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Autism, Behaviour and Communication
Behaviour Support for autism focuses on why emotional distress and behaviours of concern occur, then work to change the environment around the person so they can function better in their daily life. At Optimum Health Solutions, our practitioners work with autistic children, teenagers, and adults across NSW and Tasmania, in the clinic, at home, at school, and in the community.
When an autistic person is dysregulated or having a hard time, the people around them often feel it first, and the same situation may get handled differently by every person who steps in.
The behaviour is almost always a response to something: sensory overload, a need that hasn’t been met, or an environment never set up to suit them. We begin our with a focus on the cause, not the behaviour. That’s what neurodiversity-affirming means in practice: lower their distress, build their skills, and shape the world around them so they can take part as themselves.
Families, carers, and participants
For referrers and Support Coordinators
Our Behaviour Support team works with autistic children, teenagers and adults, and with the families and support teams around them. Support runs in clinic, at home, at school and in the community across NSW and Tasmania, and every plan starts with what the behaviour is communicating for this person.
How do I fund Behaviour Support?
Behaviour Support at Optimum Health Solutions is usually funded through the NDIS.
NDIS participants fund it from Capacity Building. Newer PACE plans list it as Behaviour Support, and older plans list it as Improved Relationships.
Private sessions are available too, with no referral needed, and you will get a clear picture of the costs before you book.
If it is not in your plan yet, your support coordinator can ask for it at the next plan review.
If you are not sure which funding applies to you, call us on 1800 678 647 or email hello@opt.net.au. We will sort it out before your first appointment.
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Understanding Behaviours of Concern in Autism
01
Who We Work With
We work with autistic people across ages and support needs, and with the families and carers around them.
Children who are having meltdowns, refusing school, or finding transitions hard.
Teenagers navigating social pressure, big feelings, and a growing wish for independence.
Adults building daily living skills, settling into supported accommodation, or working towards more time in the community.
02
Functional Behaviour Assessment
Before any plan, we work out what the behaviour is doing for the person. We watch across real settings: home, school, community, work. We also talk to the people who know them best, and look at what happens before a behaviour, during it, and after. This isn’t a one-hour checklist. It’s a careful look into the person’s world, across several sessions, so the plan that follows is built on what’s actually going on.
03
A Neurodiversity-Affirming Behaviour Support Plan
Your plan is built around the person’s strengths, preferences, and the way they communicate. It usually brings together a few things: changes to the environment and sensory setup, ways to support communication, skills the person wants to build like emotional regulation and self-advocacy, and clear, consistent responses for the hard moments. If any restrictive practices are in place now, the plan includes how to step them back, safely and gradually.
04
Skill Building Where Life Happens
We work where the moments actually occur: the morning routine at home, the transition into class, the supermarket. A skill practised only in a clinic room doesn’t always travel. A skill practised in the real setting does. That’s where we put the time.
05
Working With Families and Carers
Consistency is what makes a plan hold. We work alongside parents, carers, support workers, and teachers so everyone responds the same way, in the same situations. When the people in a person’s circle are all working from the same plan, the support starts to feel steady rather than hit and miss. Studies of Positive Behaviour Support in special education settings have reported reductions in behaviours of concern, and where building other skills was part of the plan, growth in those skills too.
06
One Team Under One Roof
Autism rarely fits into one box. Communication, sensory processing, movement, eating, and daily living are all connected, and a behaviour that looks like defiance can turn out to be pain, hunger, or a missing way to communicate. At Optimum Health Solutions, your behaviour support practitioner works in the same clinics as our Occupational Therapy, Speech Pathology, Physiotherapy, Exercise Physiology, and Dietetics teams. When support is needed across more than one area, the clinicians meet, share notes, and line the goals up. You tell your story once.
Why Behaviours of Concern Happen
Behaviours of concern in autistic people are rarely random. They have a function, and understanding that function is the first real step towards support that lasts. Most come back to one of a few things.
Sensory load.
Fluorescent lights, crowded rooms, sudden noise, a clothing tag. What feels like background noise to most people can be genuinely painful. When the load tips past what someone can hold, the overload comes through as behaviour.
Communication.
Not every autistic person speaks, and many who do still find it hard to put complex feelings or pain into words in the moment. When the words aren’t there, behaviour is often how an unmet need shows itself.
The environment.
Trouble can often start with a routine change without warning, a transition, or an expectation that doesn’t account for how the person processes the day. Often it’s the setting that needs to shift, not the person in it.
The plan:
Your behaviour support plan sets out what the behaviour is communicating, the strategies built around this person’s sensory and communication needs, and who does what at home, at school, and in the community.It’s built with the family, walked through with the support team, and reviewed as the person grows and their world changes.
Autism Behaviour Support Through the NDIS
Where it’s funded, Behaviour Support sits in the Capacity Building part of an NDIS plan. In newer NDIS (PACE) plans this is usually a dedicated Behaviour Support budget; older plans fund it under Improved Relationships. We’re a registered NDIS provider. If your plan doesn’t yet include behaviour support funding, your support coordinator or planner can request it at your next plan review, and we can help you describe what it’s for.
Your practitioner writes goals tied to real life, tracks progress against them, and prepares the reports your plan review needs. We work with self-managed, plan-managed, and NDIA-managed participants, and we handle the service agreements and invoicing so you can focus on the support itself.
NDIS
Referrals
14 clinics across NSW & Tasmania
Email us
hello@opt.net.au
Speak to us
1800 678 647
Get in Touch.
Where we offer Behaviour Support
Common Questions About Behaviour Support and Autism
What is Behaviour Support for autism?
Does the NDIS fund behaviour support for autism?
What is the difference between ABA and Behaviour Support?
How does Behaviour Support help an autistic person?
What behaviours can Behaviour Support help with?
Do you only work with children?
We feel like we have tried everything. Is it worth getting in touch?
Reviewed by Rachel Hardcastle
OPTIMUM HEALTH SOLUTIONS
Rachel has worked in Behaviour Support for over 16 years, where her experience has included complex and forensic work. Rachel’s approach is entirely person-centred, meaning her practice starts and ends with the person, building support around them. Rachel works clinically and leads the development of the Behaviour Support team at Optimum Health Solutions, supporting practitioners to grow and do their best work with the people they see.
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