A number of limitations are acknowledged and further research is required. Practice leadership appears to be an important factor in enabling staff to provide active support but as part of generally good management. Given the rather low levels found, attention needs to be given to the training, career development and support of practice leaders and also to how to protect their time from their many other responsibilities.

Support for people with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour in the United Kingdom is currently under much scrutiny. Positive behaviour support has been put forward as the key approach for improving services for this group of people. Drawing on both the literature and on the practice experience of organisations, arguments are made that implementing active support can reduce the need for positive behaviour support and also support the implementation of positive behaviour support where this is needed. Key features of both active support and positive behaviour support are outlined and the fit between the two explained at both a general level and for the different stages of developing and implementing positive behaviour support interventions. It is suggested that implementing active support not only provides conditions in which challenging behaviour is likely to decrease, thereby reducing the need for the implementation of positive behaviour support, but, where such implementation is necessary, it can provide a valuable foundation upon which positive behaviour support can be built. Appreciating the extent to which active support complements and in fact sets the context for successful implementation of positive behaviour support will help practitioners in this field develop a successful approach to challenging behaviour.

Purpose Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman’s work on modes of “thinking” provides a comprehensive text which is little explored in respect of work with people who have an intellectual or developmental disability. This paper aims to explore the potential of this work to change staff development and practice. Design/methodology/approach Key themes from Thinking Fast, and Slow (Kahneman, 2011) are described and applied to current staff practice. Findings Modes of thinking are relevant and important to understanding and improving manager and staff practice. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt to describe and understand staff thinking and practice using Kahneman’s ideas.

Purpose This paper aims to consider the extent to which academic research, as described by the papers in this journal, has helped the large-scale use of positive behaviour support (PBS) with people with learning disabilities whose behaviour may be challenging. Design/methodology/approach The author explores the issue from the perspective of a social care provider seeking to implement PBS successfully across the organisation’s services. Findings The author concludes that research needs to refocus its efforts if it is to make a real contribution and argues that future emphasis should be on implementation. Originality/value This commentary articulates the concerns and experiences of a service provider that has striven to implement effective, evidence-based support, informed by relevant research, for many years. Such a perspective is rarely heard in academic PBS research literature.