The effectiveness of positive behaviour support in reducing challenging behaviour and increasing quality of life for individuals with intellectual disability

Purpose Intensive support teams (ISTs) are often poorly understood, despite reports of their effectiveness in managing behaviour that challenges for individuals with an intellectual disability. This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of ISTs through evaluating one IST’s process and their use of positive behaviour support (PBS) as an intervention. Design/methodology/approach Participants were obtained from the ISTs discharge database, and pre- and post-intervention data from these participants was used for analysis. Findings Three-paired sample t-tests found that there were significant differences between pre- and post-scores on the behaviour problem inventory, Health of the Nation Outcomes Scale for people with Learning Disabilities and periodic service reviews, which measure quality of targeted, individualised support. This indicates that challenging behaviour frequency and severity were lower post-intervention, quality of life improved post-intervention and staff teams implemented recommended strategies more consistently by the end of the intervention. Originality/value This service evaluation captured data over seven-year period, which helps to contribute to the understanding of the effectiveness of ISTs and the PBS framework.