they know that you’re not still upset and that things are back to normal.
There might be behaviour that signals they are in the cooling-down state, before reaching their normal state.
During this state, you should:
Move to a new environment, if appropriate: particularly if something in the environment has resulted in escalation; this will prevent further re-escalation
Give them space if they need it: but let the child know that you’re here when they’re ready
Engage in an activity together: which will focus on reconnection and repair
Don’t ‘tell them off.’: Instead, if possible, help the child to make sense of their emotions and give them alternative coping skills and suggestions for managing the situation differently in the future
We all want the best for our children, and tackling their behaviour is no exception. Teaching them the right way to express themselves is part of the growing process.
7 Agreement & Review
Any BSP should be agreed upon by everyone involved in the child’s care. A range of perspectives should be considered. It might be helpful to have a key person at the heart of putting this BSP together, and drawing together everyone’s perspective - we can help with this.
The BSP should be a living document, it should change to reflect new information and changes to behaviour. The plan should be reviewed regularly, and if an element is identified as ‘ineffective’ or even ‘negative’, amendments should be swift.
Creating Calm Support at Home
A proper BSP can make a big difference to family life when it is tailored, proactive, and consistent. But this needs to be focused on the root cause of the problem, rather than simply stopping the behaviour.
If you are getting ready to create a behavioural support plan for your loved one, we’re here to support you.
At Draig Behaviour Consultancy, we create personalised plans for your home and family. Get in touch today to see how we can support you.
