Positive Behaviour Support in Perth, Western Australia
We now offer Positive Behaviour Support in Perth, Western Australia! Ability Consultants is a Registered NDIS Provider in Perth, supporting individuals with disability. Our mission is to create more freedom and social connection for people with disability through easy access to Positive Behaviour Support. By taking that leap across the Nullabor, we hope to reach more individuals who need support.
Positive Behaviour Support in Perth
Having called Perth home for 20 years I might be a little bit biased in saying Perth is the place to be, but finally, here we are. It’s official: we now deliver Positive Behaviour Support in Perth!
In recent years, our team has stretched across the east coast, delivering Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) in Sydney, before spreading to regional NSW, Queensland, Victoria, and now, Western Australia. We’re also in many regional areas, such as Central West NSW, the Northern Rivers, Newcastle, Wollongong and Batemans Bay.
We're excited to be offering Positive Behaviour Support across the Perth metropolitan area, including Claremont, Wembley, Stirling, Morley, Dianella, Bassendeen, Joondalup, Wanneroo, Victoria Park, Belmont, Bull Creek, Cannington, Fremantle and beyond.
If you’d like to make a referral for Positive Behaviour Support in Perth, bookmark our website and you can make a referral anytime using our blue “Make a Referral” button!
What is Positive Behaviour Support?
Positive Behaviour Support is all about improving a person’s quality of life; more specifically, it’s about helping an individual with disability find meaningful ways of communicating.
Here’s a helpful video where Belinda explains Positive Behaviour Support:
Who can benefit from Positive Behaviour Support in Perth?
If you have a disability, or you support a person with disability, Positive Behaviour Support can help you. PBS helps not only a person with disability, but also those around them, such as parents, siblings, teachers, support workers and a person’s wider support team.
PBS can even have a flow on effect on a person’s other supports, for example, PBS can make dentist or doctor appointments more manageable and improve a person’s independence in daily tasks. PBS can help a person in a great number of ways, and our PBS practitioners are driven by the knowledge that they can make a real impact on people’s lives.
How can I benefit from Positive Behaviour Support in Perth?
Positive Behaviour Support can help you communicate more effectively with others, building your freedom and ability to make social connections.
Here’s an example of how Positive Behaviour Support can help:
Amanda is ten years old and is on the Autism Spectrum. At meal times, she hits her hand on the table repeatedly, leading to significant bruises on her hand. Amanda’s behaviour is also distressing to her younger siblings.
Amanda’s Behaviour Support Practitioner, Luke, has met with Amanda and her family a few times and along with her family, have completed observations and assessments. Luke has also reviewed reports from Amanda’s school, psychologist, GP and occupational therapist.
Luke considers the information collected and writes a report and/or behaviour support plan. Luke’s role is to find out why Amanda is hitting the table, i.e. what is Amanda trying to communicate? He includes this in his reports.
The next part of Luke’s role is to provide strategies to help Amanda and her family. These are included in Amanda’s plan, and include steps such as ruling out medical issues that might be causing her pain, and proactive and reactive strategies to address the reason for Amanda’s behaviour.
For example, if Amanda is hitting the table because the room is too bright, Amanda might choose to wear sunglasses during dinner or Amanda’s parents might close the curtains before dinner time and dim the lights.
The needs of each person are different and the reasons for each person’s behaviour are unique and often complex. The role of our Behaviour Support Practitioners is to identify the reason for a person’s behaviour and find and teach better ways of communicating this reason.
Where we provide Positive Behaviour Support in Perth
We support communities in Perth on both sides of the Swan River, as well as further south in Bunbury, Busselton, Margaret River and other regional towns.
South of the river, we provide Positive Behaviour Support in South Perth, Victoria Park, Attadale, Bicton, Fremantle, Bull Creek, Cannington, Thornlie, Wattle Grove, Belmont, Guildford, Forestfield, Maddington and more.
North of the river in Perth, we provide Positive Behaviour Support in Perth CBD, Subiaco, Maylands, Bayswater, Bassendean, Floreat, Mount Hawthorn, Claremont, Mosman Park, Karrinyup, Stirling, Yokine, Noranda, Tuart Hill, Balcatta, Morley, Hamersley, Duncraig, Craigie, Hillarys, Malaga, Ballajura, Mirrabooka, Balga, Girrawheen, Padbury, Kingsley, Landsdale, Darch, Midland, Joondalup, Wanneroo, Clarkson, Brabham, Ellenbrook and beyond.
NDIS funds that can be used for Positive Behaviour Support in Perth
As a Registered NDIS Provider, we support individuals with NDIS Plans, but we also support individuals who do not have NDIS funding.
