Behaviour Bridge

If your participant keeps getting declined by PBS providers, sending the same referral to another five providers probably isn’t the answer.

Before you refer again, here’s what I’d look at 👇

🧠 **What behaviours are actually occurring?**
“Complex behaviours” doesn’t tell us enough. What’s happening, how often, and in what context?

⚠️ **What’s the level of risk and urgency?**
Who is at risk? How significant is it? What support is needed right now?

🔒 **Are there restrictive practices involved?**
If they’re known — or you suspect something being used may be restrictive — include that information upfront.

🏠 **What does their support environment look like?**
Living arrangement, staffing, family involvement and the other services around the person can all matter when determining fit.

🎯 **What does the team actually need from PBS?**
Assessment? Interim strategies? Staff training? Restrictive practice support? Implementation? A comprehensive plan?

And please don’t sanitise the referral because you’re worried the participant sounds “too complex.”

More information doesn’t make someone more difficult.

It gives a provider a clearer picture of whether they have the right practitioner, experience, capacity and availability to support that person well.

If they’ve already been declined, I’d also ask one really important question:

**Why?**

Was it capacity?
Location?
Experience?
Risk?
Urgency?
Or was there simply not enough information to confidently determine fit?

Use that answer before sending the next referral.

Because the goal isn’t just finding **a** PBS provider.

It’s finding the right practitioner and the right support for that person.

Support Coordinators — what information do you usually include when sending a PBS referral?

Hey, I’m Julz 👋 Founder of Behaviour Bridge and Positive Behaviour Support Practitioner.

I share practical behaviour support strategies for families, support teams and professionals who want to understand what’s happening behind the behaviour.

📚 I’ve also created free behaviour support tools, including resources for Support Coordinators, link in bio.

If you’re only trying to stop the behaviour, you might be missing the most important part.

Here’s what I want you to look at instead:

🧠 What happened before?
What changed right before the behaviour occurred?

🗣️ What might they be communicating?
“I need out.” “This is too much.” “I don’t understand.” “Something hurts.”

🚪 What are they trying to access or escape?
Behaviour often works for a reason.

🌎 What’s happening around the person?
Noise. Demands. Unpredictability. Communication barriers. Sensory needs. Other people’s responses.

🧩 What support might be missing?
Sometimes the answer isn’t another behaviour strategy.

It might be less demand.
More predictability.
Better communication.
More choice.
A sensory change.
A health check.
A different response from the people around them.

Because if we change what’s driving the behaviour, sometimes the behaviour doesn’t need to work so hard anymore.

Before asking, “How do we stop this behaviour?” try asking:

“What is this behaviour telling us?”

Which one do you find yourself asking first?

Hey, I’m Julz 👋 Founder of Behaviour Bridge and Positive Behaviour Support Practitioner.

I share practical behaviour support strategies for families, support teams and professionals who want to understand what’s happening behind the behaviour.

📚 I’ve also created free behaviour support tools you can use right now .. Link in bio.

One of the biggest misconceptions about Positive Behaviour Support is that it's about changing people.

It isn't.

It's about understanding them.

Too often, people are labelled by their behaviours rather than being understood as a whole person. But behaviour is communication. It tells us that something isn't working, that a need isn't being met, or that someone needs a different way to be heard.

That's where Positive Behaviour Support makes a difference.

My role isn't to "fix" people or make them fit into someone else's expectations. It's to work alongside the person, their family, and their support team to understand what's driving the behaviour and create practical, person-centred strategies that improve quality of life.

Whether it's building communication skills, increasing independence, reducing restrictive practices, or creating environments where people can thrive, the goal is always the same: better outcomes that are meaningful to the individual.

Everyone deserves support that sees the person before the behaviour.

If you, a family member, or someone you support could benefit from Positive Behaviour Support, I'd love to have a conversation about how I can help. Feel free to reach out to learn more about my PBS services or discuss a referral.

www.behaviourbridge.com.au

Why Traditional Behaviour Management Is Failing Too Many People with Disability

This might be unpopular, but I think we've spent too long trying to manage behaviours instead of understanding them.

Too often, when someone is labelled as having "challenging behaviours," the conversation immediately turns to strategies for stopping the behaviour.

But what if we're asking the wrong question?

Imagine a participant who becomes distressed every afternoon. Staff document every incident, update behaviour plans, and introduce rewards and consequences. Weeks go by and nothing changes.

Then someone notices something everyone else missed.

Every afternoon, the house becomes noisy during shift change. Different staff arrive, conversations get louder, routines change, and the participant becomes overwhelmed.

The behaviour wasn't the problem.

The environment was.

When the environment changed, the behaviours reduced—not because anyone controlled the participant, but because the reason for the distress had been addressed.

Behaviour is often communication.

It can be telling us someone is in pain, overwhelmed, anxious, confused, frightened, or unable to communicate their needs in another way.

If our first instinct is to stop the behaviour instead of understanding what's driving it, we risk missing the real issue.

For me, good behaviour support isn't about compliance.

It's about improving quality of life, increasing choice and independence, and creating environments where people feel safe, understood, and respected.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Have you seen a situation where understanding the "why" behind a behaviour made all the difference?