Project objective 3: Questionnaires for people with behavioural problems and their social environment
Based on the scientific approaches to the understanding of behavioural problems developed in the basic brochure (project objective 1), people with intellectual disabilities and behavioural problems, their social environment, people in management responsibility and the pedagogical staff will deal more intensively with the topic of behavioral problems. In addition to the observation and reflection forms, questionnaires for the project participants on the one hand and questionnaires for the social environment on the other hand will open up further perspectives on the intentions behind conspicuous behaviour. In concrete terms:
a.) the people with intellectual impairments and behavioural problems are questioned about their behaviour as experts in their own matters, and
b.) the subjective and individual views on the conspicuous behaviour of the persons in the social environment (different professional groups from medicine, psychology and pedagogy as well as persons from the immediate surroundings such as parents, siblings or friends) of the participants are shown and recorded.
In this way, the persons involved in the project are to "give voice" to their subjective perceptions. It requires a high level of reflection to describe one's own behaviour. Especially for a group of people who on the one hand are said to have a cognitive impairment and on the other hand are rarely asked "about themselves", this procedure is not only unusual, but also requires innovative methodological approaches on several levels. Since humans are physical beings, sensory perception (hearing, feeling, etc.) must also be taken into account in these interviews. For example, combing the hair can cause pain in some people. Accordingly, peculiar behaviours may occur during this activity. Corporeality also refers to bodily expression. For example, if a person breathes particularly quickly before a crisis, it can help to investigate the meaning of this breathing. The interlocutors are also of particular relevance and should ideally be familiar people. For the conversation itself, various AAC tools, other supporting technologies or even material things or materialized actions should be used.
