Confidentiality Statement

To comply with the confidentiality policy of my placement and that of Forth Valley College the name of my client has been changed within this assignment.

Kerrie Snaddon

Outcome 2. Understand the effects of challenging behaviour on both the individual who displays the behaviour, and the worker. Outcome 3. Understand the importance of current legislation and policy in relation to behaviour that is challenging and how these contribute towards creating a positive care environment. Outcome 4. Explain the skills and methods that a worker can use in responding to behaviour that is challenging. Within my workplace many of the service users display behaviour that I as a worker perceive to be challenging. Recently I noticed that one service user (Jack) has been displaying very inappropriate behaviour towards female service users and staff members. He has been saying very inappropriate comments of a sexual nature to females within day care which undoubtedly is making people feel very uncomfortable. Jack appears to find these comments very funny as he is always smiling whilst he says them. I dont think that jack seems to realise how uncomfortable these comments make people feel and how inappropriate it is for him to be speaking in such a manner. Staff members are growing increasingly concerned over Jacks behaviour as this is not usually like him. All staff are very anxious as to where this behaviour has came from and are taking extra time out from activities to work with Jack. To ensure Jacks comments are recorded and passed to our service manager no one-on-one sessions are being given to Jack. He now only receives progress sessions when two members of staff are present. When Jack started to display this challenging behaviour within day care staff made both our service manager and Jacks son aware of it. Jacks son assured us that this was not like him at all, and he had never heard his father speak in such a manner at home. His son did however confirm that he would speak to Jack about the seriousness of his behaviour and how it is not acceptable to speak like that when attending the day care service.

Kerrie Snaddon

After Jacks son had had a chance to talk with him a meeting was arranged within the day care centre for; Jack, day care organiser, service manager and myself. My placement supervisor arranged for me to attend to receive an insight into what goes on within such a meeting. The whole situation made me as a worker feel rather uncomfortable but I knew I had to be professional and deal with such comments appropriately. Jack was very apologetic during the meeting and he assured us that the behaviour would come to a stop. Additionally he added that he thought he was being funny and didnt realise how it made the females within the agency feel. All that was discussed was noted throughout the meeting then written up to add to Jacks personal file. Jack was given the chance to read over the notes that had been made and state if he did not agree with anything that had been written. Jack stated that he understood and agreed with what had been written and that he did not have a problem with this being kept on record for the time being. The behaviour that Jack was displaying related heavily to the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. This act states that nobody should be treated unfairly as a result of their sex / gender. Jack was breaching this legislation by targeting female members of staff and making rude comments about their sexuality in an indecent manner. (www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1975/pdf/ukpga_19750065_en.pdf). After the meeting all staff members were fairly confident that the challenging behaviour being displayed by Jack had came to an end. Although no repetition of the events were anticipated it was still essential that his risk assessment was updated to state about the inappropriate behaviour that had taken place. Jack was made aware of the changes made to his risk assessment and he appeared to have no problem with it. Jacks risk assessment will then be reviewed and updated in three months during his progression meeting, if this behaviour appears to not be a problem at all in three months it will be removed from his risk assessment. In this case with Jack a suitable method of intervention was used. The method used was crisis intervention. The main points of crisis intervention that my agency complied with were, firstly, everyone involved should be spoken to too find out exactly what happened, my service manager ensured this by having everyone involved attend a meeting to share their views. Secondly, everyone involved may interpret the event differently, to ensure everyones different views were respected and heard these were all recorded in note form and passed to the service manager. Thirdly, short-term goals should be set to prevent the crisis from occurring again, my agency complied with this by adding the change of behaviour to Jacks risk assessment which will then be reviewed in three months. Jack should be working towards getting the

Kerrie Snaddon

inappropriate behaviour removed from his risk assessment, this is the goal he is working towards. (College Handout). It was important that when talking to Jack all staff treated the matter with the utmost sensitivity as the reasoning behind the behaviour was unknown. It was essential for staff to be patient and understanding when talking to Jack as due to his diagnosis he may struggle to communicate with us his feelings on the matter. Jack was supported throughout the outbreak of his challenging behaviour by members of staff. More time was given for Jack to complete one-on-one activities with male members of staff in the hope that he might share with someone what has erupted such behaviour. Jack was given the opportunity to participate in reminiscience sessions and a person centred planning approach was taken towards all activities done with him. After the meeting with the service manager it was agreed that more time within day care would be arranged to provide Jack with the opportunity to pursue his hobbies. This was in the hope that he would feel supported by the people around him. I feel that Jacks behaviour was aided by the other service users with the day care centre. I felt during the time he was displaying this challenging behaviour Jack thought it would impress the other service users as he found this behaviour to be funny. Team work between staff and service user was essential in supporting and overcoming this challenging behaviour being displayed by Jack. Staff working with Jack with regards to the behaviour took a very informal approach to make him feel at ease and not like he was being punished for his actions. By taking an informal approach staff took into account Jacks feelings and contributing factors. Also the norms and values of the other service users who attend the service had to be looked at, as it is very important to be clear on the feelings of others who are witnessing such behaviour. (College Handout). Jack had to be made aware of the policy of not swearing and shouting during their time within day care. This policy is clearly stated in the guide for day care service users and Jack should have previously been aware of the policies and procedure in place in place within the day care centre. It clearly states that no shouting or swearing (which includes rude sexual references) is not acceptable within day care. This policy was discussed with Jack during the meeting with staff and service manager. (Alzheimer Scotland, Day Care Guide, 2008). As a worker within the day care centre I have come to learn what behaviour is perceived to be acceptable and what is not, additionally I have became more aware of the common forms of challenging behaviour to expect from someone who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer disease
Kerrie Snaddon 4

such as distress and confusion. From experiences I have witnessed through my time in my workplace I have formed a greater ability in learning how to deal with behaviours which I perceive to be challenging. I feel through my learning it benefits the service users within my agency as I now have a greater understanding of the appropriate ways to deal with service users in a way that will help them overcome challenging behaviour they display. This benefits most service users as it makes their time in receipt of care more enjoyable and free from negative behaviour displayed by themselves and/or other service users.

Kerrie Snaddon

References
Alzheimer Scotland, Day Care Guide, 2008 College Handout, Methods of Intervention. College handout, Team Working and Communication. www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1975/pdf/ukpga_19750065_en.pdf

Kerrie Snaddon