Our Approach

We work collaboratively with families and support teams to understand the underlying reasons for challenging behaviours. We then develop a contextually appropriate positive behaviour support plan that focuses on decreasing the challenging behaviours while also teaching functional skills.

Challenging behaviours could include:

  • Aggression
  • Self-stimulatory behaviors
  • Anxiety
  • Self-injury
  • Sleep issues
  • Toileting
  • Social challenges
  • Challenges associated with daily routines (e.g. mealtimes, homework routines, car rides, hygiene, etc.)

Our overarching goal is to provide quality service based on ethical and sound clinical practice. We support children, youth and adults with or without a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other intellectual disabilities.

Read More About the Process Here

We work collaboratively with families and other service providers to design and implement an effective support plan to address the challenging behaviour and teach the child/adult adaptive skills. The following steps are involved in the process:

Step 1: Conduct a functional assessment of behaviour (FBA)

The purpose of this assessment is to identify the function (purpose) of the behaviour. As such, we want to answer the questions: Why does the child/adult engage in the problem behaviour? Or what purpose does it serve him/her?

It involves interviewing parents and other team members (as appropriate), observing the child/adult in contexts in which the problem behaviour is most likely to occur and in some cases setting up the environment to test contexts which are reported to evoke the behaviour. This is an important first step in addressing problem behaviours.

Step 2: Develop a Positive Behaviour Support Plan

Results of the functional assessment provide information for the consultant to develop a function-based positive behaviour support plan to address the problem behaviour. The consultant works collaboratively with the family and other team members to work out the details of the plan, ensuring it has a good contextual fit in addition to being clinically sound.
Step 3: Provide training to parents/team members to implement the support plan

The consultant will work with parents and other team members to ensure they have the necessary skills and practice to implement the plan with the individual they are supporting. This will involve:

  • Reviewing the written plan
  • Answering any questions
  • Modeling the strategies included in the plan
  • Creating practice opportunities for the team members
  • Coaching when the plan is being implemented

Step 4: Provide ongoing monitoring and support

Following training for family and team members, the consultant will stay involved to provide ongoing support that includes:

  • Ongoing support to problem solve any issues or concerns that may arise
  • Make changes to the plan if necessary
  • Monitor progress by analyzing the data and providing feedback
  • Evaluate with the team if the changes are meaningful for the individual
  • Take steps to ensure skills are taught in all relevant contexts

Getting Started

If you are interested in our services, please contact us at: (778) 945-1435 or Toll Free at: 1 (855) 437 7095 or by email at laurel@posAbilities.ca.

If you would like to meet with us in person we will be happy to set up a complimentary consultation to discuss your current concerns and vision for your loved one and review potential service options our program offers. Please click the appropriate link below to complete the information form and we will get back to you within 24 hours to set up a meeting.

For Children aged 6-18

To get started, click here.

For Adults Aged 19 years and older

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