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EDAC224 Understanding Behaviours and Disability

10 cp

All individuals utilise an extraordinary range of behaviours in their day-to-day life and deal with the myriad of situations that confront them. Individuals also interpret and respond to the behaviours of others (often in an attempt to influence the behaviours of the other individual).

When individuals become marginalised their behaviours are often scrutinised and they become labelled as “problem individuals”, “behaviour problems” or “people with challenging behaviours”. The behaviours they display are often interpreted as deficits within the person that must be corrected. Contemporary approaches to understanding behaviour however view behaviour in a holistic framework that considers the interaction’s individual characteristics, environmental and social factors on an individual. It is through understanding the interaction of the various influences that professionals can arrange supports that enhance and facilitate the individual’s quality of life.

This unit examines behaviour and the framework within which behaviour has been historically understood and contemporary frameworks for understanding behaviour.

This unit’s topics will be expanded further in the unit positive behaviour approaches and linked closely with the units person-centred planning and inclusive learning and instructional delivery in community settings.