Behaviour of Concern as Communication
We view behaviour as a way of communicating and work hard to understand the message, listen to people and look for a solution.
What is "Behaviour of Concern"
MacIntyre uses the terms behaviour of concern, distress and changed behaviour depending on the person and the situation. We use behaviour of concern generically as this seems to be the best way to develop empathy and concern for the behaviour without making assumptions about what it is communicating. A behaviour is of concern if it affects the person’s safety or their ability to live their best life. We are concerned about any signs of distress and recognise that some of the people we support work really hard to cope and to hide their distress in the moment and may then express this through burnouts, shutdowns or self-injury at a later time. MacIntyre does not consider self-regulatory behaviours (stimming) to be behaviours of concern unless the person themselves does, or they are unsafe, or impacting on the person’s wellbeing. The ability to manage anxiety and emotions through stimming can form an important part of ‘a life that makes sense’, particularly to some people on the autism spectrum.
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