Challenging Behaviour

Behaviour Issues

Behaviours of concern are escalated behaviours that impact upon the wellbeing and safety of an individual and the people who live with them and care for them. The causes of behaviour issues are many and varied, sometimes stemming from genetic or environmental factors, and can be found in children and adults alike. Often, these behaviours of concern are found in people with diagnoses such as Traumatic (internal) Brain Injury (TBI), Acquired (external) Brain Injury (ABI), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Intellectual Deficit Disorder (IDD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), and Conduct Disorder (CD).

Symptoms

Examples of behaviours of concern include defiance, childhood disobedience, engaging in risky behaviours, physical harm to self, suicide attempts, harmful sexual behaviours, refusal of food, binge eating, compulsive eating, eating non-food items, self-harm through use of weapons, wandering, physical aggression towards others, physical aggression towards animals, verbal aggression, property damage, and withdrawal. Whatever the presentation and whatever the cause, behaviours of concern can be extremely difficult to manage, but psychological intervention can benefit people with a wide range of presenting behaviours.

Management

At Brain Care, we offer a number of psychological interventions to assist with managing behaviours of concern. These include psychological counselling, the development of NDIS Behavioural Support Plans (BSPs), and providing training in the implementation of these BSPs for support workers and carers. In developing a BSP, Brain Care clinicians create individualised preventative and response strategies for people with disabilities that are responsive to the person’s needs, sometimes including the use of regulated estrictive practices, in a way that may lead to the reduction or elimination of such restrictive practices, balancing the safety of the individual with their right to freedom of choice and control over their lives. Behavioural support focuses on evidence-based strategies and person-centred supports that address the needs of the person with a disability and the underlying causes of behaviours of concern, while safeguarding the dignity and quality of life of people with disability who require specialist behaviour support.

At Brain Care, as well as offering psychological counselling and the development and implementation of BSPs, a number of neuromodulatory therapies are available to help address behaviour issues. Neuromodulatory therapies are a variety of methods that target the nervous system, altering or modulating nerve activity, which may bring about lifechanging results. The neuromodulatory therapies offered at Brain Care include biofeedback training, Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), Audio Visual Entrainment (AVE), and Bio Acoustical Utilisation Device (BAUD) Therapy.

If someone you know is experiencing behavioural issues of concern and needs assistance and support to manage these, contact Brain Care to book an appointment with one of our experienced clinicians to discuss available options.