Safety Advice for Children and Young People with challenging behaviours

Safety Advice for Children and Young People with challenging behaviours

Challenging behaviour can put the safety of a child or other people at risk and  reduce quality of life.

Ensuring a safe home environment is the parent/caregiver's responsibility, especially for children with challenging behaviours. This information is designed to help you access advice and low-cost products for improving safety in your home.  

Often children with additional needs can require more supervision than other children and can be more at risk of accidents. Safety equipment can help to create a safer environment for your child. This doesn’t replace the need for supervision especially for a child with additional needs. Your child may still require a high level of parental / carer supervision within the home.  

This information therefore is intended as a guide only and the equipment should never be used to replace supervision.  Individual circumstances may vary, and further professional advice should be sought where necessary.

Information and strategies

• There are different types of challenging behaviour that children both with and without disabilities experience. Think about the reasons for challenging behaviour and get support to implement strategies at home that can help reduce safety risks.  The following links can provide more information on: 
  
  - Positive behaviour support planning
  - Understanding challenging behaviour
  - Finding the reasons for challenging behaviour
• Challenging Behaviour
• National Autistic Society

Tips for teaching your child about safety in the home

1. Focus on 1 or 2 issues at a time
    
2. Prioritise the most concerning areas.
    
3. Communicate with pictures, symbols, or simple verbal warnings that the child will understand e.g. 'hot', 'ouch', 'sharp','spiky', 'danger', or visual warnings such as red stickers or 'no' stickers if needed.
    
4. Try using social stories to teach or reinforce strategies.
    
5. Don't be afraid to try different approaches if one stops working. 

Further action points

1. Provide a calm space within the home where a child can go if anxiety levels increase, and behaviour becomes more difficult to manage. Ensure that this is a safe space with low stimulation e.g. softer lighting, lighter coloured walls, a screen/curtain, noise blocking ear defenders, comfy seating, soft toys or cushions.
    
2. Consider using products to help reduce risks in the home. See below.
    
3. Attend a first aid course and keep a first aid kit to hand.
    
4. Think carefully about where to store dangerous equipment such as scissors, kitchen knives, tools, chemicals etc. Remember: accidents can happen to everyone. Not all risks can be avoided, although it may be possible to reduce them.
    
5. Routines and rules impact challenging behaviour.  Try to be consistent with routines from day to day so that the child knows what to expect.
    
6. Establish house rules and ensure that adults communicate clearly with children about these. Communicate with your child's teacher to share ideas on things working at home and school. Ensure a consistent approach and allow enough time for new routines to be made.

Household Safety

The following websites have useful information on safety considerations for each room of your home. 

• Household Safety Checklists - Kids Health 
• Specialist equipment and safety adaptations

Remember to re-evaluate your home safety measures as your child grows and changes. Think about risks that may arise as the result of a 'safety solution', for example, how locking a door or window may impact if there is a fire.  You are advised to book a Home Fire Safety Assessment 

The Children’s Occupational Therapy Service offers a range of leaflets with practical advice and information on how to keep your child safe within your home.  These information leaflets relate to children who may have reduced safety awareness and/or behaviours that are challenging.     

The items and/or alterations suggested in these leaflets are not specialist equipment or adaptations.  You can purchase them yourself on the high street or from builder’s merchants.  Financial supports provided to the person with a disability such as Disability Living Allowance (DLA) can be used to meet the additional cost.

	Bathroom/ Water Safety
	Bedroom/Living room Safety
	Community/Outdoor Safety
	Door Safety
	Electrical Safety
	Furniture Safety
	Garden Safety
	Kitchen Safety
	Sensors & Tracking Devices
	Window Safety

 

You can talk to your child’s health visitor, school nurse or family doctor/paediatrician if you are very concerned about your child's behaviour and would like specialist advice. This is especially important if your child has learning difficulties and/or physical disabilities.

The Occupational Therapists in the Children with Disabilities Team, may be also able to carry out an assessment, and give further advice, once the above ideas have been explored and tested.