A WA NEWSLETTER FOR PEOPLE WHO EXPERIENCE
BEHAVIOUR WHICH CAN SOMETIMES BE SEEN AS
CHALLENGING
Understanding Behaviour WA
Members from the family group design group from left: Susan
Stanford, Jaquie Mills, Jodie Campbell, Maggie Visser, Bron Pike, Mike
Cubbage, Jackie Hollick and Joanne Nunn. The family Leadership
design group meet regularly to explore ways to support families in WA
experiencing challenging behaviour.
Welcome to Understanding Behaviour WA!
Hi, and welcome! We are delighted to share with you our second edition of
the Understanding Behaviour WA newsletter. Understanding Behaviour WA is
about work in partnership between families and the Disability Services
Commission to find better ways of supporting families experiencing
challenging behaviour. Many families can often feel isolated and alone, and
this newsletter will hopefully be a way to keep us all better connected. So
far we’ve worked with families with lived experience of challenging
behaviour to design a peer partner program called Side by Side (pg 11) and a
workshop for families called Is There a Better Way? (pg 3) which uses local
stories to explore more effective ways of thinking about and responding to
behaviour. We are excited to be a part of an upcoming family conference in
September, right here in Perth! Come to Our House (more about that on pg
6). We are hoping that many families will benefit from attending this 2 day
conference. There are some great things happening at Malibu School (pg 4).
We hope you find Understanding Behaviour WA helpful. We’d love to hear
from you, so please email us or join the Side by Side Facebook group if you
have questions or ideas about what to put in future editions!
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CONTENTS
How we talk about someone
matters
2
Is there a Better Way –
Bunbury
3
ECU Complex communication
course
3
Malibu School
4
Come to our House conference
6
Practical tips
10
Side by Side
11
How we talk about
someone matters
By Marie-Louise Bertram
At the beginning of my
computers, televisions,
and other electronics.
I then show some
photos of Peter.
presentations and at
my workshops I talk
about two of the
adults with Angelman
that I work with. Peter
is in his early twenties,
is not fully toilet
trained, lives with
other men his age, has
many challenging
behaviours, especially
around food. Peter
uses some AAC, sign,
gesture, and loud
vocalisations. Peter
loves trains and cake.
Peter likes to destroy
Bob has Angelman too,
he is 22. He attends
community college
where he is studying a
certificate in Music.
Bob plays the drums,
composes music using
composition software
mates that he has
known since childhood.
Bob has his own
business and presents
to University Business
students about his
business and his life.
Bob attends literacy
classes to improve his
literacy.
on the Mac. Bob uses a
70 per page PODD book
I then show some
and the 60 cell PODD
photos of Bob.
page set on Compass
App. Bob has a
They are the same
photos as Peter.
girlfriend who he loves
dearly. He has always
Bob and Peter are the
been included in
same person.
mainstream schools
How we talk about
and lives with his
someone matter
2
Is there a Better Way?
Working with the wonderful families and service providers in Bunbury on the Is There a
Better Way? workshop brings more learning for all. Here some of us are with our strength
based cards.....hearing from others the strengths we bring to the mix reminds us we're all
doing great stuff!
You may enjoy this clip from David Pitonyak.! He reflects on the "social brain" and us being
"hardwired for belonging".! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sc5rzCGK20
Complex Communication Needs Course
by Joanne Nunn
It's been the culmination of much hard work by many to achieve running this semesters
Post Grad Course on Complex Communication Needs @ ECU, Mt. Lawley. Youniverse has
been involved from the start and it's the first of its kind in Australia and we're thrilled
Youniverse and Side by Side families are attending as Auditors. The course is also available
online and people from right across Australia are taking up the opportunity to participate.
Thank you Laura Jones, Lecturer extraordinaire! And thanks to everyone involved....there
were many of you. Special thanks to Jaquie Mills, developer and Dr. John O'Rourke, all
round ECU 'maker of things happening'....what a team!
“Nobody is too anything
to learn, read, write, or
communicate.”
David Koppenhauer
The new Graduate Certificate in Complex
Communication Needs begins at Edith Cowan
University in 2015, and is also available online. If
you know any teachers or therapists who would like
to extend their learning about complex
communication needs, please let Jaquie know [email protected]
3
communications
specialist and Kim Daley
(Coates), literacy coordinator I was excited
by their passion and
energy.
Malibu School
By Jodie Campbell
Malibu is the leading
school in AAC
(Augmentative and
alternative
communication) and it
continues to hold the
title of ‘Distinctive
School’ in this field. 80%
of students at Malibu
have high complex
communication needs.
In living up to their
motto ‘a future without
limits,' Malibu is a school
that invests time and
money educating staff,
students as well as
surrounding schools. This
mentality goes against
some people’s perception
that a special needs
school is purely about
care, not education.
