Community Services

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Community
Services
CHCDIS002 – Follow established
person-centred behaviour
supports – Resource
CHC33015 Certificate
III in Individual
Support
© Apex Training Institute #RTO 32100 1
CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support
Developed by:
© Apex Training Institute #RTO 32100 2
CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 2
COURSE INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 4
ABOUT THIS GUIDE……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
ABOUT ASSESSMENT……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4
ELEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE CRITERIA …………………………………………………………………………………………. 6
EVIDENCE REQUIREMENTS ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 8
KNOWLEDGE EVIDENCE ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 8
PERFORMANCE EVIDENCE ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 9
ASSESSMENT CONDITIONS ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 10
PRE-REQUISITES…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 10
TOPIC 1 – APPLY A PERSON-CENTRED APPROACH TO MINIMISE BEHAVIOURS OF CONCERN …………………… 11
SUPPORT THE PERSON TO MAINTAIN THEIR ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING IN ACCORDANCE WITH
ORGANISATION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES AND THE INDIVIDUALISED BEHAVIOUR SUPPORT PLAN………. 11
CONSIDER THE PERSON’S INDIVIDUAL NEEDS, STRENGTHS, CAPABILITIES AND PREFERENCES WHEN
ENGAGING IN ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING AND ROUTINES………………………………………………………………… 14
IDENTIFY PROBLEMS WITH ENGAGING OR MOTIVATING THE PERSON AND SEEK APPROPRIATE ASSISTANCE
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 16
PROVIDE A SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR THE PERSON CONDUCIVE TO POSITIVE AND ADAPTIVE RESPONSES… 19
TOPIC 2 – REVIEW CONTEXT OF BEHAVIOURS OF CONCERN………………………………………………………………… 22
RECOGNISE BEHAVIOURS OF CONCERN OUTLINED IN THE INDIVIDUALISED BEHAVIOUR SUPPORT PLAN AND
CONSIDER THE TYPE, FREQUENCY AND TRIGGERS OF THE BEHAVIOUR ………………………………………………… 22
CONSIDER ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE BEHAVIOUR AND CONSIDER WHAT
HAPPENED BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE BEHAVIOUR OF CONCERN……………………………………………… 24
CONSIDER THE PERSON’S EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING IN THE CONTEXT OF THE BEHAVIOUR……………………… 25
CONSIDER THE PERSON’S HEALTH STATUS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE BEHAVIOUR ………………………………….. 27
CONSIDER THE PERSON’S MEDICATION IN THE CONTEXT OF THE BEHAVIOUR ………………………………………. 28
RECORD ALL OBSERVATIONS ACCURATELY AND OBJECTIVELY IN CONSULTATION WITH SUPERVISOR USING
TERMS THAT CAN BE CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD…………………………………………………………………………………… 29
TOPIC 3 – PROVIDE POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR SUPPORT ACCORDING TO INDIVIDUALISED BEHAVIOUR SUPPORT
PLAN………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 31
RECOGNISE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN APPROPRIATE AND INAPPROPRIATE INTERVENTIONS WHEN
ADDRESSING BEHAVIOURS OF CONCERN AND INTERPRET AND FOLLOW BEHAVIOURAL SUPPORT
STRATEGIES AND ENSURE THAT ALL INTERVENTIONS ARE IN LINE WITH THE PLAN AND ORGANISATION
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 31
RISK ASSESSMENT ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 32
POSITIVE BEHAVIOURAL SUPPORT…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 32
FOLLOW ORGANISATION PROCEDURES TO ENSURE SAFETY OF THE PERSON, SELF AND OTHER PEOPLE AND
RESPOND TO CRITICAL INCIDENTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH ORGANISATION’S INTERVENTION AND
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 34
© Apex Training Institute #RTO 32100 3
CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support
REDUCING OR CHANGING SETTING EVENTS AND TRIGGERS ………………………………………………………………………………… 34
INCENTIVE PROGRAMS …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 35
MONITOR STRATEGIES TO DETERMINE EFFECTIVENESS IN CONSULTATION WITH SUPERVISOR ……………….. 36
IDENTIFY AND REPORT CHANGES IN PERSON’S NEEDS AND BEHAVIOURS IN CONSULTATION WITH
SUPERVISOR ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 37
BEHAVIOUR RECORDING……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 37
CLEARLY DEFINING THE BEHAVIOUR OF CONCERN ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 38
WHAT HAPPENS, BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE BEHAVIOUR? ………………………………………………………………………… 38
ACTION…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 39
RESULTS………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 39
FOLLOW REFERRAL PROCEDURES IN CONSULTATION WITH SUPERVISOR …………………………………………….. 40
TOPIC 4 – COMPLETE DOCUMENTATION ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 41
COMPLY WITH THE ORGANISATION’S REPORTING REQUIREMENTS …………………………………………………….. 41
MAINTAIN DOCUMENTATION ACCORDING TO ORGANISATION’S REQUIREMENTS ………………………………… 43
SUMMARY ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 45
REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 46
© Apex Training Institute #RTO 32100 4
CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support
C O U R S E I N T R O D U CT I O N
ABOUT THIS GUIDE
This learner guide covers one unit of competency that is part of the community service
Training Package:
CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to implement behaviour support
strategies outlined in an individualised behaviour support plan for a person with a
disability.
This unit applies to workers in varied disability services contexts. Work performed
requires some discretion and judgement and may be carried out under regular direct or
indirect supervision.
The skills in this unit must be applied in accordance with Commonwealth and
State/Territory legislation, Australian/New Zealand standards and industry codes of
practice.
ABOUT ASSESSMENT
This guide contains a range of learning activities which support you in developing your
competence. To apply this knowledge to your assessment, you will be required to
complete the assessment tools that are included in your program. The assessment is a
competency based assessment, which has no pass or fail; you are either competent or
not yet competent. Not Yet Competent basically means that you still are in the process of
understanding and acquiring the skills and knowledge required to be marked
competent.
For valid and reliable assessment of this unit, a range of assessment methods will be
used to assess practical skills and knowledge.
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CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support
Your assessment may be conducted through a combination of the following methods:


 Third-party reports from a supervisor
Practical demonstration of your skills in a classroom situation
Projects and assignments
Portfolio of evidence
Written or verbal questioning to assess knowledge and understanding of
business policies and procedures
Oral presentation
A combination of these methods

The assessment tool for this unit should be completed within the specified time period
following the delivery of the unit. If you feel you are not yet ready for assessment,
discuss this with your trainer.
To be successful in this unit you will need to be able to join your learning to your
workplace, this should be achievable for those who are employed and for those who are
not yet employed and you will be required to use observations of examples that can take
place in a workplace environment.
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CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support
E L E M E N T S A N D P E R F O R M A N C E
C R I T E R I A

