In the field of intellectual and developmental disability, or IDD, services, direct support professionals, or DSPs, often handle challenging behavior from the individuals they serve. Positive behavior support, or PBS, is an effective and essential system for providing meaningful and enjoyable lives for people with disabilities. Not only does this system help you figure out why a person acts in a certain way, but it also helps you develop a plan to shape new, positive behaviors.
This is Part 1 of a 4-part series about PBS based on guidelines from the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities’ Positive Behavior Support Training Curriculum. In this series, you will learn the reasons behind behavior issues, the principles of PBS, and how to apply this knowledge when you need it. You will also learn how to collect data that can be used to inform support plans. This series should provide you with new skills to help people with IDD in a way that respects their basic human rights.
In this course, you will learn about antecedents, behavior, and consequences, or ABCs. You will learn what “sets off” a behavior and what causes a person to repeat it. Understanding the ABC model of behavior will help you support people with IDD.
The goal of this course is to introduce DSPs in IDD settings to principles of positive behavior support.