Reducing self-harm through Positive Behaviour Support

Paul would violently self-harm when we first started supporting him. Through Positive Behaviour Support, he’s much happier.

Paul is a young man who came to Dimensions straight from school. With a complex mix of challenging behaviours, we saw opportunities to use Positive Behaviour Support techniques that have vastly improved his well-being, life and relationships.

Paul could only deal with a very limited amount of stimulation and would become very agitated if any of his belongings were moved.

Sadly, he also became agitated by his parents. This meant he could only visit them for a few minutes before getting upset and having to leave.

These triggers caused not only his challenging behaviour but also his self-harm. When he was unhappy, he’d often hit his head against hard walls, damaging property as well as his own well-being.

Our specialist team of Behaviour Analysts worked with him, his family and his support team on a number of approaches to reduce his self-harm, aggression and triggers. These included being matched to a calm and observant support worker, achieving personalised approaches to communication, and taking change at a pace comfortable to Paul.

He is now much happier, gets on well with his parents and his self-harm has reduced significantly.