Adult Services: Training and Workshop Catalogue

The focus of this workshop is to review the concept of being person centered and its relevance to the work we do with individuals with disability. Using videos and case examples we will discuss 7 critical person centered thinking tools that can be incorporated into our daily practice. Participants will be provided with resources to engage their teams in the person-centered planning process within their respective agencies and programs.

Participants will learn:

• The concept of being person centered
• Person centered thinking tools and how can we apply them to our everyday work with individuals we support
• Strategies to develop and implement a person-centered plan that truly could make a difference.
• Steps to evaluate progress

Understanding the Basics of Challenging Behaviour

In this workshop, we will review the basic principles of behaviour and how it relates to challenging behaviour. We will examine factors that influence behaviour and why an individual engages in challenging behaviours to get his/her needs met.

Participants will also be provided with several applications of how these principles could be applied in home, and/or community settings to strengthen or teach new skills and to create a positive learning environment for the individual.

 Participants will learn:

• The basics of behaviour and factors that influence behaviour
• The relevance of the basic behaviour principles of reinforcement and punishment to challenging behaviour
• Factors that drives an individual to engage in challenging behaviour
• Application of this knowledge to support individuals we work with

This is a comprehensive interactive workshop introducing positive behaviour support, whereby participants will learn how to understand and reduce challenging behaviours and teach socially appropriate alternative behaviours using evidence-based practice. Several positive behaviour support strategies are reviewed in the context of case examples.

Participants will learn:

• Social impact of challenging behaviour and importance of addressing it
• Factors that drive an individual to engage in challenging behaviour
• Positive Behaviour Support and steps involved in assessing and developing a positive behaviour support plan
• Positive behaviour support strategies that help teach new alternative skills and eliminate or decrease challenging behaviour
• Steps to monitor and evaluate progress

The purpose of this module is to offer an inclusive and engaging approach to supporting those with intellectual disabilities to take an active role within their life. Active Support encourages service providers to consider their method of providing support from that of “doing for” the person, to “doing with” the person. This shift in perspective not only empowers those supported to grow in skill and independence, but can also decrease challenging behaviour, increase physical health and mental health, and decrease feelings of helplessness. This module provides service providers with the what, why, and how to navigate Active Support, along with practical examples and applications to begin implementing this approach immediately! 

Participants will learn:

• The concept of Active Support and its application to the field of developmental disabilities
• Basic knowledge regarding the history of Active Support, as described in the literature
• Framework of Active Support and the approaches that it encompasses when supporting a person served
• Positive outcomes of Active Support
• Practical Examples and applications to assist in immediate and effective implementation

Teaching daily living skills could at times pose a challenge in the form of resistance which, may result in a tendency to just give up and complete the tasks with minimal or no participation from the individual. For example, putting dishes away, doing their laundry, grocery shopping, meal planning, using transit etc.  This module provides participants with tools necessary to motivate and teach daily living skills with the overarching goal of increasing independence and quality of life of the individual. Additional teaching resources will be explored, such as the use of visual supports, role-play, and video modeling.

Participants will learn:

• To prioritize and identify socially significant skills to teach
• To break down a complex task into teachable units
• Effective teaching strategies
• To motivate an individual to participate and learn daily living skills
• To identify the level of support needed to complete the task and steps to gradually move towards independence

This interactive workshop provides an in-depth understanding of autism spectrum disorder, and explores the challenges in the areas of social communication and social interaction, restricted repetitive behaviours, and sensory reactions. Participants will engage in various activities that explore challenges in these areas and its effect on the individuals we support.

Participants will learn:

• About autism
• Impact of autism on behaviour and daily living
• Factors that drive an individual with autism to engage in challenging behaviours
• Effective strategies to support individuals with autism

Every individual has a behaviour escalation cycle. This interactive module provides an overview of the phases in the behaviour escalation cycle, ways to de-escalate behaviour and how to re-engage the individual. It also provides participants with an opportunity to identify their triggers and their behaviour escalation cycle so they are best poised to respond to individuals going through an escalation cycle. 

