Positive Behaviour Support looks at why a behaviour is happening, rather than focusing only on the behaviour itself. The aim is to understand what a person may be communicating, build skills, improve everyday life and create environments and supports that work better for them.

Anyone can access behaviour support, regardless of age or diagnosis. This includes children, adolescents and adults, and covers complex or high-risk presentations as well as everyday challenges.

Darwell Supports works with people of any age, children, adolescents and adults.

In-person support is available across Lake Macquarie, Newcastle, Hunter Valley and the Central Coast, with rural and remote telehealth for participants outside those areas.

Behaviour support is funded under either the Behaviour Support or Improved Relationships category, depending on how your plan is structured. If you're not sure which applies to you, the team can look at your plan or referral details and help work that out with you. If your current plan doesn't include this funding, it can be requested at your next plan review, or through a plan reassessment if your needs have changed.

It can be requested at your next plan review, or through a plan reassessment if your needs have changed. The team can help put together information to support that request.

Fill out the referral form, or reach out directly by phone or email if you'd like more help working out what to include.

Twenty-four hours' notice is appreciated for any cancellations, and the same applies from Darwell Supports if an appointment needs to change.

The first appointment is about getting to know the person and the people around them. That usually means reviewing relevant information, talking with the key people involved, and where it makes sense, spending time observing the person in their everyday environments rather than just in a clinical setting.

There's no fixed timeframe. It's an ongoing process of assessment, planning, putting strategies into place and reviewing how they're working, and how long that takes depends on the person's needs and complexity.

Yes, collaboration matters here. With consent, the team can work alongside family, support workers, SIL providers, schools, therapists and Support Coordinators.

Yes. The team has direct experience with presentations involving significant risk to the person or others. Every referral is individually assessed to make sure Darwell Supports is the right fit for that person's needs.

Restrictive practices are actions or measures that limit a person’s rights or freedom of movement, such as physical restraint, locked access, restricted access to food or medication used to manage behaviour. Darwell Supports identifies and monitors restrictive practices and works with participants and support teams toward reducing or eliminating them wherever possible.

Yes. This is often where disability, behaviour, risk and the justice system overlap, and the approach stays non-judgemental, focused on the person's disability-related needs and supporting safer participation in the community.