A study into the quality of life of disabled people with challenging behaviour has seen professional carers calling for more training to enable them to deal with sufferers, all of whom have different needs.

The study, by the Kummissjoni Nazzjonali Persuni b’Disabilita, was held between March and July. 100 disabled people with challenging behaviour and 100 professional carers were interviewed.

Commission chairman Joe Camilleri said the KNPD had been wanting to hold such a study since the 1990s but it lacked the necessary financial resources. It could hold the study now with the help of European funds.

There are about 1,000 disabled in Malta with challenging behaviour, culturally abnormal behaviour of such intensity that the physical safety of the person or other people is placed in jeopardy. Challenging behaviour can also be behaviour which limits or denies access to the use of ordinary community facilities.

While the first phase of the study focused on research, in the second phase professional carers will be trained and in the third, these trained professional carers will train the trainers.

The commission is hoping to train between 120 to 160 staff members.

The research part of the study found that parents are afraid of what will become of their children when they die.

They noted that although learning support assistants were a help, the fact that their children were sometimes assigned different ones was confusing for their children.

The assistants pointed out that they needed more training since each individual with challenging behaviour was different and they did not feel capable to deal with all kinds of people.

In fact, only 66 out of the 100 interviewed said they were able to work with people with challenging behaviour. 

The professional carers also said there was a need for a board to understand and develop the professional expertise. They said they needed to have a support system where to share experiences and understand how to better cope with different people. 

The professionals noted that it was the parents themselves who sometimes hindered social inclusion by not being as disciplined as they should with their children because they refused to acknowledge that their behaviour was challenging.

The need for more support facilities in Gozo was also pointed out.

It was noted that only five of the disabled with challenging behaviour interviewed were employed. 25 were in an institution or with a carer but not with a family.

Most of those who were independent were aged up to 19. They seemed to lose their independence as they grew older, probably because they were placed in institutions, it was pointed out.

The executive summery of the study can be read in the pdf link below.