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Ms Kadayer's knowledge and skills in the area of Verbal Behaviour (VB) is extremely relevant in the field of autism and her continued presence within our community would be of great benefit to all families touched by this disability.

Mr Smith, Herts
Louise is very accurate in her analysis and catching every opportunity to motivate new learning - not only on the child's side but also for the "grown-ups" around. Our son's programming could not be in better hands.

Anonymous, Norfolk
Under Louise’s guidance Omi has made significant and remarkable progress, his eye contact has improved dramatically, his periods of social isolation has decreased and he has begun to enjoy the company of others.

Dr Jones, Berkshire
I have known Shelley Brown for 6 months through the work she has undertaken with my autistic son. She has made a significant contribution towards my son’s language acquisition and I have no hesitation in referring her to other families.

Mrs Christine Labios
Louise has provided us with hands on education and has visited our home many times to demonstrate with our son practical ways of interacting with him.

Dr ASM Ziaul Hoque
Louise first came to our home in December 2006 and within just four weeks we had seen remarkable progress in our 3 year old son.

Gareth & Sarah Squire
Verbal Behaviour Consultants

Challenging behaviour

Every parent at some time has experienced episodes of what can be termed as challenging behaviour from their children. When this cycle of behaviour is constantly repeated or becomes the norm is when intervention on a professional level has to take place to address the issues and develop a more positive and less destructive behavioural model for the child. Challenging behaviour is defined as behaviour of such intensity, frequency or duration that the physical or emotional safety of the person or others is placed in serious jeopardy. It is also defined as behaviour that is likely to seriously limit or deny access to the use of ordinary community facilities.

Here at VBC we also recognise that some children and families fall into behavioural patterns that are not deemed to be challenging enough to warrant help through our health service. We know that, although not deemed ‘challenging’ enough, many of our parents would like professional guidance with how to best speak with and teach their children, how to best discipline where needed and how to make their home more harmonious and smooth running. We are here to equip you with the tools to achieve that, whether you have one child or six, whether you are a one parent or four parent family, and whether you have babies or teens.

Challenging behaviour can be caused by a number of triggers. The behaviour could be the result of a medical condition such as Down’s Syndrome, Autism or Retts Syndrome. It can also be the result of psychological conditions such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or Intermittent Explosive Disorder (where the sufferer experiences extreme expressions of anger that are disproportionate to the situation). In this case it may be necessary to incorporate medical treatment as well as behaviour modification techniques and may require the co-operation and conjoined efforts of a varied team of experts. Here at VBC we will show you all of the options open to you, and will never suggest drug or medical treatment unless you feel this is in your family’s best interests. We will always provide you with a true, reflective and research based picture of each of your avenues.

Environmental factors may also play a part in reinforcing an inappropriate behavioural model, which is why it is so important to work not only with the learner to reinforce a more appropriate behavioural model, but with the family as well.

Verbal communication and challenging behaviour triggers

Left uncorrected, challenging behaviour can seriously affect a person’s health and quality of life. It may lead to patterns of self-harm or explosive aggression towards others, which in turn can lead to isolation from the learner’s peer group and consequently loneliness and depression as a result of a lack of an ability to develop effective social skills. Obsessive behaviour and a tendency to suffer accidental injury may also be linked to challenging behavioural patterns. But one of the biggest triggers for challenging behaviour patterns is communication issues, and by carrying out a detailed functional analysis, VBC can identify trigger points and help your learner and family to overcome their struggles.

How we approach challenging behaviour By looking not just at environmental, physical and psychological factors but communication issues as well, we can work with families and carers to reduce the incidences of challenging behaviour in children and young adults. We ask a series of questions when carrying out our analyses:

  • What stage of life is the learner at (early childhood, puberty, teenager, young adult etc)
  • When did the behaviour first begin?
  • Is this a new pattern of behaviour or a long-standing and unmanageable situation?
  • What is the person’s communicative potential and are they reaching this potential?
  • What are the person’s patterns of communication?
  • Where are there communication struggles which have gone unnoticed?
  • Are family and carers able to understand them?
  • What resources are needed to achieve a higher level of understanding and communication?
  • Is the person allowed to make their own choices?
  • What treatment has been tried, what worked or failed and what treatment is currently in place?
We also look at the support given to the family and carers of children, as challenging behaviour can very often become a repetitive and ultimately destructive cycle. As the boundaries of what are considered ‘acceptable behaviour’ become eroded, new trigger points may emerge as the learner engages in destructive behavioural models to the point where they become the dominant factor within a family structure. At VBC, we attempt to deconstruct this pattern, providing education, therapy and support to create new and more positive patterns. By incorporating language development we help carers, families and the learners themselves create a more positive communication process that removes the original trigger points that may instigate challenging behavioural episodes.

For further details, contact VBC in confidence.