In your NDIS Plan, there are three budgets: Core, Capacity Building and Capital Supports. When accessing Positive Behaviour Support, you can utilise funds from your Core or Capacity Building budgets.
In your Capacity Building budget, look for specific funding for PBS: Improved Relationships or Improved Daily Living funds. If you don’t have Improved Relationships or Improved Daily Living funds, you can also utilise part of your Core budget for Positive Behaviour Support.
If you don’t have Capacity Building funds for Positive Behaviour Support, as part of your PBS service, your practitioner will provide a Recommendations Letter with a recommendation for Capacity Building funds when your NDIS Plan is reviewed.
You might also find these articles useful:
- Which NDIS funds can I use for Positive Behaviour Support?
- Frequently Asked Questions about NDIS funding for Positive Behaviour Support
If you’re unsure if your NDIS Plan includes funds for Positive Behaviour Support, you are more than welcome to contact our team on 1300 694 625 or [email protected].
How to access Positive Behaviour Support in Perth
You can benefit from Positive Behaviour Support in Western Australia by making an online referral here on our website. You can also bookmark our website for quick, easy access to our referral form.
Want to know more about Positive Behaviour Support in Perth?
If you're looking for Positive Behaviour Support in Perth and surrounding areas in Western Australia, you might be interested in our Q&A with Perth PBS practitioner Patrick Rundle.
Inclusive recreation activities in Perth
We love to shine a light on inclusive, accessible recreation activities in each city — here’s a list in Perth that you might enjoy!
- WA Museum Boola Bardip: The WA Museum offers sensory backpacks, sensory maps, social stories, quiet times and spaces, AUSLAN tours, a communication board and more. Boola Bardip also offers periodic quiet morning events with reduced crowds and volume, designated quiet areas and sensory maps.
- Perth Zoo: Perth Zoo offers hands-on activities such as animal sculptures and a tactile experience during the Jungle School orangutan experience. Perth Zoo’s playground is accessible, with quiet zones that include feather hammocks, cubby domes and a cave, there’s a raised sandpit table, communication board and wheelchair-accessible trampoline. You’ll find mobility-friendly water fountains and lockers at Perth Zoo. If you’re looking for an accessibility map or social stories, these are available on the Perth Zoo website.
- Sensorium Theatre: Sensorium Theatre is one of a kind, producing and performing accessible theatre and events specifically designed for children with disability, including children with multiple and complex needs. Events are multi-sensory, “they can see, hear, smell, touch and taste the story as it unfolds around them.”
- WA Maritime Museum: Fremantle’s Maritime Museum offers tactile tours on request for guests who are blind or vision impaired. If you’re looking for social stories and low sensory parts of the museum, visit their website to find a sensory map and visual social stories.
- Art Gallery of Western Australia: The Art Gallery of WA offers guided tours and workshops to support individuals living with dementia, in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association of WA. The Art Gallery of WA offers a sensory and access map, social stories, mobility equipment for hire, ACROD parking and lifts between galleries.
- Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts: PICA offers tactile tours, sensory-friendly sessions, social stories, an accessible performance space, and Auslan interpreters for selected exhibitions and performances.
- Caversham Wildlife Park: Caversham Wildlife Park is a popular wildlife attraction in Perth’s Swan Valley. The park is wheelchair accessible, with paths located throughout the park and exhibits. You can find accessible parking in front of Caversham Wildlife Park and across the path at Whiteman Park. The cafe is fully sheltered and the park is a short drive from cafes and restaurants in the Swan Valley, including Margaret River Chocolate Factory and The House of Honey.
- The Aquarium of Western Australia: AQWA offers free wheelchair hire and most areas are accessible, including the Coral Reef underwater gallery. Lighting in most areas of the aquarium is dim and AQWA notes that 1.30pm onwards is a quieter period. The Shipwreck Coast Tunnel can be accessed by elevator and features a moving walkway. Individuals with larger wheelchairs, ride-ons or walkers may need assistance when visiting the Shipwreck Coast Tunnel.
- Kings Park: Kings Park is arguably one of Perth’s greatest attractions, covering almost 1000 acres and featuring multiple parks and playgrounds. Free wheelchairs can be hired from the Visitor Information Centre. Hard paths meeting the Australian standard gradient 1:14 can be found throughout Kings Park and a number of guided walks are suitable for people using mobility aids. Accessible water fountains, picnic tables and barbecue areas are found throughout the park, as well as accessible toilets and a Changing Place facility near the Saw Avenue picnic area. The playgrounds at Kings Park feature sensory experiences and play areas for children with disabilities or learning difficulties.