Malibu believe in a whole
school approach so every
class and every teacher
uses visual aids and
communication systems
to enable better
communication and
literacy for all students.
Their ideal is a
collaborative approach
using parents, therapists
and teachers. When I
visited Malibu school
recently and spoke with
Rod Mackintosh,
Literacy co-ordinator,
Kim Daley (Coates)
They are fully
committed to
supporting all students
to reach their full
potential within and
beyond the school
setting in literacy and
communication.
Malibu uses the Four
Blocks literacy model
which is a balanced
literacy program that
allows students to
develop their reading,
writing, speaking and
listening skills towards
becoming effective,
literate communicators.
The four blocks of the
model are
:-guided reading
-self-selected reading
-writing and
-working with words
There are lots of
opportunities for
students of all levels to
experience elements of
all blocks through-out
the day. For example in
self-selected reading,
students are given at
least 20 books to selfselect from and they
insure there are books
accessible to all
students. Switch
accessible, speech books
that read the words to
you, custom created
books from excursions
and predictable books
with their interests. By
being engaged in this
way develops a love for
reading and promotes
communication.
The school is supported
by Jane Farrall who is an
expert on the 4 blocks
literacy program. Jane is
a speech pathologist and
special educator with
over 20 years experience
in the disability and
assistive technology
field. She visits Malibu
twice a year to support
the teachers and give
training. On top of this
Kim designates one day a
week where she supports
staff in the classrooms to
build the capacity within
the whole school. The
program is diverse so is
capable of meeting the
requirements of students
with complex
communication needs.
The school encourages
low-tech and high- tech
4
communication including
core vocabulary
placemats, aided
language displays, pods
and devices that produce
digitised/ synthesised
speech.
‘A child who is not
able to
communicate
effectively is at
great risk for
cognitive, social
emotional and
behavioural
problems'
There are so many
families out there that
are dealing with
challenging behaviour
can we not all recognise
that communication
plays a big role in this
factor?
Everyone has the need to
communicate. The
challenge is to figure out
a way of providing all
individuals with
appropriate ways to
meet this need,
regardless of their age,
diagnosis, or level of
disability. (Sigafoos &
O’Reilly,2004)
Malibu School is an
example of a great
school where you feel
your child is nurtured
and along with a
collaborative approach
to working with families,
are given the opportunity
‘Come to Our House’ Conference
to become the best they
can be!
Communications
specialist, Rod
Mackintosh
“Without communication
and literacy in this society,
is social death.” David
Yoder (Literacy Lecture,
ISAAC 2000)
Developmental Disability WA and Microboards Australia
(formerly Youniverse), funded by the Disability Services
Commission and Lotterywest, are delighted to invite families to the ‘Come to Our
House’ conference, which will bring together WA families in a supportive
environment to hear stories from other families about what they are doing, how
they are managing and how they have developed a sense of hope for the future.
Participants will also hear from local and international speakers including Linda
Perry (CEO—Vela Canada) and Norman Kunc & Emma Van der Klift (also from British
Columbia) who all have a wealth of experience with person-centred and
relationship based responses to behaviours which can be seen as challenging. The
conference will be held on Monday 7th and Tuesday 8th September, 9.30am to
4.00pm in Ascot.
To find out more or register for this event please contact Mary Butterworth (08)
94207203 (exc Wed) [email protected]
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7
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9
Practical Tips
Sometimes you just need some inspiration, especially on those really challenging
days. You can share stories or ask questions on the private Side by Side Facebook
group. Here are some things to think about.
10
We hope you have enjoyed this edition of Understanding Behaviour
WA. If you have any stories, questions or information to share for
our next edition, please let us know! Maggie Visser
[email protected]
11
There are various ways that support can be provided: by phone, email or face to face
interactions. The way in which the relationship develops between the family partner and the
supported family is dependent on what fits best for them. Any support received should
complement any service, therapy or intervention and doesn’t replace the need for!paid service.
Families need to want change to occur in their life and be open to exploring new ideas. !Family
partners not only have their own lived experience, they are also given opportunities to learn
new skills, such as the strength based approach, advocacy skills and effective communication.
!
One of the benefits of being involved in the Side by Side program is being part of a larger group.
The sole responsibility does not lie with one person and you are not expected to have all of the
answers. We believe that knowledge is power and that families should be offered opportunities
to learn and develop. !Education and being part of a collective is the key to developing a family
leadership framework that benefits not only the family but also their loved one, as well as the
wider community.
!
We currently have a small number of Family Partners scattered all over Perth and have interest
from families in Bunbury. We have people who are interested in being supported and when
geographical matches aren’t able to happen, we come up with alternative forms of contact.
!
Side by Side is!a program about support, education, change and relationships. We aim to foster
hope and to!build resilience. Let me know if you would like to join us!
Bronwyn Pike is co-ordinator of the Side by Side program: [email protected]
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