The Dangers of Making Assumptions About Individuals

Whatever our setting, we pride ourselves as professionals on building strong relationships with the people we support. By getting to know individuals well, we gain a deep insight into their personality, their likes, dislikes and interests, allowing us to predict how they might react and behave in any given circumstance.

However, while this knowledge is undoubtedly useful, it can also sometimes lead to us making assumptions about individuals that are not always accurate and, in the worst-case scenario, may lead to an increased risk of harm.

Assumptions can be useful

We make assumptions about how someone will behave based on our prior experience of that individual. This is vital for the creation of accurate risk assessments and detailed support plans.

For example, if we know that an individual tends to run across busy roads during trips to community service providers, we should assume that they may repeat this behaviour every time they are close to a road. This knowledge would then be reflected in our risk assessment, to reduce risk and minimise the likelihood of harm.

Or perhaps we support an individual who often throws chairs when asked to complete a task. Again, if we witness this behaviour on numerous occasions, it is reasonable to expect that they may behave in the same way in future, and plan supportive strategies accordingly.

In such instances, making assumptions helps us to predict behaviour that needs support, and allows us to take steps to avoid potentially dangerous situations.

But sometimes, we can jump to conclusions about how an individual will feel or behave that are inaccurate, which can have implications for the support we give.

Assumptions as a barrier to effective support

Effective support is based on an understanding of individual need. This explains why a relational, responsive approach is essential when formulating and implementing support plans. Sometimes, however, this process can be compromised when we inadvertently make generalisations about groups of individuals.

For example, because one autistic individual finds travelling on public transport overwhelming, we could fall into the trap of mistakenly assuming that all autistic individuals will respond in the same way. We risk losing sight of individual need and, consequently, cannot offer the most effective support.