Caring for a loved one with challenging behaviour can be incredibly difficult, both practically and emotionally.
It’s perfectly natural for you and your loved one to feel overwhelmed or uncertain. However, with the right support, you can boost your loved one’s quality of life and ensure their needs are met.
Identifying challenging behaviour
Challenging behaviour can emcompass a number of things, from aggression to the refusal of engaging in wellbeing activities such as meals. It often arises due to environmental triggers, unmet needs or difficulty communicating emotions.
Challenging behaviour can stem from a wide range of conditions, many of which may cause additional difficulties such as mobility issues or pain. These include:
- Autism
- Learning disabilities
- Brain injuries
- Dementia or other neurodegenerative conditions
- Mental health conditions
This can have a significant impact on you and your loved one, leading to stress and potential isolation, making it harder for you to meet your loved one’s needs.
However, there are steps you and your loved one’s care team can take to help them manage their behaviour and mental wellbeing.
The role of Positive Behaviour Support (PBS)
PBS is a framework used to support those with challenging behaviour and reduce its impact on them and their loved ones.
It focuses on improving quality of life by identifying the reasons behind challenging behaviour and addressing underlying needs.
PBS includes:
- Assessment of triggers, patterns, and unmet needs
- Creating a personalised plan based on these needs
- Helping your loved one learn new skills to communicate and cope with challenging emotions
- Identifying areas for environmental changes to remove stressors.
By using PBS, carers can help reduce the frequency and severity of challenging behaviour, creating a more peaceful and positive environment for everyone involved.
The approach empowers individuals to express themselves in healthier ways and helps to build stronger relationships between carers and their loved ones.
PBS is not a quick fix, but it offers long-term solutions tailored to each person’s unique needs, enabling them to exercise agency and boost their own quality of life.
Your loved one’s care team can help you to implement PBS in line with their other care and health plans.
Our team is here to support you in arranging the right at-home help for your loved one, working closely with you and their healthcare team to offer them the support they need.
If you would like to find out more about the support we can offer for challenging behaviour and Positive Behaviour Support, please get in touch with our team.