Keely has been working for Thera for over thirteen years. During that time, she has progressed from a Support Worker to a Team Coordinator (TC), to a Community Support Worker (CSL), and is now the Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) Lead for Thera East Midlands.
Keely told us:
I absolutely love doing PBS. It’s day-to-day problem solving. You get a phone call, solve problems, and undertake observations.
Keely has recently started implementing role-playing Vivo which is an element of compentency based assessment training that she has recently learnt which can help to steer away from using any physical interventions. This involves taking a scenario situation that is around a specific behaviour of concern and teaches staff how to respond and react pro-actively using a calm and low arousal approach. This has been working really well for two people Keely is supporting who came from school services and previously had restrictive interventions in place.
Thera East Midlands had 23 interventions at one point and are now down to only 4 which shows the impact PBS is having throughout the area and proves the work Keely and the support teams are doing is invaluable.
One of the teams Keely is currently working with has really taken on board the advice she’s providing and the management have been really supportive. The staff are able to support the gentleman to feel empowered and in more control of his life. This has helped the team and reduced the potiential for staff feeling burnt out by not understanding the changes in behaviour. “Staff are still really optimistic about how to support him and are looking at future goals for him.”
As with a lot of roles, every day is different for Keely as a PBS Lead. She has regular meetings with the teams she supports which can include fact finding, writing PBS related documents, spending time with the people we support to get to know them and find the best ways to support them.
Not everyone will need a full PBS plan so sometimes Keely supports teams to create other documents. This could include the document ‘My Guide to a good day’ which helps and informs the staff team about really knowing what the person supported needs and wants on a daily basis.
Growing up, a few members of Keely’s family struggled with their mental health and some have autism and bipolar, so she always was interested in supporting and advocating for them.
Keely’s children are also educated on her career and the impact she’s having on the people we support. Her son has a classmate who has non-verbal autism, and her son asked her to teach him Makaton so he could communicate with his classmate.
It’s clear how much of an impact Positive Behaviour Support is having on people supported throughout Thera East Midlands and throughout the Thera Group.