Behaviour Support Practitioner
What the work is
Works with carers and support workers to assess the need for, and develop, comprehensive behaviour support plans for people with behaviours of concern.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Undertakes functional behavioural assessments to identify contributing factors and consequences of challenging behaviours
- Engages clients, their families, support teams and other allied health professionals to develop behaviour support plans
- Recommends strategies or areas for skills development to provide opportunities for participation and inclusion
- Develops behaviour support plans that contain preventative approaches, strategies for promoting success and methods for intervening
- Provides guidance, training and coaching to clients' families and other members of the clients' support teams to implement behaviour support strategies
- Monitors the implementation of behaviour support plans, and gathers data to review and reassess plans for clients or their support teams
- Participates in peer support and clinical supervision activities with other practitioners to address challenges
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a group home for adults with disability, and the offices of a disability support provider. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A person you support joins an outing they once avoided, and enjoys it
- Support workers tell you that the plan has made afternoons calmer
- A family member says they finally feel they are working with the team
Hard days
- A plan that is on paper looks good, but a tired team does not follow it
- A family and a service disagree, and you are caught in between
- Writing detailed reports while a deadline bears down on you
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 261932, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.