Clear is Kind
This webinar is designed for:
- Behaviour analysts and behaviour support practitioners
- Psychologists, speech pathologists and occupational therapists
- Educators and early childhood professionals
- Parents, caregivers and support workers
- Clinical supervisors and allied health teams
- Anyone supporting children who find limits, denied access or changes in expectations difficult
Whether you are uncertain about where to draw the line, worried that holding a boundary will cause escalation or looking for a more respectful alternative to traditional compliance-based approaches, this webinar provides practical strategies you can use straight away.
This webinar is for:
This webinar is designed for:
- Behaviour analysts and behaviour support practitioners
- Psychologists, speech pathologists and occupational therapists
- Educators and early childhood professionals
- Parents, caregivers and support workers
- Clinical supervisors and allied health teams
- Anyone supporting children who find limits, denied access or changes in expectations difficult
Whether you are uncertain about where to draw the line, worried that holding a boundary will cause escalation or looking for a more respectful alternative to traditional compliance-based approaches, this webinar provides practical strategies you can use straight away.
Why this webinar?
Many clinicians and caregivers are trying to balance two important responsibilities:
🔸 Respecting autonomy, choice and communication
🔸 Protecting safety, health, dignity and access to the community
You may have experienced:
🔸 Behaviours of concern when a limit or expectation is introduced
🔸 Anxiety about saying “no” in case the situation escalates
🔸 Inconsistent follow-through because everyone is trying to restore calm
🔸 Boundaries that are unclear, impractical or difficult to maintain
🔸 Historical approaches that no longer align with contemporary ethics
🔸 Uncertainty about when a boundary is necessary—or how to implement one respectfully
Maybe you have wondered:
Can I validate a child’s feelings and still hold the boundary?
You can.
Clear boundaries and compassionate support are not opposites. Children can be allowed to feel disappointed, angry or upset without adults removing every limit or rushing to make the feeling disappear.
Why us?
This course is delivered by Hayley Lambert, Certified Behaviour Analyst (CBA, BCBA) and Clinical Team Leader at Super Kids Behavioural Consulting. Hayley has extensive experience implementing IISCA and supporting clinicians through the Practical Functional Assessment (PFA) and Skills-Based Treatment (SBT) model. She also has a Level 5 credential from FTF Consulting, indicating she has advanced education & experience with the PFA/SBT process. She’s passionate about trauma-assumed, neurodiversity-affirming care that’s practical, ethical, and effective.
What you'll learn:
✅ Why some boundaries are essential for health, safety, dignity and participation
✅ How to determine whether a proposed boundary is necessary, realistic and understandable
✅ A practical framework for determining, introducing and maintaining boundaries
✅ How to assess the risks of holding a boundary versus not holding it
✅ How to prepare caregivers, clinicians and the environment before introducing change
✅ How to use clear, declarative language while remaining warm and empathetic
✅ How to provide matched alternatives without unintentionally weakening the boundary
✅ Ways to reduce unnecessary physical intervention by changing or blocking the environment instead
- You’ll also gain insights into:
✨ How to distinguish between activities that are never available, conditionally available and always available
✨ Why environmental arrangements can sometimes “say no” more clearly than repeated verbal correction
✨ How inconsistency can unintentionally strengthen persistent requesting or behaviour
✨ What to consider before using extinction-based procedures, including risks and possible side effects
✨ How to support a child through the “pocket of disappointment” without dismissing, ignoring or immediately trying to fix their feelings
✨ Why confidence and compassion must work together when maintaining a boundary
A practical framework for holding boundaries
The webinar guides participants through three key stages:
Determining boundaries
Learn how to consider:
- Whether the boundary is necessary for health, safety or dignity
- Whether caregivers and professionals agree about its importance
- Whether the child can understand and manage the expectation
- Whether there are enough resources, support and trust to implement it consistently
- Whether the boundary can realistically be maintained
Introducing boundaries
Explore how to prepare through:
- Caregiver consultation and readiness
- Environmental adaptations
- Visual supports and external cues
- Meaningful alternative activities
- Planning for distress, persistence or an initial increase in behaviour
Maintaining boundaries
Learn how to:
- Communicate clearly and calmly
- Acknowledge feelings without changing a necessary limit
- Block or move objects rather than physically directing the child where possible
- Offer appropriate alternatives
- Make the environment safe while giving the child time and space
- Remain emotionally available without rushing to stop every expression of disappointment
Clear does not mean cold
Being clear might sound like:
“I know this is hard, but climbing on the furniture is not safe.”
It may involve calmly changing the environment:
“I’m going to move this chair over here.”
And it can still include choice:
“You can climb on the gym frame, or we can play trains.”
The boundary remains clear, but the child is not shamed, threatened or left alone with their distress.
By the end of this webinar, you will be able to:
- Identify when a boundary is genuinely necessary
- Avoid setting limits that are vague, arbitrary or impossible to maintain
- Conduct a balanced risk assessment before implementation
- Prepare caregivers and environments for greater consistency
- Communicate boundaries using clear and compassionate language
- Respond to disappointment without dismissing feelings or abandoning the boundary
- Offer safe, meaningful alternatives
- Protect safety and dignity while minimising coercion and unnecessary restriction
This includes:
- 0.5 CEU (BCBA) or PDU (CBA)
- Course download
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Super Kids acknowledges each individual’s personal preference to use identity-first or person-first language to describe themselves or their loved one. We interchangeably use both language conventions and therefore refer to both Autistic children and children with Autism.