We need to change the way we treat people who have autism - Michael Short

At the PBS Centre of Excellence, we believe everyone is entitled to a high quality of life, regardless of any disability they have, and we are delighted to have been graded gold as part of the Skills for Care peer review process. Positive behaviour support (PBS) often gets a mixed reaction in some press coverage, but when applied properly, it can be life changing.

We recently supported a lady who had been trapped in the hospital system for over 30 years – yes 30 years. How things like this can still happen is beyond comprehension, but they are still happening, and change is needed. Through education and support, we have helped her transition into a home of her own. Positive behaviour support is not just about behaviours, it is about living a good life – living an ordinary life, not being locked away. To enable this, you have to look at a person’s entire environment, not just their behaviour, as the environment is often what contributes towards their behaviour.

Our recent quality stamp is testament to the fact that we are not only getting this right but are excelling at supporting people. With no set standards for how PBS training is given, this quality stamp provides us with quality assurance that we are providing best practice. As part of the assessment our training is observed and assessed, the participants are contacted and provide feedback, all of which contributes to the grading. Even better, eligible employers can now also claim against the Adult Social Care Training & Development Fund for funding for the training, so a win-win all round.

You can’t force change in someone’s life, but what you can do is give them different ways of coping and communicating, and that is what we focus on. Everything in life is about communication, and the more we understand why someone is behaving in a certain way, the more we can help them. It may be something in their environment, or the acoustics that make them react and struggle coping. Things like this can be changed, so they don’t feel challenged, and don’t react the same way.

It is also paramount for them to get on with the person caring for them. Ensuring they have things they can talk about together, activities they can enjoy doing together and empowering rapport. So often you see groups of individuals being taken on trips out, and the carers seat them, whilst then going and doing everything for them. You need to reframe this and empower individuals to do things for themselves.

PBS looks holistically at an individual’s needs across every level, from bricks and mortar to décor and then their behaviour. It encompasses everything that could impact an individual’s day and their needs. It is about providing the same access to local shops, pubs etc that we all take for granted in everyday life. It doesn’t just benefit the individual in question, but everyone around them. Seeing someone in a shop or pub ordering or buying their own food, is gratification all round. It is also about empowering independence but doing it in a way that is supportive and caring.

There is no greater satisfaction than seeing someone, who has previously been locked away, due to a poor understanding of the challenges they face, step out into the world and experience basic daily activities that they have previously not been able to do. Letting them choose things for themselves and surrounding them with an environment that they have played a part in organising.

Families, carers and the person themselves all benefit. It isn’t making a person change to suit society, it is identifying what has made them upset or distressed and finding an alternative to support them. Behaviour of concern is only of concern if it impacts that person and has a negative impact on their life. Through not reacting, but enabling them to cope better, is a positive way forward for everyone involved. After all, we are all entitled to live the best life we can, so don’t see others as less able, support them in making them more able.

That is our goal at the PBS Centre of Excellence, and getting external recognition for what we are doing, enables us to share best practice much more widely and support more people in living their best life too.

Michael Short is business unit director at the PBS Centre of Excellence at the Yorkshire Care Group.