Behaviour

Lets face it – when we talk about behaviour we often think of “bad” behaviour. But the way you or your child acts is often tying to obtain an important outcome that is useful or adaptive for either you or them.

In the end though difficult or maladaptive behaviour means that the best outcome is not achieved,and you or your child can end up hurt or excluded as a result.

We use a Family Systems approach to behaviour bringing in the tools and backgrounds of all our staff in finding a solution to  your needs.

The most exciting thing about systemic approaches is that blame is not attributed to any party, but solutions are assessed.

Restrictive Practice

Although there are many rules and laws that surround restrictive practices for adults, there are not so many that cover Children. Our practice is a firm advocate of looking for alternatives to restrictive practice. This passion rose out of our work with children living with disabilities where we noticed an astounding number of children tied to themselves or pieces of equipment for their or other’s protection. Sometimes children need to be harnessed, and it is a helpful safety precaution, but the judging factor is whether the harnessing allows them to participate fully in their activities of daily living or not. And whether the harnessing itself harms them or not.

There are often alternatives to restrictive practices and we can assist in providing training, strategies, protocols and procedures and/or alternatives for you, your child or your organisation.

Johanna de Kort, our Principal Occupational Therapist, convened the first South Australian Conference on Restrictive Practice in 2009 and has been a guest speaker at many conferences on the subject and is a past Chair of the Australian Disability Professionals Sub Committee of Abuse and Restrictive Practices.

Brett Williams, our Principal Family Therapist, is curious about the reasons you use the methods you do for getting outcomes, keeping you and your loved ones safe, and equally curious about if that is working for you.

If you or your child needs help, please don’t hesitate to contact us.