“It put control back onto my family situation”: family experiences of positive behaviour support
| Published date | 12 June 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/AMHID-11-2018-0049 |
| Date | 12 June 2019 |
| Pages | 91-101 |
| Author | Sinead Botterill,Susan Cottam,Alex Fowke,Kate Theodore |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Learning & intellectual disabilities |
“It put control back onto my family
situation”: family experiences of positive
behaviour support
Sinead Botterill, Susan Cottam, Alex Fowke and Kate Theodore
Abstract
Purpose –Positive behaviour support (PBS) is currently considered best practice for managing challenging
behaviour in young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. A key principle of PBS is thatall
members of the person’s support network participate in the assessment and intervention. It is, therefore,
important to understand what factors act as facilitators or barriers to family engagement; however, research
in this area is limited. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a novel piece of qualitative research analysis into
experiences of family members of young people who have received family-based PBS.
Design/methodology/approach –Eight parents of a young person with an intellectual or developmental
disability who had received PBS were interviewed about their experiences and factors they found helpful and
hindering in terms of their engagement. Thematic analysis allowed a detailed and robust interpretation of the
qualitative data.
Findings –Five superordinate themes were identified, namely, PBS is more than just strategies, considering
the family context, the therapist/family relationship, acknowledging challenges and the ongoing nature of the
problem and supporting family member change.
Research limitations/implications –Although research was rigorously conducted, the small sample size
mean findings should be considered preliminary.
Originality/value –The literature related to family engagement in PBS is limited and largely based on the
opinions of professionals. This study identified factors that parents themselves felt were helpful and hindering
in terms of their engagement and offers practical suggestions for services and future research.
Keywords Family carers, Intellectual disability, Autism, Developmental disability, Challenging behaviour,
Positive behaviour support
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are at increased risk of displaying
challenging behaviour, impacting not only on their quality of life but also that of their families
(National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2015). Positive behaviour support (PBS) is
currently considered best practice when managing challenging behaviour (Royal College of
Psychiatrists, British Psychological Society and Royal College of Speech and Language
Therapists, 2007). It uses a combination of behavioural, systemic and environmental approaches
to not only manage behaviour but also to improve quality of life (Carr et al., 2002), and crucially
reduce the need for restrictive practice.
Rather than being a s pecific interven tion, PBS is a multic omponent framewo rk that involves
first conducting a n in-depth functio nal assessment to d evelop an understa nding of why the
behaviour occurs . From this, a compreh ensive set of strat egies is then devel oped which
logically flow fro m the identified fu nction, into a beha viour support pla n, which also takes in to
account the goals of the client and their family (Gore et al., 2013). The idea is for the
interventions to be implemented at all levels and by all those involved in the person’s care
(Carr et al., 2002; Dunlap et al., 2008).
Received 30 November 2018
Revised 24 January 2019
Accepted 15 February 2019
The authors would like to thank
Heather Armstrong and the staff
from Central and North West
London NHS Foundation Trust
and West London NHS Trust who
assisted with recruitment, and the
participants who gave up their
valuable time.
Sinead Botterill is based at
Royal Holloway, University of
London, London, UK.
Susan Cottam is based at
Camden MOSAIC –Integrated
Service for Disabled Children,
Central and North West
London NHS Foundation Trust,
London, UK.
Alex Fowke and Kate Theodore
are both based at Psychology
Department, Royal Holloway
University of London,
Egham, UK.
DOI 10.1108/AMHID-11-2018-0049 VOL. 13 NO. 3/4 2019, pp. 91-101, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2044-1282
j
ADVANCESIN MENTAL HEALTH AND INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES
j
PAGE91
To continue reading
Request your trial