1. Apply a person-centred
approach to minimise
behaviours of concern		 1.1 Support the person to maintain their activities of daily
living in accordance with organisation policies and
procedures and the individualised behaviour support plan
1.2 Consider the person’s individual needs, strengths,
capabilities and preferences when engaging in activities of
daily living and routines
1.3 Identify problems with engaging or motivating the
person and seek appropriate assistance
1.4 Provide a safe environment for the person conducive
to positive and adaptive responses
2. Review context of
behaviours of concern		 2.1 Recognise behaviours of concern outlined in the
individualised behaviour support plan
2.2 Consider what happened before, during and after the
behaviour of concern
2.3 Consider the type, frequency and triggers of the
behaviour
2.4 Consider environmental factors in the context of the
behaviour
2.5 Consider the person’s emotional well-being in the
context of the behaviour
2.6 Consider the person’s health status in the context of
the behaviour
2.7 Consider the person’s medication in the context of the
behaviour
2.8 Record all observations accurately and objectively in
consultation with supervisor using terms that can be
clearly understood
3. Provide positive
behaviour support
according to individualised
behaviour support plan		 3.1 Recognise the difference between appropriate and
inappropriate interventions when addressing behaviours
of concern
3.2 Interpret and follow behavioural support strategies

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CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support

3.3 Ensure that all interventions are in line with the plan
and organisation policies and procedures
3.4 Follow organisation procedures to ensure safety of the
person, self and other people
3.5 Respond to critical incidents in accordance with
organisation’s intervention and notification procedures
3.6 Monitor strategies to determine effectiveness in
consultation with supervisor
3.7 Identify and report changes in person’s needs and
behaviours in consultation with supervisor
3.8 Follow referral procedures in consultation with
supervisor
4. Complete documentation 4.1 Comply with the organisation’s reporting
requirements
4.2 Maintain documentation according to organisation’s
requirements

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CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support
E V I D E N C E R E Q U I R E M E N T S
This describes the essential requirements and their level required for this unit.
KNOWLEDGE EVIDENCE
The candidate must be able to demonstrate essential knowledge required to effectively
complete tasks outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage tasks
and manage contingencies in the context of the work role. This includes knowledge of:

Principles and practices of positive behaviour support which focuses on the
individual person
The social model of disability
The impact of social devaluation on an individual’s quality of life
Positive lifestyle enhancement strategies, including:


o positive reinforcement
o motivation
o stress management
o engagement in meaningful activities
o support relationships
o nutrition
o environmental and systems improvement

Organisation policies and procedures relating to behaviour management,
including:

o critical incidents
o accident and incident reporting
o restrictions on the use of aversive procedures

Principles of effective communication and ways to implement these to
minimise behaviours of concern
Indicators that people have unmet needs
Factors that may contribute to behaviours of concern, including:
o physical

o emotional
o environmental
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CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support
o medications


 Specialist services and referral options
Legal and ethical considerations for working with people with disability:

o codes of conduct
o dignity of risk
o duty of care
o human rights, including the united nations convention on the rights of
persons with disabilities (UNCRPD)
o constraint
o imprisonment
o abuse
o practice standards
o work safety and health
PERFORMANCE EVIDENCE
The candidate must show evidence of the ability to complete tasks outlined in elements
and performance criteria of this unit, manage tasks and manage contingencies in the
context of the job role. There must be evidence that the candidate has:

Provided positive support in response to at least 3 different situations of
behaviours of concern
Responded to at least 1 critical incident relating to adverse behaviour in
accordance with individualised behaviour support plan and organisation’s