Participants will learn:

• The different phases of behaviour escalation cycle and common behaviours that characterize each phase
• Effective strategies to de-escalate behaviour
• The value of staff self-awareness (their own escalation cycle, their verbal and non-verbal communication)
• Deciding when and how to re-engage the individual after an escalation cycle
• Review of “do” and “don’ts” during a debrief session

This interactive workshop will focus on understanding anxiety and effective support strategies to increase appropriate behaviour and reduce anxiety. Using a case example participants will be walked through the steps to assess anxiety, collect data, and identify effective way to motivate the individual to overcome his anxiety.

Participants will learn:

• To understand the difference between general anxiety and an anxiety disorder (or anxiety that causes impairment)
• To understand the difference between anxiety-related behaviours and socially mediated behaviours
• To learn how to assess anxiety-related behaviours (defining behaviours, collecting data, identifying environmental factors)
• To understand how to identify effective reinforcers
• To understand different behaviour strategies and reinforcement procedures to develop a systematic behaviour plan

This interactive workshop will provide an overview of stress and the related signs and symptoms. Both generic and focused strategies to manage stress will be explored using multimedia and several group exercises. Participants will learn how and when to use specific relaxation exercises, with a focus on Autogenic Training and Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR).

Participants will learn:

• To understand stressors and identify signs and symptoms of stress
• To understand generic tips for managing stress and the benefits of regular exercise
• To learn about and practice Autogenic Training
• To learn about and practice the four parts to teaching Progressive Muscle Relaxation (including how to tighten and relax the different muscle groups)
• To understand the importance of reinforcement and when to use relaxation exercises

At times, we may work with individuals who have limited interests and experience difficultly when engaging in new activities. In an effort to increase exposure and opportunities to new skills and activities, this workshop reviews tools and strategies that can be used to increase motivation to participate in activities and ways to expand new interest through systematic planning.

Participants will learn: 

• To identify items that could be used to motivate an individual
• Strategies to set the individual for success when introducing new activities
• Assess and monitor participation
• Problem solving barriers such as resistance, fear and complacency in various settings
• Ethical considerations when introducing new activities and identifying reinforcers

A behaviour support plan is a document that outlines strategies that must be implemented to decrease or eliminate challenging behaviour while also teaching the individual alternative ways to get their needs met. However, consistent implementation of the plan can be a challenge. Understanding these challenges and knowing how to problem solve is essential to ensure the plan does not only serve as an item on the care plan checklist! This module covers all aspects of implementation support to ensure positive outcomes.

Participants will learn:

• The relevance and the essentials of implementation support
• Potential resistance and strategies to address it
• Riding the wave: things to expect when implementing a behaviour change strategy
• Strategies to ensure consistent implementation to ensure positive outcomes

This session primarily focusses on CLBC’s policy on Behaviour Support and Safety Planning. It provides a comprehensive review of the five principles that guide practice, as outlined in the policy. Using real case examples participants are encouraged to reflect on likely areas where there is gap between policy and practice.

Participants will learn:

• Factors that influence policy
• The five principles the guide practice
• Respecting rights of individuals in during daily routines
• Restrictive practices and the principle of least restrictive option
• Prohibitive practice

This interactive workshop reviews the importance of data collection when reducing challenging behaviours and increasing adaptive behaviours. It includes an in-depth review of the data collection process, different types of data collection methods, and tips on how to determine which method to use based on the target behaviour. Participants will have a chance to go through examples and practice recording each method of data collection.

Participants will learn:

• Importance of collecting, monitoring, and making decisions based on data
• The data collection process
• Methods used to record data and how to decide which method to use
• Practice examples where participants will have a chance to test their ability to collect different types of data
• Discussion on barriers to collecting data and strategies to address it

This comprehensive and interactive workshop will provide an overview of self-regulation and the steps to consider when teaching self-regulation strategies. Strategies and supports discussed will be relevant to all persons with disability, and examples will be shared to demonstrate how teaching methods can be individualized to suit a specific individual. Upon completion of the workshop, participants will walk away with a “full toolbox” of strategies to implement within their respective agency and programs.   

Participants will learn:

• The concept of self-regulation and why it is beneficial
• The escalation cycle and how it relates to self-regulation
• Practical tools and resources you can implement to support and encourage self-regulation for all persons with disability
• How to teach and generalize self-regulation strategies