A communication training programme for residential staff working with adults with challenging behaviour: pilot data on intervention effects

Challenging behaviour often serves a communicative function. It therefore stands to reason that the residential staff working in developmental disability services require training to foster appropriate communicative interactions with adults with challenging behaviour. Eighteen members of staff working in three residential services participated in a 4 week communication training programme. The programme focused on staff attitudes to and beliefs about challenging behaviour, communicative interactions between staff and residents and working as a team. Objective measurements were made of the effects of the training programme on staff use of augmentative and alternative communication, praise and use of inappropriate language in a multiple baseline design across three organizations. Changes in the rate of challenging behaviours among the residents were also evaluated. As staff’s use of AAC and praise increased, and inappropriate language decreased, there was some concomitant decrease in residents’ levels of challenging behaviour; however, these results were not sustained in the long-term. This pilot data suggest that an approach to staff training based on modifying attitudes and beliefs is potentially beneficial to both staff and residents.