policies and procedures
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CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support
A S S E S S M E N T C O N D I T I O N S
Skills must have been demonstrated in the workplace or in a simulated environment
that reflects workplace conditions. The following conditions must be met for this unit:
Modelling of industry operating conditions, including:
o scenarios that present behaviours of concern that occur in real work
environments
o individualised behaviour support plans
o the organisation’s policies and procedures in relation to behaviours of
concern and critical incidents
Assessors must satisfy the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs)
2015/AQTF mandatory competency requirements for assessors.
P R E – R E Q U I S I T E S
This unit must be assessed after the following pre-requisite unit:
There are no pre-requisites for this unit.
© Apex Training Institute #RTO 32100 11
CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support
T O P I C 1 – A P P L Y A P E R S O N – C EN T R E D
A P P R O A CH T O M I N I M I S E B E H A V I O U R S
O F C O N C E R N
SUPPORT THE PERSON TO MAINTAIN THEIR ACTIVITIES OF
DAILY LIVING IN ACCORDANCE WITH ORGANISATION POLICIES
AND PROCEDURES AND THE INDIVIDUALISED BEHAVIOUR
SUPPORT PLAN
Working in disability, aged or community services, your clients will have a range of
dependence and autonomy over their daily activities. This will depend on their living
arrangements (living in an aged care facility, a group home, with their family or
independently in the community. They may have total control of their routines, some
control or need to be assisted in almost every area of their lives.
A routine provides your clients with stability, predictability and safety. There are a
number of ways you can help your client to maintain their daily routines.
Where ever possible, your client should be engaged to develop suitable and practical
routines that will support their own goals, hopes and aspirations for now, and the
future. These goals might be something as simple as making breakfast, through to
catching public transport, studying or finding employment.
Your organisation will have its own policies and procedures to support both you and
your clients manage their daily routine. It is essential you understand and work within
the organisations policies; procedures, resources and authorisations when assisting
your client manage their routines.
There are a number of ways you can support your clients in maintaining routines. These
include:
Ensuring their routines fit in with existing Workplace Health and Safety
requirements, ensuring that their daily routines do not have WH&S
impediments preventing them from undertaking their routines. A WH&S
impediment may be something like a faulty wheelchair, slippery bathroom
floor or a lack of knowledge or aptitude to utilise kitchen appliances in a safe
manner
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CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support
Working with your client to develop skills to manage their daily routines. This
may include engaging the client to note down (if possible) the tasks they are
required to do in a time period. You may need to engage your client and
physically teach them skills, such as brushing their teeth, making a cup of tea
or making their bed.
Engaging the client to help them own their daily routines. When a client feels
engaged and has a sense of ownership and control over their routine, they are
more likely to have healthy attitudes and reception to the development of
their routine.
Focusing on self-care. For many clients, developing a new routine and new
skills may cause them significant anxiety and stress. It is important to help
your clients recognise when they may be feeling overwhelmed, anxious or
stressed in a particular situation. This can be coupled with appropriate
relaxation techniques, such as breathing exercises, light stretching, a glass of
water or a relaxing activity.
Developing reinforcement and remembering strategies. Your client may
benefit from a daily ‘tick chart’ to mark off what tasks they are required to do,
the times they want to achieve them by, any materials they require to
complete the task and who they can contact for assistance to complete the
task.
When establishing a new routine, it may be appropriate to interrupt and
redirect the client, if they are getting off track, anxious or stressed over an
activity. You may need to discuss with the client what their train of thoughts
and actions are, how these thoughts and actions are assisting the completion
of their routine and what they may need to do to adjust and realign with their
routine
There may be instances where you will need to seek assistance, or make
referrals to the clients other support services. The client may have other
health, or mental health issues that require more in-depth management or
advanced strategies. It is integral that you work within your organisations
policies and procedures with your client. By stepping outside these
boundaries, especially when it comes to the clients health or mental health,
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CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support
you risk putting yourself, the client and the community at risk my
mismanaging the client and their conditions.
Routine formation and management may be a constant requirement with some clients,
depending on their capability, skills and motivations. Some clients may need gentle
guidance, others will need more intensive management and support to assist them in
forming and maintaining a new routine. Whenever you are supporting your clients, it is
essential that you do so within your organisations policies and procedures.
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CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support
CONSIDER THE PERSON’S INDIVIDUAL NEEDS, STRENGTHS,
CAPABILITIES AND PREFERENCES WHEN ENGAGING IN
ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING AND ROUTINES
As well as an individualised plan for your clients, over time, you will develop a
professional working relationship. You should see trends emerging on how your clients
prefer to undertake their daily routines and activities. Similarly, you will uncover their
strengths and areas where they may want to develop the capability.
Inherent in an individual plan is that your client’s activities are centred on them, their
health, goals and needs. It would be counter-productive to disregard an individualised
plan and institute a strict routine that prevents a client from being empowered to
control their own activities and growth.
When developing an individualised plan and cultivating a working relationship with a
client, there are a number of ways you can ascertain their needs, strengths and
preferences. These include:
Discussing with them what their needs, strengths and preferences are. As
simple as this sounds, the client may be a great source of knowledge about
themselves. Depending on their level of communication and capability, they
may be able to articulate a range of preferences, needs and desires they have
Discussing with the clients previous case worker, if possible. When a client’s
case manager changes, a ‘best practice’ case management approach is for the
old and new case managers to have a handover discussion. This involves the
old case manager discussing each client, their individualised plan and any
informal knowledge they have gained, to assist supporting the client and the
new case manager
Discussing with the clients spouse or approved contact person. There may be
situations where the client is unable to communicate, for a variety of reasons.
In these situations, the client may have a parent, representative, trustee or
contact person who is authorised to discuss issues on their behalf. This
contact person may have considerable knowledge of the client and be able to
direct you towards how to perform and undertake effective daily routines for
the client.
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CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support
As you work with your client, their needs, preferences and capabilities may change.
They may develop capability in a particular area, or inversely, have diminished capacity
in other areas. An example of this may be a client in an aged care facility with failing
health. They may initially have a high degree of independence and capability, but this
fades as they age or health issues arise. You will need to adapt the client’s daily routine
to suit their particular phase in life, being receptive to changes, however small, to their
needs or preferences. It is integral whenever changing a plan, activity or routine that
this is documented in the client’s individualised plan. This ensures that any future case
workers can quickly see any improvements / reductions in the client’s capability and
any changing needs they have.
You may also need to seek services, advice or referrals from other areas within your
organisation, or external referral services. You may notice that a client has trouble with
their daily showering or bathing routine, which could mean specialist assessment or
equipment is required to help the client. By consulting the client (or organisations)
specialist, you may need to introduce new appliances or apparatus to support the client,
meaning a change to their daily routine.
Your relationship with your client, along with their ongoing needs and capabilities will
develop over time. It is important that you remain aware and responsive to these
changes.
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CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support
IDENTIFY PROBLEMS WITH ENGAGING OR MOTIVATING THE
PERSON AND SEEK APPROPRIATE ASSISTANCE
In an ideal world, you will establish great relationships with your clients, they will
engage in their individual plans and you will work together to make their lives better.
Without a doubt, a career in the community, aged and disability sectors can be richly
rewarding and you will help many people. There will be instances, however, where you
may find it difficult engaging a client, where you do not see the results you otherwise
expected and you are finding a client, or clients particularly challenging.
Issues that may arise with engaging clients may include:

Communication issues, where you find you do not understand your client’s
communication style, or they are not understanding you
Personality issues. Any relationship can be strained at times due to
personality clashes
Differences in implementing an individualised client plan. An example of this

is where a client has different (even unrealistic) expectations on the
implementation of their plan, and this is a barrier for them in engaging in
their plan.

A client who has health or mental health issues that require support outside
of your expertise or training
A client who does not believe they require any assistance and refuses to
engage in ongoing support

There may be a number of underlying reasons why a client may not be engaging you,
many of which have practical remedies. These remedies focus around you, the client’s
engagement and the clients individualised plan.
Self-awareness and self-identification of any issues you may bring to a relationship is
always the most important aspect to look at, when you find your client is not engaging
with you in a positive or practical way. Self-reflection can often be a difficult process,
especially if you are engaged and want to help your client reach their goals. Some ways
that you can investigate if your actions or behaviours are impacting the client’s
engagement include:
Asking your supervisor / team leader for honest feedback on how you may
appear / act to others. Your supervisor may be able to identify a particular
trait / aspect of your approach that could need development. It may be
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CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support
something as simple as engaging your client in friendly conversation or
working on being patient with clients when they are not managing a
particular activity in a timely manner. Your supervisor may be able to suggest
some practical changes to your outlook or approach that can improve your
clients engagement
Asking your client, if possible, on their expectations with engagement with
you. Caution should be taken with this approach, as if the client is already
feeling uncomfortable or disengaged with you, this may be seen as a threat to
them. Alternatively, you could ask a co-worker or your supervisor to tactfully
ask the client how you can improve the relationship.
Investing time into your own personal and professional development. You
may need to brush up on personal communication skills or your professional
approach. Any extra skills you have is like an extra ‘tool in the belt’. You might
not have to use every tool in every situation, but sometimes having extra
knowledge can help bring a difficult or disengaged client around to
engagement in you and their individualised plan.
Your client too may have their own reasons for not being engaged. It could be a personal
preference, bias or prejudice they have. Sometimes, there may be a health, mental health
or medical issue that prevents them from engaging in their individualised plan. There
could be a range of other reasons why they may not be engaging. In these situations, you
can positively impact the client in the following ways:

Demonstrating that you are trained, motivated and engaged in them. You
might not be able to change their personal preferences or biases; however,

you can demonstrate that you can make a difference in their life. It is up to
them to decide if they engage in you professionally.
Ensuring that, where possible, you understand any underlying health, mental
health or wellness issues that impact on the client’s ability to engage. An
example may be that the client is suffering from chronic pain and is simply
unable to focus on anything except pain management. In these situations, you
may need to engage the clients treating medical practitioner and inform them
of their inability to fully engage, due to their pain. The treating medical
practitioner may be able to suggest an alternative method of pain relief or
referral for pain management.
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CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support
The client may not be engaged in their actual individual plan. You will always
be monitoring and referring to the clients individual plan. However, you may
find that the client themselves needs a ‘fresh start’. If possible, you may want
to start fresh with the client and re-write their whole plan. Their current plan
may be totally unsuited to their current situation, needs or plans.
If you find your client is not engaging, despite your best efforts, it is always appropriate
for you to discuss the issues you have observed with your supervisor or team leader.
They may be able to suggest some alternative actions or activities that may help the
client engage in their individual plan.
Other areas you may be able to refer to, or seek advice from could be senior case
workers who may have had a similar experience in the past, the clients family or spouse,
to see if they can make any suggestions or a past case manager, to see how they
managed a particular situation.
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CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support
PROVIDE A SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR THE PERSON CONDUCIVE
TO POSITIVE AND ADAPTIVE RESPONSES
Working in the community, aged or disability sectors, an employee can usually expect to
work with individuals who have come from a marginalised, disadvantaged and even
sometimes, a violent background. Clients may come from a range of backgrounds, have a
history or mental health issues, alcohol or substance abuse, physical or mental abuse
and chronic health conditions.
Many of your clients will have individualised care plans or individualised action plans.
An individualised care plan or action plan usually contains:



 A brief summary of the clients health / mental health concerns
A list and contact details for any treating practitioners they may have
Any privacy concerns, restrictions or permissions they have to who can
access, or not access their information
An agreed upon plan for the organisation to support the client, including any
regular appointments, health referrals and support services
Any incident reports
The clients goals, hopes and aspirations
Any case notes pertaining to the client


As many of your clients have experienced unpredictability and often unsafe
environments in the past, it is integral that you keep your routine interactions and
actions with your clients as safe and predictable as possible.
You can do this by:
Ensuring you are on time for any appointments or meetings with the client.
This fosters trust and an environment of predictability. It also supports the
client manage and keep their commitments to you and others. By being on
time and present for appointments with your client, you demonstrate your
willingness to help, your commitment to their health and rehabilitation and
the importance of them being involved and engaged in their health and
wellbeing

Ensuring, where possible and practical, you alert your client of any changes to
appointments or meetings well ahead of time. If your client is required to

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CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support
utilise public transport or rely on others to help them get to appointments, it
is integral that this is communicated with them as soon as possible. This
keeps the client safe by ensuring they are not travelling or exposed in a
manner that will make them feel distressed or unsafe
Ensuring your work environment, external activities and client visits are
compliant with relevant WHS requirements. Your office and any external
activities your client is engaged in should already be WHS compliant.
However, your clients place of residence may not be.

In consultation with your client, you may need to engage a WHS consultant to
ensure their home is safe – not only for them, but you and any other members
of your organisation that is required to provide in-home services.
Identifying, reporting and rectifying any unsafe situations, equipment or

instances at the first available opportunity. This could be as simple as
reporting a chair in your office as broken, through to notifying your
organisation of an unsafe vehicle or equipment. You will have your own
statutory requirements for reporting unsafe, broken or malfunctioning
equipment to a relevant person or department in your organisation. It is
recommended you understand your organisations policies in relation to any
WH&S reporting with broken or faulty equipment
Being prepared for any interactions with your clients. This means having
followed up on any previous meetings, being prepared for any issues the
client may bring up, any discussion points or concerns you may have. This
helps foster a safe emotional environment for your client.
As well as providing a safe environment for your client, it is important to create a safe
environment for yourself and your co-workers. This could be as simple as ensuring you
use any organisational equipment and vehicles in a safe manner, reporting any broken
or damaged equipment in accordance with WH&S reporting requirements and ensuring
any workplace hazards are addressed in an appropriate manner.
There are a number of ‘external’ factors you can influence or control to create a safe and
predictable environment for clients. In addition to this, your clients may need their own
boundaries or behavioural expectations to help them create a safe and predictable
environment for themselves.
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CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
CHC33015 Certificate III in Individual Support
In some cases, your client may display inappropriate behaviours that can endanger
themselves, you, other clients, other staff members or members of the community.
These behaviours may include:

Inappropriate sexual behaviours, such as public masturbation or making
sexually inappropriate comments;
Violent or inappropriate physical behaviours, such as aggression towards
others, yelling or screaming
Destruction of property
Not undertaking tasks in a safe manner, such as kitchen tasks or workplace
activities

You may be required to develop positive, predictable strategies that will keep the client
safe if they are exhibiting inappropriate behaviours. These may include:


 Reminding the client on what the appropriate behaviours are
Distracting the client, if they are exhibiting inappropriate behaviours and re
directing them into positive or appropriate behaviours
Engaging in other staff members, if interaction is required
Having a clear action plan, developed in consultation with the clients family,
treating medical practitioners and specialists if the client is displaying
increasingly violent, inappropriate or dangerous behaviours.

By reinforcing predictable (and positive) responses to inappropriate behaviour: you
help foster an environment that encourages the client to display and model appropriate
behaviours. This creates a safe, predictable for the client, you and any other people
involved in the client interaction.
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T O P I C 2 – R E V I E W C O N T E X T O F
B E H A V I O U R S O F CO N C E R N
RECOGNISE BEHAVIOURS OF CONCERN OUTLINED IN THE
INDIVIDUALISED BEHAVIOUR SUPPORT PLAN AND CONSIDER
THE TYPE, FREQUENCY AND TRIGGERS OF THE BEHAVIOUR
Working in the disability, aged or community sectors, you may come across some clients
who, on occasion, display disruptive or even violent behaviour. This behaviour can
sometimes impact:





 The client
You, the case worker/ case manager
Any other clients
Members of the community
Other case workers / case managers

Behaviours that are likely to put the client at risk may involve:
Aggressive behaviour towards themselves or others
Acting in an unsafe manner, or against instructions
Undertaking activities in an unsupervised manner
When any type of aggressive, violent or disruptive behaviour occurs, it MUST be
documented in the client’s file, in line with organisational policies and procedures, at the
most practicable time.
Many organisations will have an incident report that should be used, whenever a client
is displaying these types of behaviours. An incident report typically has information
such as:




 The client’s name, date of birth and address
The location or locations of the incident
The actual behaviours that you observed the client display
If the client was hurt during the incident, including a catalogue of what
injuries the client sustained

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If any other persons were hurt or injured, including a catalogue of any
injuries they sustained
If there were any identifiable triggers of the event. This may include loud
noises, an unfamiliar environment or occurrence, after eating a particular

type of food, after a difficult or stressful activity or any other identifiers
preceding the client’s behaviour

