Roles And Responsibilities

Development of Behavioral Treatment Plans:

The Clinical Support functions as a resource to the Individuals and support staff in the role of developing treatment plans to teach or modify behavior to increase the independent functioning of our Individuals in the community.  This is accomplished through the following procedure:

• Collect data to determine the baseline rate of the target behavior.
• Conduct a functional analysis to determine what purpose the behavior of concern serves for the Individual.
• Determine an appropriate replacement behavior or method of communication to address the problem area.
• Develop a method of teaching the Individual the new behavior, identifying reinforcers to motivate the Individual and strategies to address the behavior of concern.
• Train staff in the proper implementation of the plan.
• Present the plan to the Human Rights Committee and the Peer Review Committee, if there are procedures which may infringe on the Individual's rights.
• Analyze behavioral data monthly to assess the effectiveness of treatment.

Individuals receiving active services in the form of behavioral treatment ranges from 20 to 30, living in several houses in the Waltham and surrounding areas and working at our four Employment sites.  Other Individuals are monitored as needed as issues arise.

Staff Training:

Other functions of the Clinical Supports include staff trainings in:

• Applied Behavior Analysis.  The intention of this class is to teach direct support staff introductory concepts of behavioral treatment.
• Preventing Aggressive Behavior (PAB).  This course is designed to teach staff strategies in de-escalating potentially explosive situations and minimizing the risk of injury when working with aggressive Individuals.
• Prevention and Management of Aggressive Behavior (PMAB).  This program consists of techniques and strategies for preventing aggressive behavior from occurring when possible and managing incidents of aggressive behavior in the most effective, least restrictive fashion.  Physical techniques have been reviewed by a consulting Occupational Therapist in order to decrease possible injuries to staff and reduce worker's compensation claims.
• Individual-specific trainings.
• Other trainings as requested in the area of clinical treatment.

Trainings are currently being developed in Teaching Methods and Strategies for Direct Support Specialists and in Advanced Applied Behavior Analysis concepts for Coordinators and Directors.  These trainings are intended to improve the quality of services which Individuals receive by educating staff in effective teaching strategies.

Monitoring of Psychiatric Status:

Other responsibilities include monitoring of certain Individual's psychiatric status and attending medication reviews with the psychiatrist when indicated by an Individual's unstable psychiatric presentation or problems with medication.

Coordination of Treatment:

In many cases, an Individual's Treatment Plan will be implemented in both the home and the work setting.  The Clinical Supports maintains the communication necessary for consistent implementation of treatment through regular meetings with the Residential and Employment Directors of Supports.  In addition, the Clinical Team carries a pager 24 hours/day to advise and respond to emergency issues of a clinical nature.