Reducing Restrictive Practices: It’s Everyone’s Responsibility

In Positive Behaviour Support (PBS), reducing restrictive practices is not just a goal—it’s a responsibility shared by everyone. From frontline carers to senior managers, every decision we make can either uphold or undermine someone’s rights.

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🧠 PBS Starts with Understanding

Many restrictions come from fear or assumptions: “We don’t let them outside alone—it’s not safe.” But PBS teaches us to ask: why is it unsafe? Is it because of the person’s behaviour—or because we haven’t adapted the environment?

Restrictions are often used because:

• Staff lack confidence or training
• There’s a history of incidents that hasn’t been properly analysed
• Environments haven’t been adjusted to meet sensory or communication needs

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🧰 Empowering Staff to Challenge Restrictions

One of the most powerful things a service can do is create a culture where staff feel safe to challenge restrictions and propose alternatives.

Empowered PBS teams are encouraged to:

• Review daily routines and ask “Is this restrictive?”
• Log any restrictions, even if informal (e.g. telling someone when they can have a snack)
• Reflect on how small changes could increase autonomy

These conversations should be rewarded, not penalised. Every reduced restriction is a win.

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📈 Measuring What Matters

Good PBS services track and review:

• How often restrictions are used (and why)
• Whether they’re proportionate and legally supported
• What’s being done to reduce them

Data dashboards, debriefs, and multi-disciplinary reviews should all feed into a central goal: zero unnecessary restrictions.

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🌱 Everyday Actions That Make a Difference

Here’s how PBS teams can help reduce restrictions every day:

• Use proactive strategies to prevent crisis escalation
• Provide structure without control—predictability is not the same as restriction
• Support informed choices, even if there’s some risk
• Involve families in conversations about freedoms and safety

Reducing restrictions isn’t just a paperwork exercise. It’s about rebuilding trust, confidence, and dignity.

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