How the client was managed during the episode, such as diversionary tactics,
self-relaxation techniques, physical restraint
If any third parties or referrals were made. This may include contacting the
police, ambulance or fire services; the clients treating medical practitioner,
family or emergency contact person
Any first aid that was administered to the client or other persons
Post-event treatment for the client and any persons involved, including
counselling or de-briefing
Any other observations that have been made around the event (such as the

client has had a change in medication, a change in routine or a disruption to
the client’s usual routine).
If the behaviour is ongoing, these reports will provide valuable insight into possible
triggers, warning signs or danger points that may predict the client’s behaviour
escalating. When trends can be identified, measures can be put in place to mitigate or
prevent these episodes. Any trends can be documented in the client’s individualised
plan, to help prevent future events.
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CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
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CONSIDER ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE
BEHAVIOUR AND CONSIDER WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE, DURING
AND AFTER THE BEHAVIOUR OF CONCERN
As mentioned in the previous section, it is important to document the facts around a
client incident. This is typically done on an incident report.
Incident reports should be able to demonstrate the following trends:

Any particular locations / environments where the client has displayed
behaviour that harms themselves or others
What was occurring at the time the client displayed these behaviours. The

client may not display dangerous behaviour at any particular location (such
as a shopping centre or doctors surgery), however, they may seem to escalate
when they are in a confined space, such as a lift, a car or small room. Similarly,
there may be other wider environmental factors that are linked with the
client’s behaviour – loud noises, bright lights, crowded areas or unfamiliar
stimulation, such as a change to their home environment
What any other clients were doing when the incident occurred? Your client
may ‘feed’ off other client behaviour, if in a group or after being with the
group. Your client may find it difficult managing their reaction to another
client’s behaviour, and react in a similarly negative manner
Your client may have very predictable responses to environmental cues, or react in very
unpredictable ways when presented with the same environmental stimuli.
Environmental factors can often bring unpredictable situations, many of which are
unavoidable. You may find trends. However, that allow you to mitigate or lessen the
impact of environmental factors on the client’s behaviour. You may note that the client
sometimes displays risky behaviour whilst in shopping centres. However, this seems to
be less noticeable when there are not as many people in the shopping centre, such as
during a weekday, as opposed to the weekend. There may be environmental factors as
simple as if the client had a good sleep the night before if their behaviour is brought
about by being hungry or thirsty or even the time of day. For these reasons, it is integral
that your incident reports and daily interaction notes with the client document the
severity of risky behaviour, any foreseeable environmental impacts and mitigation
practices you employed to reduce the impacts of the behaviour.
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CONSIDER THE PERSON’S EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING IN THE
CONTEXT OF THE BEHAVIOUR
Emotional wellbeing is important for everyone. An emotional strain can place stress on
almost everybody, and without the skills to channel, manage and deal with emotional
strain, some clients may react in negative or risky ways.
You may have clients who can clearly articulate how they are feeling, any causes of their
thoughts and emotions and be able to suggest ways to mitigate any anticipated risky
reactions. If your client can do this, it is essential that you document this and modify
plans to prevent this from occurring. An example of this could be if you are working in
an aged care facility. An elderly client may be able to articulate that they find the
communal dining setting can cause them significant emotional distress, leading to them
feeling frustrated, agitated and unable to sleep. You can look to mitigate this by
organising the client to eat after the main dinner sitting, or, if practicable, eating in their
room.
You may have other clients, however, that are unable to articulate any emotional
concerns they have and seem to react out of the blue.
Sources of emotional frustration or diminished emotional resilience in clients may stem
from:

A difficult situation or interaction in their home, care facility or activity they
are involved in
A sense of tension in their family or social environment
A lack of sleep



Unmanaged pain
A change in carer, case worker or nursing staff
A feeling of helplessness in treatment, recovery or communication

In situations where your clients may not be able to articulate their emotional concerns,
it may be appropriate to seek further information on a client’s mental state from other
carers, the client’s family or any other treating practitioners. Even an informal
conversation with one of these people may uncover significant, helpful information that
could assist mitigating or reducing negative or risky behaviour. An example of this may
be a client who lives in a group home with other girls who have a mental disability, such
as Downs’ Syndrome or severe autism. By ‘checking in’ with the group home leader, you
may be able to ascertain that there is a new resident who has changed the dynamic of
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the home. This may influence your client’s emotional well-being and contribute to risky
or dangerous behaviour.
The more information you have about the client’s emotional well-being, the better you
can prepare, anticipate and even explain a negative or risky behaviour in the client. This
can help prevent injury to the client or others prevent damage to property and help
keep the client in a positive state of emotional well-being.
The results of poor or diminished emotional wellbeing may be manifest in a number of
ways. These may include:

Acting out in a dangerous or unsafe manner, either as a single incident or a
sustained number of incidents
Displaying behaviours or symptoms such as screaming, scratching skin,
rocking or appearing to be in an escalated or withdrawn state
Displaying behaviours that make others feel uncomfortable, such as
inappropriate sexual behaviour. This may include inappropriate sexual

touching of others, public masturbation or inappropriate sexual
conversations
Interfering with others privacy, especially in a residential facility. This may
include going through another’s belongings without their consent or
permission, invading their personal space or asking inappropriate personal
questions
This type of behaviour may indicate an emotional upset in the client. It should be
documented in the client’s file. Appropriate referrals should be made to follow up any
subsequent symptoms and causes of this behaviour.
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CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
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CONSIDER THE PERSON’S HEALTH STATUS IN THE CONTEXT OF
THE BEHAVIOUR
Physical health and wellbeing can have an impact on anyone. An injury that
incapacitates a person can lead to frustration, anger, boredom and even a sense of
helplessness. Coupled with pain, poor physical health or injury can produce undesirable
or risky behaviours in your clients.
Notes pertaining to a client’s physical health should be recorded in their individual plan
and any diary notes in the client’s file. The client may have given your organisation to
seek some information from their treating practitioners, for the purpose of assisting
them in their personalised plan. Their treating practitioners may supply a letter when
the client’s physical health has changed or be able to discuss the client’s situation over
the telephone.
Some medications may have a negative impact on a client’s ability to control or regulate
behaviour, leading to the client displaying negative or risky behaviours. Where possible,
you should try to be informed of any new medications, or changes in dosages of
medication for your client. This is particularly relevant if your client is suffering from
mental illness, changes in medication, however slight, can sometimes produce negative
results quickly. These changes should be documented in the client’s individualised plan
and any diary / case notes.
If a client is suffering from a health, mental health or physical issue, this should be taken
into consideration when planning activities or making routines. It may take the client
longer to undertake even basic activities, and pressuring them to complete a task in the
usual time will frustrate the client, possibly leading to negative behaviours. Extra
consideration should be given to your clients when they are suffering from these
conditions, to prevent risky or dangerous behaviours.
It is integral to document any information you have about the clients health, mental
health or physical injuries they may have, to allow for any.
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CONSIDER THE PERSON’S MEDICATION IN THE CONTEXT OF THE
BEHAVIOUR
Similar to health issues or considerations, a client’s medication may have an impact on
their behaviour. Whilst a client’s medication may influence their behaviour, a client not
taking prescribed medication may also have a negative impact on behaviour.
Some mental health issues are managed with a combination of medication and other
therapies. Mental health medication is usually prescribed by the clients General
Practitioner or a psychiatrist – only they are authorised to prescribe, alter the dosage or
change a client’s medication. The clients treating General Practitioner or psychiatrist
may be able to supply you with a list of any medications the client is on, the dosage and
fact sheets on any possible impacts / side effects of the medication. These fact sheets
similarly should document any effects on the client should they cease or change their
medication.
This information must be kept on the client’s individualised plan and in their client
notes. Your organisation may be required to administer this medication (especially if the
client is in a registered care facility) and it is essential to know the precise dosage
information for the client.
If a client has been instructed to change or modify their prescribed medication, you may
want to document any changes in their behaviour, even if these changes are not negative
or risky. This information may be fed back to their treating practitioner for analysis.
It is essential to remember that in your role, you are not authorised to modify, change,
remove or increase a client’s medication. If you have concerns over the clients
medication, have any pertinent information or observations on the impact the
medication is having on the client, you are best placed to document and discuss this
with the clients treating medical practitioner. The treating medical practitioner will then
determine the best course of medical treatment for the client.
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RECORD ALL OBSERVATIONS ACCURATELY AND OBJECTIVELY IN
CONSULTATION WITH SUPERVISOR USING TERMS THAT CAN BE
CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD
When a client has displayed risky or dangerous behaviour, especially if this behaviour
has been sustained over a period of time, you should have collated considerable
information on the possible causes, triggers, impacts and follow-up of these episodes.
You should have collated information on the environmental factors and observed
emotional state of the client. You may be able to identify any health issues impacting
behaviour and chart the effect of medication on the client’s behaviour.
Your documented observations will be utilised to formulate an individual response plan
to prevent, manage and recover from any risky or dangerous incidents.
An individualised action plan will typically include:

Any known impacts on the client exhibiting risky or negative behaviour.
These may include any known environmental, emotional, health, medicinal or
other factors that have been identified to cause distress and risky behaviours
Any known mitigating or moderating measures that can be put in place, when

the known stressors are present. This may include delaying an activity if a
client has changed medication, reducing the intensity of a routine if a client
has sustained an injury or temporarily cease an action if a client has
experienced a significant emotional event
An action plan for if a client starts displaying risky or dangerous behaviours.
This may include removing a client from a situation (such as locating a quiet
room, free from stimulation), diversionary tactics, appropriate physical
restraint, appropriate contact of emergency police or ambulance services, if
this is deemed to be a suitable action
Post-event follow-up. The client’s ongoing wellbeing is a priority after an
event. They may suffer from significant embarrassment, loss of face, dignity
(especially if emergency or police are called to respond to an incident) or
even possible legal consequences, if during an event, the client committed a
crime. Post-event follow-up is essential to assist the client in resuming the
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care they need, to support them and to re-engage in their rehabilitation and
management
Review of the action plan. Even though a plan may be in place, there may
always be room for improvements, review and updating. The individualised
action plan should be responsive to the client’s current needs, not a static
document primarily based on past events.
The individual action plan needs to focus on the inclusion of the client, not their
exclusion. Plans that remove or isolate the client from their usual activities, such as
working, social outings or spending time with family or friends need to be avoided
where possible. It is paramount to have an individualised action plan that assists with
the continuation of their education, development of skills and capability.
Once a suitable individual action plan has been formulated and implemented, future
events should be reduced and the impacts of such events should be reduced, assisting
the client.
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T O P I C 3 – P R O V I D E P O S I T I V E
B E H A V I O U R S U P P O R T A C C O R D I N G T O
I N D I V I D U A L I S E D B E H A V I O U R
S U P P O R T P L A N
RECOGNISE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN APPROPRIATE AND
INAPPROPRIATE INTERVENTIONS WHEN ADDRESSING
BEHAVIOURS OF CONCERN AND INTERPRET AND FOLLOW
BEHAVIOURAL SUPPORT STRATEGIES AND ENSURE THAT ALL
INTERVENTIONS ARE IN LINE WITH THE PLAN AND
ORGANISATION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
You may find that in your work role there will be people with challenging behaviours
that will make you feel uncomfortable or even a little scared.
A behaviour of concern is any behaviour which causes stress, worry, the risk of or actual
harm to the person, their carers, staff, family members or those around them. The
behaviour deserves consideration and investigation as it is an obstacle to achieving the
best quality of life for the person with dementia and may present as an occupational
health and safety concern for staff.
These behaviours must be addressed in an appropriate manner, remember, you are
dealing with adults, not children!
Some of the behaviours you may identify could include:



 Raised voices/angry tone
Threatening language
Screaming
Damaging property


Throwing things
Infliction of injuries on themselves
Restlessness
Fighting

Pacing back and forth
Not speaking at all

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Of course there will be many more to add to this list but this gives you a guide to the
types of behaviours you may witness.
If you do come across any of these behaviours, there are things you can do.
RISK ASSESSMENT
Performing a very quick risk assessment will get you on the way to deciding the most
appropriate response to their behaviours.



 Assess the risk. Is anyone in danger?
Leave the situation (if possible) and remove others from the situation.
Decrease stimuli for the person (if there is something that is visibly upsetting
them, remove it from the scene)
If the behaviour continues, you will need to escalate the crisis according to
your policies and procedures. (this may mean contacting supervisors, police

or emergency services)
POSITIVE BEHAVIOURAL SUPPORT
Positive behavioural support (PBS) is based on decreasing behaviours of concern and
improving the person’s quality of life. Positive behaviour support planning tells us the best
way to work with an individual who shows behaviours of concern and gives us ways to
improve the quality of life for the person and does not just deal with behaviour.
This approach places an emphasis on the need for responsiveness to a person’s feelings and
needs and has the following defining features:

Valuing the person, deliberately building a sense of self-worth, and
acknowledging all attempts at positive interaction
Creating situations where the person is placed at their best advantage

Acknowledging and trying to interpret what the person is communicating via
the behaviour
Analysing the functions of the behaviour

Teaching the person other ways to meet their need or communicate their
feelings

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 Gently supporting and leading the person to a calmer state
Providing encouragement and feedback about personal successes along with
aspects of
Difficult situations the person may have handled well.

