Outcomes of Behavior Support Training to an Agency Providing Residential and Vocational Support to Persons with Developmental Disabilities

Abstract

The development of behavior support strategies in the homes and workplaces of persons with disabilities remains a challenge. This report presents a study of behavior support training for a residential and vocational support agency. Three training sessions were provided to managerial and direct-care staff, during which trainees worked in teams to plan or complete functional assessments and behavior support plans for focus persons supported by the agency. Before training, there were no complete functional assessments for the focus persons but there were behavior support plans for two of the focus persons. Posttraining, functional assessments and behavior support plans were either developed or improved to meet the standards for best practice for all focus persons. One behavior support plan was not written until approximately one year after the completion of the training sessions. The frequency of problem behavior was reduced for all focus persons. The limitations and strengths of this approach are described herein for clinicians and researchers.