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Harvey Jacobs, PhD, Brain Injury Professional magazine (page 3 of 3) Page 3 of 3
Now consider a behavior support plan that identifies a goal that the individual of focus and others have agreed to work on and the steps required for success. It articulately identifies what the person is independently capable of and where they need support. Perhaps the person has difficulties with initiation which can be overcome with a cue from another person, or visual perceptual challenges that require that tools be set up in a specific configuration to be properly recognized, etc. When problems develop, this approach seeks to first work out the problem towards the proactive goal, rather than blame the behavior or the individual. It also emphasizes the multiple salient factors that contribute to behavior and the means to use such factors to personal advantage.
In summary, the concept of “behavior” is not just relegated to “bad things” that people do, but represents the sum of everything that we do. People don’t “misbehave;” they behave in relation to a diversity of internal and external factors. In most cases of behavioral disruption, recognizing that the problem (salient factors out of balance) and not the behavior is the problem will help to stabilize challenges, once such factors are addressed. However, this alone does not constitute sufficient behavioral programming or support. Rather, we must also recognize the proactive goals and abilities of each individual and work to optimize these same salient factors for each person’s overall success and quality of life. Ultimately, a variety of approaches and orientations may be required for any person or situation, but focus on ability and success first. An ounce of prevention is always worth more than a pound of cure, especially when served with heaping portions of personal respect.
About the Author
Harvey Jacobs earned his doctorate in psychology and behavior analysis from Florida State University, was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and an NIHR (NIDRR) Mary Switzer Research Fellow. He has served on faculty at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine, and Temple University; as well as in staff, administrative, and consultant roles with numerous academic, medical, rehabilitation, community, assistive living and nursing home programs. Now in private practice, he is also a partner in Lash and Associates Publishing/Training and serves on a number of professional boards. His current interests include behavioral rehabilitation for neurological, psychiatric, medical and developmental disorders; brain injury; evaluating and treating “treatment refractory” cases; outcomes research; vocational rehabilitation; family systems; staff training; and community integration. His work in organizational and systems management focuses on developing and operating comprehensive programs in both clinical and business settings. Dr. Jacobs has received millions of dollars in grants from federal, state and private foundations for his work and is the author of numerous books and articles. His new book, due in 2009 is titled: DON’T “DON’T”: Understanding Almost Everybody’s Behavior After Brain Injury.
References
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts, 2006.
From Brain Injury Professional, the official publication of the North American Brain Injury Society, Vol. 5, Issue 4. Copyright 2009. Reprinted with permission of NABIS and HDI Publishers. For more information or to subscribe, visit: www.nabis.org.
Brain Injury Professional is the largest professional circulation publication on the subject of brain injury and is the official publication of the North American Brain Injury Society. Brain Injury Professional is published jointly by NABIS and HDI Publishers. Members of NABIS receive a subscription to BIP as a benefit of NABIS membership. Click here to learn more about membership in NABIS.
Harvey Jacobs, PhD,
Harvey E. Jacobs has a long history of serving people seeking opportunity who are challenged by disability following neurologic, psychiatric, developmental, medical or physical impairments. Throughout his career, Dr. Jacobs has worked on-staff, in administrative roles, academic positions and as a consultant to numerous facilities (medical, rehabilitation, community, assistive living programs and nursing homes) in the United States and abroad.
Dr. Jacobs’ current interests include behavioral rehabilitation for neurological, psychiatric, medical and developmental disorders; brain injury; severe behavior dysfunction; rehabilitation outcomes research; vocational rehabilitation; family systems; staff training; and community integration. Throughout his practice, Dr. Jacobs has worked with diverse ages, ranging from pediatrics to geriatrics. He has a special interest in organizational and systems management relative to developing and operating comprehensive programming in both business and clinical settings.
He is also a partner in Lash and Associates Publishing/Training which creates practical educational and training materials for care providers, direct care staff and other people assisting people who experience disability.
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