What do we do?

The BSS programme promotes the whole person approach and aims to provide a framework for the use of proactive support for the management of behaviours that challenge rather than reactive with the use of physical interventions being the very last resort.

The original programme was developed in New York by the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disability (OMRDD). Strategies for Crisis Intervention and Prevention (revised) remains the intellectual property of OMRDD.

The BSS programme offers training for staff in a step-by-step process for crisis intervention and prevention. The major objective of the BSS programme is to familiarise staff with ways of assisting and supporting individuals to maintain self-control and to train staff to use pro-active methods of behaviour change. The programme emphasises the following:

• Awareness of the needs of people who use services.
• Methods of preventing crisis with an emphasis on the role of multi-disciplinary staff within the care setting and wider community.
• Awareness of methods of de-escalation calming techniques and proactive support measures.

Each person's needs are assessed to emphasise positive behaviour changes, with staff actively working to teach the individual new skills and improve self-control.

The BSS programme does acknowledge that on occasions Physical Interventions are appropriate to deal with a specific crisis. A suite of core interventions are approved, all of which are designed to protect the individual from injuring him/herself or others. These interventions are used as a last resort.