Behavioral Supports
CRVI maintains an experienced clinical team to design, implement and monitor supports for individuals with aggressive and/or self-injurious behaviors. The clinical support process begins during the transition process. The clinical team consists of the Director of Behavioral Supports, Behavior Intervention Specialist and Behavior Therapy Technicians.
When someone first starts receiving supports from CRVI, the clinical team works with everyone who supports the individual to begin a “pairing” process. This process involves providing as much reinforcement to the individual during the transition as possible as this is the best way to develop relationships. These relationships assist with recognizing and deescalating challenging behaviors.
The clinical team at CRVI utilizes many of the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) when supporting those individuals who have more intense behavioral needs. The clinical team is in the process of becoming Registered Behavior Technicians (RBT) to be the most effective support possible. CRVI has a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). The BCBA work with staff in the RBT program and provides individual and group supervision. Every person’s Behavior Support Plan (BSP) outlines many different proactive techniques (e.g. schedules, visual reminders, communication skills, activities of preference, environmental modifications, etc.). These are especially important for those who have more aggressive behaviors as the safest way to support them is by not getting into “crisis” mode. The behavior data is graphed and phase change lines are created with every intervention tried. When this is analyzed we determine if the intervention is effective based on the trend of the behavior. For those individuals who show significant aggressive or self-injurious behavior the clinical team (Behavior Therapy Technician (BTT) and Behavior Intervention Specialist (BIS) will be present more often in the home working hands on and training the staff. These trainings include reviewing the BSP but also at times include more in depth training about their diagnosis (e.g. Autism, Depression, etc.). The clinical team will also call in our training department to do person specific SCIP trainings, to ensure staff are best prepared to intervene should the behavior escalate. When an individual’s behavior presents a serious risk or harm to self or others, the team may need to put restrictions in place such as supervision levels or environmental modifications. These restrictions are always looked at as a temporary solution while we teach more appropriate skills allowing the individual to live the most independent life possible.