For positive behaviour support to be successful it requires:



 Teamwork
Seeing the person’s strengths and being committed to the person
Seeing the person and seeing the behaviour
An appreciation that all behaviours have a purpose
Being positive

Possible consequences and outcomes of the consistent implementation of positive
behaviour support strategies. The person may learn:



 That their feelings will be noticed and acknowledged
Where and when behaviours are appropriate and valued
How to manage situations and emotions that have previously led to difficult
situations
That considerate and cooperative behaviour is acknowledged, gets things
achieved and
Leads to good feelings
That they can make a difference by influencing others in ways that are mutually
pleasing

And positive
Adapted from Positive behaviour support: Getting it right from the start
http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/603463/pbs_facilitators_manual.pdf
If you would like further information on this subject, please go to
http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/603463/pbs_facilitators_manual.pdf
You will find a full discussion and instruction on behaviour support there.
Each person will have a plan that outlines the behaviour management strategies that are
implemented for this person. Please make sure you follow that plan and report any
changes to the behaviour to your supervisor.
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FOLLOW ORGANISATION PROCEDURES TO ENSURE SAFETY OF
THE PERSON, SELF AND OTHER PEOPLE AND RESPOND TO
CRITICAL INCIDENTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH ORGANISATION’S
INTERVENTION AND NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES
The Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities 2006 is one important law
that sets out our freedom, rights and responsibilities. This formal recognition of our
rights protects all people from injustice and allows everyone to participate in and
contribute to society. Disability support professionals, therefore, have the right to work
in a safe and supportive environment.
At all times, you must ensure you are safe in these situations. Your safety is just as vital
as those around you and you will be required to know and understand the procedures
around working in these types of situations.
Disability support professionals have the right, especially when supporting people who
show behaviours of concern and are subject to restrictive interventions, to:


 Adequate information and training in positive behaviour support
Be actively involved in the assessment process and not just be informed of
what to do
Receive appropriate ongoing professional development
Access debriefing following a stressful workplace incident.

So to do your clients have the right to be safe. This includes the person that you are
caring for.
It is your duty of care to keep them and yourself safe and to ensure you notify the
relevant people in relation to the incident.
REDUCING OR CHANGING SETTING EVENTS AND TRIGGERS
This consists of setting the occasion for positive behaviour by increasing the events that
produce desired behaviour. For example:



 Providing the person with greater access to preferred activities
Providing the person with clear instructions
Giving the person more time to spend with favourite staff

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Placing a tray with books on the lap of a person when you know this inhibits
them from breaking the bus windows.

It also consists of decreasing or eliminating setting events that trigger the behaviour.
Some examples include:


 Reducing the number of demands made.
Giving instructions in a way that is not directive (for example, ‘The table is
ready to be set when you’ve got a chance’) if assessment reveals that directive
instructions act as triggers.
Providing the person with a room of their own.
Slowing down the morning routine if you know the bus will be late and
waiting has been shown to act as a trigger.
Often putting together a Do’s and Don’ts lists to ensure staff consistency.

INCENTIVE PROGRAMS
These provide the person with some very strong incentives to stop the person needing
to use behaviours of concern.1
No matter what the intervention, always make sure it is in line with the individual plan,
support plan and/or policies and procedures for your organisation.
1 http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/603463/pbs_facilitators_manual.pdf
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MONITOR STRATEGIES TO DETERMINE EFFECTIVENESS IN
CONSULTATION WITH SUPERVISOR
At the forefront of all that you do as a carer is to ensure the safety, dignity and selfesteem of your clients.
There will be times that you will need to intervene in the client’s actions or behaviours.
You will have established action plans in place to ensure this is done in the most
productive manner.
In reviewing the client’s action plan, you must ensure that the strategies involved
uphold the client’s dignity and self-esteem.
Things that will demean or belittle the client are inappropriate. Ways to uphold a client’s
dignity and self-esteem include:

Not berating the client, or talking down to them if their behaviour or actions
are escalating
Not making fun or mocking the clients ability, capability or impairments
Not acting in a violent or cohesive manner towards the client
Not ‘punishing’ the client for an inability to complete a task or activity


Your strategies should be reviewed, where possible, with the engagement and input
from the client. They may be able to articulate how they feel in situations, how they like
to be helped and what would affirm their dignity and self-esteem.
You should also constantly review your own attitudes, responses and behaviours
towards your client’s dignity and self-esteem. You can monitor your own responses by
thinking through how you reacted to a client in a particular situation. Were you too firm
in a situation? Did your response take away their ability to think, input or decide for
themselves to react? Did you ‘follow all the rules’, yet talk in a disparaging or negative
way towards the client? It is essential that you review and monitor your own responses
to the client, ensuring they uphold their dignity and self-esteem.
It is important that whilst you monitor the strategies to determine the effectiveness that
this is done in consultation with your supervisor.
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IDENTIFY AND REPORT CHANGES IN PERSON’S NEEDS AND
BEHAVIOURS IN CONSULTATION WITH SUPERVISOR
BEHAVIOUR RECORDING
Key steps in completing functional behaviour assessment
Step 1 – Defining the behaviour of concern. You need to write the behaviour in a way
that the actual behaviour of concern can be easily understood by others and that then
can be used to gain reliable documentation on when and when it does not occur.
Step 2 – Finding out as much information as possible about the behaviour, which is
information on:



 What happens before the behaviour?
What happens during the behaviour?
What happens after the behaviour?

This will require the use of recording forms such as STAR Charts or questionnaires like
the Motivational Assessment Scale.
Step 3 – From information collated via the recording forms/questionnaires, come up
with an idea (hypothesis) about why the behaviour is occurring, that is what
purpose/function does the behaviour appear to be serving for the person. Some of the
most common reasons why behaviours of concern occur:






 Gaining social interaction
Escape or avoidance of demands
Gaining access to preferred activities or tangible objects
Sensory feedback (hand flapping, eye poking)
Pursuit of power and control over own life
Reduction of arousal and anxiety.

Step 4 – Test your idea (hypothesis) by systematically introducing strategies such as
environmental changes, skill development strategies and planned responses to
behaviours. These strategies must be linked to why the person is using the behaviour.
The introduction and consistent implementation of these strategies should result in a
reduction to the frequency and intensity of the target behaviour and over time, an
increase in the person’s quality of life.
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Step 5 – Regularly monitor, evaluate and review the effectiveness of the strategies:
Thinking about what worked and what needs to change. Ongoing data collection will be
required to monitor or check that your ideas about the behaviour are correct.
CLEARLY DEFINING THE BEHAVIOUR OF CONCERN
This is often referred to as an ‘operational definition’ of the behaviour. Having a clear
and concise definition of the behaviour is essential when conducting a functional
assessment. As a functional assessment may consider observations/records/ideas from
more than one person, it is important that everyone has exactly the same behaviour in
mind. A good operational definition may also serve as a helpful reference for others
involved in providing support to the person.
Behaviours should not be written in a way that is vague or subjective or broad. The
definition needs to be specific. A good operational definition of the behaviour is one that
is written in a way that:



 Can be visualised
Frequency can be counted
Is agreed on by different observers regarding its occurrence and absence

WHAT HAPPENS, BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE BEHAVIOUR?
Now that we know what the behaviour is, we need to gather as much information as
possible about the behaviour.

What happens before the behaviour? (Setting events: triggers and warning
signs)
What happens during the behaviour? (Action: What did the person actually
do? What did it look like?)
What happens after the behaviour? (Results: What is the person getting from
the behaviour?)

