On Monday 11th to Wednesday 13th October, Doubletree by Hilton, Glasgow will be hosting a Pro-Abuse Conference called BILD International Positive Behaviour Support Conference 2021.

We are seeking to have this conference stopped as it promotes abusive behaviour towards Autistic people.

Why is Positive Behaviour Support abuse?

Positive Behaviour Support is a type of  Behavioural Therapy, similar to ABA, which has already seen Autistic people around the globe reporting it causing: trauma, cPTSD, PTSD, Depression, and Anxiety.

The Behavioural Therapy like PBS and ABA, are developed without asking Autistic people their experience or their views.

Because of this, Behavioural Therapy has been developed in a way that causes psychological damage to Autistic people. It uses abusive techniques in order to force the child (or sometimes adult) into hiding their inherited neurology, rather than supporting their needs.

Imagine being told by people in a position of power on a regular basis that your fundamental being is wrong? That to do the very things that soothes and comforts you, are to be stopped. That you must instead do the very things that psychologically damage you, just so you can appear to be someone you aren't.

Do you want this for your child? Do you want this for future children?

How Effective is Positive Behavioural Support for Adult Service Users? 

Positive Behavioural Support practitioners will argue that research has been done to "prove" it works. However, there has been reviews of this "research" and its quality.

A thesis submitted by Amber Simler to the Cardiff University, School of Psychology investigates the quality of several pieces of research carried out on PBS, and the quality of life for those "treated" with it. She reviewed several pieces of Research into PBS.

"A systematic review was undertaken that aimed to examine whether PBS is effective for adult service users based on the stated aims of PBS: improving challenging behaviour, enhancing quality of life, teaching adaptive skills, and reducing the use of restrictive practices." (page 7 of thesis)

Amber Simler found that The majority of the studies so far done into PBS "were assessed to be of 'low' quality based on a score of <50% on the QATSDD." (page 7 of thesis).

It was determined in this thesis that:

"Overall, there is insufficient high-quality empirical evidence to suggest that PBS is effective at: enhancing quality of life, teaching adaptive skills, or reducing the use of restrictive practices. More research of high methodological quality that examines large samples with diverse clinical presentations over long periods of time is required before the effectiveness of PBS can be established empirically." (page 7 of thesis)

Essentially, there is no evidence to suggest that Positive Behavioural Support even works - so why put Autistic people through this abuse?

You can read the full thesis for yourself here

Further research into Positive Behavioural Support states that it does not help an Autistic person.

"Staff training in Positive Behaviour Support... did not reduce challenging behaviour. Further research should... endeavour to identify other interventions that can reduce challenging behaviour." (Cambridge University Press link here)

In 2020 more research concluded that there is no evidence that PBS works to improve 'behaviour' for those who are autistic and have a learning disability. (BMC Psychiatry link here)

Acknowledgement to Ann's Autism blog for compiling this information

What does BILD say it will be discussing?

Positive Behaviour Support speakers from across the globe will be sharing the new updated UK definition of PBS, along with updates on the latest abusive techniques they can apply.

Let's put a stop to Positive Behaviour Support and ABA being promoted and used in the UK!

Let's put a stop to abusing Autistic people!

Sign and share today!