Adult Behavior Support Services

Adult Behavior Support Services provide direct and indirect services including assessment, development of a crisis plan, and creation of a behavior support plan including interventions and strategies to support the individual based upon the assessment. The service includes training the individual, staff, parents, and caregivers on these interventions and strategies. Services must meet the identified needs of the individual as documented and authorized in the service plan.

Behavior Supports are designed to maintain clients in their home and community setting while focusing on specific, targeted goals. Individuals will build lifelong skills leading to increased independence and participation in natural supports. Staff will transfer abilities and interventions to the individual, family direct support staff and caregivers by providing state of the art services and interventions including proactive strategies and data-based decision-making.

What to Expect from Behavior Supports
Behavioral Support is very different than talk therapy. Some individuals are able to talk about their behaviors and what would help them change their behaviors. However, others are not able to and most of the work will be with staff working with these individuals.

Most of the behaviors have to be addressed in the moment when they are happening. The best way for the Behavior Specialist to do this is to see the behaviors.

If certain staff or family members experience behaviors more often, the Behavior Specialist should conduct sessions with these individuals. The goal would then be to coach that staff or family member through the interventions for the problem behaviors.

When the Behavior Specialist is present they will review any recent behaviors with staff as well as any data collected by staff or individuals. Staff are expected to provide any completed data sheets to the Behavior Specialist.

The Behavior Specialist will model interventions for staff or other caregivers. This includes reviewing with staff how to complete the data collection.

If the Individual is able to talk about their past behaviors, the Behavior Specialist will review with them behaviors that occurred during the past week, progress, behavioral interventions, and data collection by the individual.