Meeting the Growing Need: Why Behavior Support Services Matter More Than Ever
For years, LBSA’s Behavior Support Services have stepped in to meet a critical and growing need for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The people we serve represent a wide range of strengths and support needs, including those with complex behavioral and mental health challenges. Unfortunately, demand has consistently outpaced capacity. Too often, we’ve had to turn individuals away while families, providers and community partners reached out urgently for help.
Many of the people referred to us were at risk of losing housing or were already experiencing instability. Families were exhausted – doing everything possible to support their loved one, yet still feeling unprepared and alone. This wasn’t a temporary situation. It was a signal that the system wasn’t equipped to meet the needs of people with IDD who also experience significant behavioral or mental health challenges.
How COVID Exposed a Broken System
The pandemic didn’t create these challenges, but it magnified them. Daily routines, community activities and natural supports disappeared overnight. Without these essential structures, behavioral challenges often escalated.
Families and providers were frequently directed to take a person in crisis to the emergency room – an environment built for immediate medical emergencies, not long-term behavioral stabilization or mental health treatment. For individuals with IDD, there was often no appropriate next step after discharge. Instead, they cycled back to the same environments without the support they needed. The pandemic simply illuminated longstanding systemic gaps that had been overlooked for far too long.
A System Undermined by Chronic Underfunding
At the root of these challenges lies persistent underfunding. Outdated assumptions about the value of people with IDD – and the professionals who support them – have kept wages and resources unjustifiably low. This has made it difficult to recruit and retain the skilled staff required for high-quality support.
Additionally, many medical professionals receive minimal training on how to care for people with IDD, particularly those with complex behavioral needs. Successful care requires adapting communication styles, understanding sensory needs and recognizing trauma histories – adjustments that aren’t built into most healthcare systems.
Mental Health Services Don’t Always Include People with IDD
Another major barrier is the way mental health systems define their scope. Many providers simply aren’t trained – or feel unprepared – to adapt their practices for individuals with IDD. As a result, people are routinely excluded from services that could benefit them.
Professionals who are trained to work with this population are few and in high demand. Families often join long waitlists or travel great distances to find someone who understands both neurodevelopmental differences and mental health.
Fragmentation Makes Navigation Nearly Impossible
Even when services exist, accessing them is incredibly complex. Hospitals, counties and payors frequently operate in silos with little coordination or shared data. No single entity tracks outcomes or costs across the full system, making it difficult to identify where resources should go or how policy should change.
Because partnerships and integration are limited, individuals and families often shoulder the burden of coordinating care across disconnected systems. This increases stress and decreases the likelihood of effective long-term support.
Misunderstanding Behavioral Challenges Leads to Harm
Gaps in data and training also fuel misunderstandings about individuals with IDD who exhibit challenging behaviors. Too often, sensory needs, communication differences or disability-related factors are mistaken for noncompliance or aggression. Without professionals trained in neurodevelopmental disorders, misdiagnosis is common – and so are inappropriate interventions.
In the worst cases, people are met with punitive responses such as police involvement or unnecessary psychiatric hospitalization. These experiences can intensify trauma and further destabilize the person’s life.
Systems Must Include People with Lived Experience
A core structural barrier is the overreliance on credentialed professionals in policy-making processes. While clinical and administrative expertise is essential, it cannot replace the wisdom of people with lived experience – individuals with IDD and their families who know firsthand what supports actually work.
Elevating first-person perspectives is not optional; it is foundational to meaningful, sustainable system change.
Workforce Challenges Demand Creativity and Investment
Finally, workforce shortages continue to hinder progress. Recruiting staff with specialized skills requires flexibility, innovation and long-range planning. Blended staffing models – pairing bachelor’s-level and master’s-level specialists – offer promising ways to grow capacity and effectiveness without compromising quality.
Investing in this workforce is essential. Without a strong, stable and well-supported team, the system cannot meet the needs of those who depend on it.
Building the System People Deserve
The challenges facing individuals with IDD and their families aren’t inevitable – they’re the result of systems that have been underfunded, misunderstood and fragmented for far too long. Yet the path forward is clear. When we invest in skilled professionals, listen to people with lived experience and build integrated systems that recognize the whole person, we create the conditions for true stability and belonging. Behavior Support Services are not a luxury; they are a necessary foundation for helping people thrive in their homes, communities and relationships. Now is the time for bold commitment, collaborative problem-solving and meaningful change. The people we serve deserve nothing less – and together, we can build a system worthy of their potential.