Dear All,

 

You may wish to get informed about a new MSc Module entitled “Functional assessment of challenging behaviours in children and adolescents” which is due to run in Spring 2010 (January - March; 8 half days or 4 full days depending on demand) at the School of Health Sciences & Social Care, Brunel University (West London). This 15 credit module was designed in response to requests from practitioners and current reports in the literature that emphasise upon monitoring and management of challenging behaviours as one of the core concerns of healthcare professionals and educators/tutors for the effective implementation of their therapeutic programmes. It may be studied as a post graduate short course or as part of the MSc Occupational Therapy programme. Applicants should have a Bachelors degree in a relevant discipline, for example, education, psychology, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy or the social sciences and some experience working with children and adolescents.

 

Most of the module lectures will be provided by Dr Christos Nikopoulos who has got extensive experience in the treatment of children and adolescents. He is an occupational therapist and a behaviour analyst who has gained a DPhil in autism and video modelling as a behavioural analytic procedure from the School of Psychology at University of Ulster. He has obtained international experience in working with children with autism which has resulted to numerous publications (including a recent book on autism) as well as the delivery of keynote speeches at national and international conferences. His current research on video modelling with individuals with autism is at the forefront of research and development in this area which resulted in his gaining the award of Chartered Scientist from the Science Council and a Fellowship from the Higher Education Academy.

 

Challenging behaviours are a common characteristic of children and young people diagnosed with a variety of different conditions. Effective support and treatment of children and adolescents who exhibit challenging behaviours in their daily lives depends on the understanding of the function that such behaviours serve for the individual. Such understanding can be obtained through the administration of an evidence-based approach called Functional Assessment. Functional assessment is the scientific method that focuses on the identification of variables that influence the occurrence of such behaviours and has become a hallmark of contemporary treatment approaches across disciplines. It refers to a variety of approaches (i.e., descriptive methods, direct observations & functional analysis) used to gather information about the cause of challenging behaviours to enable the design of effective treatments. In particular, functional assessment can provide important information to aid in clinical (data-based) decision-making.

 

It seems logical to suggest that the overall responsibility for the treatment of such behaviours belongs to clinical psychologists. However, any healthcare professional/educator should have the skills to monitor and manage the emergence of challenging behaviours which usually negotiate the effectiveness of their own treatment procedures. Knowing the purpose, for example, of such behaviour or the function that it serves, can be a key to meeting the targets of their interventions which obviously may not be focused on the elimination of this behaviour directly. Besides, it has been well documented that there is a great demand of different professional disciplines within the healthcare system being incorporated towards a patient-centred and evidence-based professional practice.

                                                                  

Among others, the main aims of this module include: a) consideration of issues of common disorders in childhood and adolescence wherein challenging behaviours may obscure the implementation of specific rehabilitation programmes; b) development of a critical understanding of the key components referring to functional assessment and ways of their application towards evidence-based clinical practice; c) development of professional skills in conducting individualised, functionally-based assessments of challenging behaviours in a constructive and non-aversive way; and d) provision of opportunities for critically analysing, reviewing and appraising current practices within rehabilitation settings for children and adolescents exhibiting challenging behaviours.

 

The cost for undertaking this MSc module is £320. For further information and for expression of interest please contact Dr Priscilla Harries (course leader); email: priscilla.harries@...

 

Kind regards,

 

Christos

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Dr Christos K. Nikopoulos CSci, FHEA

School of Health Sciences & Social Care

Mary Seacole Building

Brunel University

Uxbridge

Middlesex

UB8 3PH
Tel: 01895 268811

Email.: christos.nikopoulos@...

http://www.brunel.ac.uk/research/profiles/health/nikopoulos 

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