Overview and History of Positive Behavior Support

Abstract

In this chapter, we examine the core features of what has come to be described as positive behavior support, or PBS. We examine milestones in the development of PBS following its inception in the 1980s. We conclude with a glimpse of the emergence of new lines of PBS research and application as reflected in the chapters to follow in this summative volume of a work in progress. PBS is a broad approach for organizing the physical, social, educational, biomedical, and logistical supports needed to achieve basic lifestyle goals while reducing problem behaviors that pose barriers to these goals (Dunlap & Carr, 2007; Koegel, Koegel, & Dunlap, 1996). PBS emerged as a distinctive approach to behavior support because of a strong commitment to values and technology. The PBS values emphasize a commitment to helping individuals (and their advocates) achieve a quality of life that is defined by their personal choices. How people behave affects how they live and how they receive support guided by their preferences. For example, what you do, where you do it, how competently you do it, and when you choose to do it affects your ability to build and retain relationships, acquire new skills, establish and sustain employment, and achieve personal leisure goals. Problem behaviors such as aggression, self-injury, disruption, pica, noncompliance, withdrawal, and disruption are more than a nuisance for parents and teachers. Problem behaviors are a major barrier to the social, vocational, and physical success of each individual. The basic foundation of PBS presupposes that the valued elements of personal life, those things each of us hold as truly important, depend at some level on our ability to behave competently. Defining the technology that allows people to more closely achieve the lifestyle they value is at the heart of PBS.

The technology of PBS is based on the scientific assumption that human behavior, while affected by a complex mix of biological, societal, and learning factors, can change as a function of certain actions performed by others in a supportive, caregiving role for people from all cultures, ages, and levels of competence. PBS is about using our understanding of human behavioral science to organize supports that result in more productive, preferred, and healthy lives. Our goal in this chapter is to provide a context for PBS that is discussed in more detail throughout this book. We focus on (a) the defining features that make PBS distinct and (b) the historical roots that led to the emergence of PBS. Subsequent chapters examine applications of PBS with families; with young children with social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties; to kindergarten through Grade 12 education in the United States; and, by extension, within communities of practice that are working for broad systems change.