Staff behaviours valued by service users: views of people whose behaviour challenges

Background: Research suggests that staff support and interactions with people with intellectual disabilities are important for the individual's quality of life and may also influence behaviours that challenge. To date, research has focused on professionals' perceptions of the behaviours of good support staff. In contrast, this study examines the perspectives of people with intellectual disabilities and behaviour that challenges.

Method: Seventeen people with intellectual disabilities and behaviour that challenges were interviewed about their views using a semi-structured approach. Comments generated were analysed using a qualitative thematic methodology.

Results: Participants described various positive staff behaviours, most notably being 'kind'. They valued being helped, staff understanding what was important to them and staff making time for them. Participants also described behaviours that they did not value, including staff being too controlling, being too busy or not providing enough support and being disrespectful in how they spoke to them.

Conclusions: Implications of the results for service provision, staff recruitment and staff deployment are discussed.