In this episode, we talk with MacIntyre’s Sarah Kilby about what Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) really means, and why MacIntyre puts compassion first.

Drawing on more than three decades in social care, alongside her own lived experience of neurodiversity and family life, Sarah explains how behaviour is often a form of communication rather than something to be “managed” or controlled. Together, they explore why understanding a person’s environment, relationships, history and unmet needs can transform support.

Sarah discusses MacIntyre’s compassion-first approach to PBS, the importance of being trauma-informed and neuro-affirming, and explains why “fix the environment, not the flower” has become such a powerful way of understanding support.

The conversation also explores MacIntyre’s Homes Not Hospitals work and how, with the right support and relationships, people can move from institutional settings into “gloriously ordinary lives" in their communities.

Along the way, Sarah shares practical examples, challenges common misunderstandings around PBS, and reflects on what the people she supports have taught her over the years.