Positive Behavior Support: Assisting Families with Behavioral Strategies in Home and Community Settings

The most important entity for a child with autism is the child’s family. Parents and other family members are essential resources, and their interactions with their child constitute the most important influences on the child’s learning and development. But the influences are complex and multidirectional. Not only do parental interactions help guide the child’s social, cognitive and emotional growth but, simultaneously, the child’s characteristics and actions continually influence family members’ behavior and, indeed, the functioning of the entire family system.

It is also understood that the presence of a disability, such as autism, produces powerful and indelible changes in the family system. The extent and quality of the changes, however, depends upon the severity of the disability and numerous features of the family system. In some cases, the changes introduced by a disability can be disruptive, sometimes leading to family dissolution, while in other cases the changes can represent a source of new strength and increased family unity (Turnbull & Turnbull, 2001).

One feature that can readily exacerbate challenges in family functioning is the presence of problem behaviors, such as aggression and persistent and violent tantrums. Even when families are cohesive and resolute, uncontrolled problem behaviors of a child with autism can present tremendous disruptions to family routines, both in and outside the home. Problem behaviors can make it extremely difficult to complete ordinary activities, such as getting ready for school, sitting down for a family meal, going to the grocery store or enjoying recreational outings. Many families emphasize that problem behaviors are a major source of parenting stress, and that they oblige elaborate accommodations as families seek to reduce the chances of problem behaviors occurring, especially in public places (Fox, Vaughn, Dunlap, & Bucy, 1997; Fox, Vaughn, Wyatte, & Dunlap, 2002). It is common for families to avoid activities altogether in order to prevent the social humiliation and the physical and emotional risks that can accompany a child’s public display of problem behaviors. Such avoidance, of course, results in fewer occasions for the child to benefit from home and community learning opportunities and for the family to participate in typical community outings. In short, severe problem behaviors can impose significant impairment on a family’s functioning and quality of life.

Given the serious consequences associated with uncontrolled problem behaviors, a need exists for interventions that are effective in preventing or substantially reducing these behavior patterns in home and community contexts. The principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and the pragmatic procedures of positive behavior support provide such workable solutions.

What is Positive Behavior Support?

Positive behavior support (PBS) is a practical approach, derived largely from ABA, which is intended to improve quality of life and reduce occurrences of problem behavior (Dunlap, Carr, Horner, Zarcone, & Schwartz, 2008). PBS involves a process of functional assessment and an assessment-based behavior support plan. Ordinarily, the support plan includes multiple components involving the following: (1) teaching the child functional (usually communicative) alternatives to problem behavior, (2) adjusting the antecedent environment to remove triggers for problem behavior and increase stimuli associated with desired prosocial responding, and (3) increase the availability of positive reinforcement for desired adaptive behavior. The specific procedures in each of these areas are selected from an array of strategies that have been demonstrated to be effective in applied research.

PBS is a collaborative process in that the people who will be responsible for implementing the support plan (e.g., parents) are also the people who are most important in determining the components that will be included in the plan. In other words, the plan itself is based not only on the results of the functional assessment and intervention strategies that have been described as effective in the research literature, but also on the congruence between the procedures and a family’s ability and willingness to use them in the settings where they will be needed. If a potential intervention strategy does not meet these three criteria, then a different strategy is selected. Fortunately, in most cases, there is a substantial assortment of intervention procedures that could be selected, depending upon the needs and preferences of the parents or other interventionists. Details about the process of functional assessment and the development of a behavior support plan are presented in a number of excellent resources on the Internet and in articles and books (e.g., Bambara & Kern, 2005; Carr et al., 1994; Hieneman, Childs, & Sergay, 2006; Janney & Snell, 2008).