Toward a Technology of “Nonaversive” Behavioral Support

Abstract

Nonaversive behavior management is an approach to supporting people with undesirable behaviors that integrates technology and values. Although this approach has attracted numerous proponents, more adequate definition and empirical documentation are still needed. This article presents an introduction to the nonaversive approach. Important definitions are suggested, and three fundamental elements are presented: (a) an emerging set of procedures for supporting people with severe challenging behavior; (b) social validation criteria emphasizing personal dignity; and (c) a recommendation for prohibition or restriction of certain strategies. These elements are defined in hopes of stimulating further discussion and empirical analyses of positive behavioral support.

Positive Behavior Support for Individuals with Behavior Challenges

“…The challenge is to maintain integrity to PBS principles and processes, while adapting particular research-based practices in order to improve the social validity, relevance, and sustainability of interventions. The principles of individualized PBS have been described in numerous sources (e.g., Anderson et al 2007;Carr et al 2002;Horner et al 1990;Koegel et al 1999;Sailor et al 2009). …”

Implantation du Soutien au comportement positif (SCP) dans les écoles québécoises

“…Le SCP est un terme générique qui décrit un ensemble de stratégies et de procédures visant à améliorer les comportements des jeunes en utilisant des techniques systéma-tiques, non punitives et proactives (Horner et al, 1990). Le SCP s'inscrit dans une perspective systémique dont les interventions sont fondées sur l'analyse fonctionnelle du comportement et la théorie de l'apprentissage social de Bandura (Sugai & Horner, 2009).…”

Edward (Ted) Carr

“…Later, he moved to object to punishment-based approaches on conceptual grounds, suggesting that they would not ultimately be effective because they did not directly address the functions of behavior (Carr, Robinson, & Palumbo, 1990). Perhaps it was his personal experiences as a husband and father, or his involvement in the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Community-Referenced Technologies for Nonaversive Behavior Management and its team of influential scientists (Horner et al, 1990) or some combination, but his philosophical objections to interventions that could be painful or demeaning began to develop and he started to focus his attention on ''positive behavior support'' (Sailor & Carr, 1994). He was influential in the creation of the Association for Positive Behavior Support (serving as president from 2003 to 2006) as well as the Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions.…”