Behaviour Consultation (Ages 6-18 years)

Laurel Behaviour Support Services provide behaviour consultation to children, families and professionals between the ages of 6-18 for individuals with developmental disabilities (including autism). These services can be accessed through referrals from the Ministry of Children and Family Development or by private contract with our organization.

Behaviour Consultation is designed to be a collaborative process, which involves active participation of individual, family and all of the key individuals and stakeholders who are involved in providing support. The member collaborates in different ways to ensure the plan is developed, implemented and monitored which results in positive changes to the child’s behaviour.

Laurel Behaviour Support Services unfold in four phases. Please click on each phase if you would like more detailed information:

• Assessment
• Goal Setting
• Completion of Initial Report and Goal Setting
• Program Development/Implementation
• Ongoing Monitoring/Evaluation and changes as needed

Behaviour Consultation (Ages 6-19 years)

Phase I: Assessment:

1. Review of the diagnostic information, past assessments and reports
2. Review Individual Education Plan [IEP]
3. Interview family/team members/school team
4. Observations at home and in school settings
5. Perform assessment and describe the profile of the child across relevant developmental domains
6. Identify behaviours of concern

Assessments are selected based on the information provided by families in the Child/Youth Profile portion of the MAPCL application form, and initial priorities set by families.

We use formal assessments to supplement this information, and create a current profile of the child or youth.

Phase 2: Goal Setting

Goal setting is a process in which the family and consultant collaborate to set Long and Short Term Goals to be focused on throughout the service and beyond.  Some goals will be more immediate while others will be part of the long term planning for their child.  This process is used to guide the outcomes desired for the family and child.  Each long term goal will fall into the appropriate developmental area which is then broken down into specific short term objectives needed to make the long term goal a reality.

If problem behaviours are the main focus of the service, your consultant will perform a Functional Behaviour Assessment [FBA] on that specific behaviour. The FBA is used to understand why the child behaves the way s/he does. The goal of FBA is to determine the function of the problem behaviour in specific contexts.

Phase 3: Completion of Initial Report and Goal Setting

The main purpose in this stage is to review the assessment information and develop specific strategies to decrease behaviours of concern and to promote skill development. An initial report will be completed outlining summary of assessment completed in the major areas of concern and a description of specified goals. Goals are broken down into Long Term and Short Term Objectives in order to promote measured progress throughout our service with your family. As goals are met, new ones can be added as your child makes progress.

Phase 4: Program Implementation

A successful program and consistent implementation of the plan is the primary goal in this phase. This is achieved by training parents and other team members in the strategies outlined in your initial report.

• Presenting a written individualized plan for each goal
• Discussing expectations, answering questions, providing clarifications on how the program is to be implemented
• Role-playing possible scenarios in plan implementation
• Situation-specific training, which provides an opportunity to discuss feedback and consider modifications to the plan while intervention is occurring.
• Establishing clear guidelines on the roles and responsibilities of each team member, including setting criteria for short term objectives.

Phase 5: Ongoing Monitoring and Evaluation:

The effectiveness of the Behaviour Support Plan is closely monitored. This is done by the consultant monitoring progress towards long and short term goals by reviewing strategies that are implemented.  For success of the program, all parties need to be consistent in the delivery of those strategies.  Consultants will make their schedules as flexible as possible to support the program but it is up to the families follow through or seek assistance when needed. 

If the child or youth is not making progress, adjustments and further training will take place.  During this phase the focus is on:

• Problem-solving assistance regarding issues of program implementation
• Analysis of post program implementation data
• Development of maintenance and generalization plans
• Evaluation of the treatment program’s outcome