What is distress behavior?

• How a person communicates their desire to challenge staff due to disliking staff or not wanting to cooperate with expectations.

• How a person communicates their distress, often manifesting as a fight, flight, or freeze behavior.

• Frustrating behavior that happens because a person isn’t trying hard enough to cope with their circumstances.

Which of these are preventive approaches to mitigate risk? Choose all that apply. Remember, preventive approaches reduce the likelihood of behavior.

• Use a person-centered and trauma-informed response to meet the person’s wants and needs. 

• Removing the audience when a person demonstrates Risk Behavior.

• Identify and reduce situations that trigger the person’s distress.

• Make environmental changes to reduce triggers for the person.

• 1. Use approaches that maximize safety and minimize harm when a person is exhibiting Risk Behavior.

What causes a person to experience distress? 

• A person experiences distress due to a perceived or real threat, something that can be increased by trauma, frequent stress, or cognitive development. 

• A person experiences distress only when they don’t get their way or when they don’t like staff.

• A person experiences distress due to their desire to create risky situations for staff to deal with.

Precipitating Factors are factors that influence behavior. They could be temporary due to a recent event, or they could be something the person has been living with for a long time.  True (T) or False (F).

Understanding a person’s Precipitating Factors helps you: Choose all that apply.

• 1. Not take the distress behavior personally and

  2. Empathize with the person.  

• Focus on the person’s needs rather than just reacting to the behavior. 

• Positively influence any factors over which you have control.

• 1. Respond to them in a person-centered manner and

  2. Avoid becoming a Precipitating Factor yourself.

True or False - T or F - Understanding your own Precipitating Factors helps you: Ignore your own emotions.

Rationally detaching helps you: Choose all that apply.

• Stay consistent and calm while maintaining self-control.

• Be less likely to become another Precipitating Factor to the person.

• Control the behavior of the person experiencing distress.

• Objectively identify the behavior and choose the best approach.

Which of these strategies demonstrate a Supportive approach? Choose all that apply.

• 1. Be patient and show empathy.

• 1. Provide clear direction and instruction using short, simple phrases.

• 1. Really listen and validate the person's feelings when you demonstrate support.

• Remain objective and non-judgmental.

Which of these strategies demonstrate a Directive approach? Choose all that apply. 

• Provide clear direction or instruction using short, simple phrases. 

• Give them simple and reasonable choices. 

• 1. Use a restrictive safety intervention.

To classify a behavior as risk behavior, you should ask yourself the following: Choose all that apply. 

• 1. Is this behavior presenting an immediate or imminent risk of harm to others? 

• 1. Is this behavior presenting an immediate or imminent risk of harm to others?