Evidence reveals that more than 60 per cent of NDIS participants receiving behaviour support services were not involved in developing their own plans.
A newly-developed suite of resources called The Right Direction aims to change this, by increasing authentic engagement between behaviour support practitioners and NDIS participants.
Its development has been led by researchers from the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland, heading a national team.
The project was funded by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission Grants Program.
Including disabled voices
The resources include step-by-step guides, tips, videos, tools and workbooks to support effective communication and engagement at all stages of behaviour support planning.
They were developed through an extensive national research and co-production process involving behaviour support practitioners, people with disability and their support networks, disability advocacy organisations, NDIS providers, government bodies and researchers.
Professor Keith McVilly, professor of disability and inclusion at the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Arts, said plans should be developed with the involvement of the participant.
“Without authentic engagement with people with disability and their families, such plans can be ineffective at best. At worst, they can override people’s human and civil rights and contribute to abuse and neglect,” he said.
The Right Direction for support
Sarah Nicoll, head of quality and safeguards at National Disability Services, said the resources “will uplift professional standards of practice among behaviour support practitioners and service providers”.
“They will ensure the voice of people with disability and their families is heard and acted upon when support plans are developed and implemented,” she added.
The resources are freely available for use by behaviour support practitioners, NDIS providers and other professionals seeking to improve engagement in positive behaviour support.