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Five More Things You Can Do

David Pitonyak is back with another five things you can do to support someone who has behavior that is challenging.  

When the person you support is going through a difficult time, friendships, a positive identity, fairness, and fun are commonly neglected.  Using a series of memorable short stories, Pitonyak will help you learn why these principles are so important and what you can do to develop them.

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

– Understand the importance of relationships, contribution, and goal setting.

– Explain how you can help people develop a positive identity.

– Describe how you can support relationships based on choice and fairness.

– Explain the importance of and describe how you can help eple have more fun in their lives.

 

The largest part of David Pitonyak’s work involves meeting people who are said to exhibit “difficult behaviors.”  Most of these people exhibit difficult behaviors because they are misunderstood and/or because they are living lives that don’t make sense.  Of they are lonely, powerless, or without joy.  Often they feel devalued by others or lack the kinds of educational experiences that most of us take for granted.  Too often their troubling behaviors are the result of an illness, or even a delayed response to traumatic events.  You might say their behaviors are “messages” which can tell us important things about their lives.  Learning to listen to the person’s difficult behaviors is the first step in helping the person to find a new (and healthier) story.

Enjoy this great excerpt from the module:

Watch the full trailer below:

Try Everything We Do

Our free trial provides complete access to our entire resource of Side by Side and Staff Learning Modules as well as our full Video On Demand library of films. If you have any questions in the interim please do not hesitate to let me know via ben@openfuturelearning.org

 

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Active Support

We are excited to announce that our latest module titled “Active Support” is now live!

Active support is an approach that was developed to help combat the lack of engagement in meaningful activities and relationships experienced by people who receive support. Active support is about doing with, not for or to. Active support helps people to have a more active role in their lives and experience a better quality of life.

This module features presentations from Bev Ashman, Julie Beadle-Brown, and Margaret Cushen.

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to

  • Define what active support is and how it can help people have a better quality of life.
  • Describe the importance of engagement and what it looks like.
  • Understand how every moment has potential.
  • Apply the principles of little and often, taking small steps, and providing support at the right time and place.
  • Describe how you can provide just enough support for people to participate successfully.
  • Explain how active support can be used to maximize choice and control while maintaining people’s safety.

Module Length: 130 Minutes

Learn more about all of our modules here.

 

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The Harley Story

“Direct support professionals have to walk that line – without judgement”

A story about a man with disabilities and a motorcycle club.

This story is about a man with disabilities and a Harley Davidson Motorcycle club. This video, by Joseph Macbeth, examines the role a direct support professional should play in helping the people they support to get involved in their community and be given the opportunity to engage in activities that he/she desires. It is the role of the direct support professional to put his/her own opinions and interests aside and do what is best for the people they support.