It is not necessary here to be able to identify exactly what triggered the incident. This is
sometimes difficult. Our task is to take careful note of relevant events that preceded the
episode.
By doing this, we will often be able to uncover patterns in the behaviour. As mentioned
earlier, the behaviour is often predictable: that is if A happens B will follow.
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Setting events, triggers and warning signs

In identifying setting events, it is important to consider possible background
factors.

o What was happening in the environment?
o Where did the behaviour occur?
o Who was there at the time?
ACTION
Describing what the person actually did?
o What did the behaviour look like?
Examples:
The person used the left fist to hit co-resident Mary on the head twice.
Banged back of the head on wall five times.
RESULTS
Identifying the result or outcome is about developing an understanding of what the
person is getting from the behaviour that motivates them to do it again and again that is
what happens following the behaviour that achieves an important result for the person.
Adapted from Positive behaviour support: Getting it right from the start
http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/603463/pbs_facilitators_manual.pdf
If you would like further information on this subject, please go to
http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/603463/pbs_facilitators_manual.pdf
You will find a full discussion and instruction on behaviour support there.
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FOLLOW REFERRAL PROCEDURES IN CONSULTATION WITH
SUPERVISOR
Your organisation will have policies and procedure relating to referring client for
behaviours of concern. This could include referrals to:


 G.P.
Counsellor

Specialists
Another referral source

Before you refer any client for further assistance, you must always check with your
supervisor. They will have the authority that you need to refer and will probably have a
list of preferred specialists to refer to along with all their contact details.
In most cases, you will be required to complete a referral form similar to the one below.
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T O P I C 4 – C O M P L E T E
D O C U M E N T A T I O N
COMPLY WITH THE ORGANISATION’S REPORTING
REQUIREMENTS
Documentation and good record keeping are at the heart of best practice with ongoing
client management.
Good documentation allows for the:





 Accurate recording of events, incidents and observations
Identification of trends, ongoing issues
Identification of strategies that assist a client
A secure and central location for any actions plans for the client
A central point of reference for all the clients documents, rather than a
haphazard system where information can easily get lost

Documentation will also be a legal requirement in many situations, especially with
incident / client management, medications, treatment schedules and privacy
requirements.
You will need to be familiar with your organisations policies and procedures in relation
to reporting requirements. Information on what the reporting requirements can usually
be located:




 With your team leader or supervisor
On your organisation’s intranet
Within HR or personnel
With your training and development department.

Ignorance is no excuse for poor or bad documentation. The risks of poor or bad
documentation to the client, yourself and the organisation can be great.
Your organisations reporting requirements will clearly define what needs to be
documented, where, how, why and when.
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CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
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Your organisation may have an electronic database for recording information. These
may be electronic client files, electronic documents or electronic recording of
information. Inversely, there may be paper-based files or information. Usually, each
client will have their own file – this could be paper or electronically based. This file will
typically be divided into basic client information, medicinal or treatment information,
treating practitioners and specialists, emergency contact information, any privacy
information or concerns, information release waivers, any action plans or strategies in
place and generalised observations. You need to become familiar with each section of
the clients file, to ensure you know where to document what information.
Each organisation will have its own style of documentation. This ensures that all
employees are documenting using the same ‘codes’, style and ways. As there is often
much that needs to be documented, many organisations have their own style of
shorthand to quicken the process of documentation. This may be formal, or informal.
Regardless of this, it is essential that you understand the style of documentation, to keep
the flow and tone uniform for any other organisations employees.
Each different type of document will need to be completed in different timeframes. An
example of this is you may need to document immediately once a medication has been
administered. Other documents may not be able to be completed immediately – an
incident or accident report for an example. These may take considerable time and
cannot be completed on the spot. Generalised observations may be documented at the
end of a shift or interaction, to ensure the clients observations and records remain
current.
Documentation is important as it gives a clear record of the client’s actions, behaviours,
interactions and any other observations made. Documentation is often both a legal and
organisational requirement. It is an important and serious part of your role, the proper
time and attention needs to be given to it.
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CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
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MAINTAIN DOCUMENTATION ACCORDING TO ORGANISATION’S
REQUIREMENTS
Your organisation will have clear requirements for documentation. This will include:




 What to document
Where to document
The style of documentation
When do document

There will be a wealth of information that needs to be documented. This can be clientspecific information, program information, plans or strategies, inter-organisational
notes, emails and any other organisational files.
Client-specific information will be documented in a range of places, depending on the
nature of the information. This may include:

Client observations, medical notes and generalised client information to be
documented in the client’s file
Clients individualised plan, action plan or any other health or rehabilitations
plans also to be included in the clients file
Any referrals made to the organisation for the client to be filed in the client’s
file
A copy of any documents / referrals made to external organisations, health
partners or specialists, as well as any responses from these stakeholders to be

held in the clients file
There will be information that is not client specific that does not need to be filed in the
client’s file. You may be required to prepare inter-organisational notes or
communications, such as meeting minutes, emails confirming a new decision or
direction or organisational contact lists. These will usually be documented in individual,
organisational documentation templates. For example, your organisation will usually
have its own template for meeting agendas and minutes. It is essential that you correctly
document organisational notes in the correct places, using the correct template. This
ensures uniformity of messages, documentation and assists with the ease of reading.
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CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
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Working in aged, disability or community services, you may also be required to create
documents or information for your clients, groups or facility. These could be simple
documents, such as a safety sign for a particular activity or equipment, instructions for
using an appliance or directions for an activity or strategy. Your organisation will have
policies and procedures on how this is to be documenting, considering any linguistic or
cultural requirements. It is always advisable to contact a communication specialist in
your organisation if you have any queries on public communication or messages.
By following organisational documentation requirements, you ensure that you keep an
accurate record of what has happened, what needs to happen and any other directions.
It keeps the flow of information uniform and allows for the quick and easy identification
of important information, as it is required.
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CHCDIS002 – Follow established person-centred behaviour supports
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S U M M A R Y
Now that you have completed this unit, you should have the ability to follow established
person-centred behaviour supports.
If you have any questions about this resource, please ask your trainer. They will be only
too happy to assist you when required.
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R E F E R E N C E S
http://codasouth.org/client-centred-plan-care-plans/
http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/disabilities_routines.html
http://www.adhc.nsw.gov.au/about_us/strategies/disability_action_planning
http://www.agedcareplanning.com.au/
http://www.healthtalk.org/peoples-experiences/chronic-health-issues/chronicpain/everyday-activities-and-daily-routines
http://www.jobaccess.gov.au/content/carrying-out-daily-routine
http://www.mmll.org.au/about-our-services/provider-support/templates
http://www.myagedcare.gov.au/end-life-care/advance-care-planning
http://www.ndis.gov.au/people-disability/examples-services-and-support
http://www.safetymds.nsw.gov.au/
http://www.wikihow.com/Enhance-Daily-Life-for-a-Person-with-a-Disability
https://www.agedcareguide.com.au/terms
https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/ageing-and-aged-care/tools-andresources/ageing-and-aged-care-research-and-statistics/aged-care-planning-regionmaps

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