TITLE: Behavior and Environmental Supports Intro


TIM HARTSHORNE:
I am Tim Hartshorne and I have a son who is deafblind due to Charge Syndrome.


[Visual Description]
An image of Jacob, a young adult laying on his side smiling wide come into view. 


TIM HARTSHORNE:
Jacob Hartshorne is a young man, he's 25 years old. 


[Visual Description]
An image of Jacob and an adult man walking up stairs to a house fades in.  Jacob is holding the adult’s arm at the elbow as they walk up the stairs. 


TIM HARTSHORNE:
Born in 1989 when, although Charge had been identified for 10 years there was virtually nothing known about it. I'm also a psychologist who has been studying behavior problems in children with Charge Syndrome for many years.


[Visual Description]
A new image fades in. Jacob as a young teenager being hugged by Tim. Tim is looking directly as Jacob while Jacob is looking down


TIM HARTSHORNE:
Behavior is highly complex and I have learned that in order to modify or change behavior we need to understand it. This module will help you to understand the behavior of children who
are deafblind. 


[Visual Description]
A new image fades in. Jacob visibly in motion using a cane walking through a large room. 


TIM HARTSHORNE:
You might even be able to use this information to help reduce negative behaviors
that your student might exhibit. You might also recognize that some behaviors do not
need to be changed or modified. 


[Visual Description]
[On screen text read by Tim: Intervention for significant behavior change, requires the assistance of professionals, such as the school psychologist or behavior specialist, and is beyond the scope of this module.]


TIM HARTSHORNE:
Intervention for significant behavior change, requires
the assistance of professionals, such as the school psychologist or behavior specialist,
and is beyond the scope of this module. 


[Visual Description]
The text fades away and an image comes into view. Tim, Jacob, and an adult man all wearing large winter jackets standing in a snowy area. Jacob is wearing a helmet and ski goggles. 


TIM HARTSHORNE:
People often express concern about the behaviors of children with deafblindness, but the behaviors involved are many and varied.


[Visual Description]
A new image fades in. Jacob is laying on his side wearing a rubbery hat with many thin soft spikes around the surface. 


TIM HARTSHORNE:
 Since many of these behaviors are likely to have an adaptive function, in other words they may be something that the child is doing because it helps them to function better. 


[Visual Description]
The image fades out and a new image comes into view. Jacob riding a brown horse with the assistance of two adults, an adult woman walking alongside the horse to Jacob’s side and another adult holding the guide ropes for the horse. 


TIM HARTSHORNE:
They could in fact, be considered as helpful behaviors rather than problem behaviors. If we also think about what the child is getting from a particular behavior it could give us valuable assessment information about their abilities, interests, and needs. Behavior is rarely random as you will learn, behavior reflects what is going on inside the child,


[Visual Description]
A new image fades in. Jacob is sitting on a couch opening a stocking while Tim watches from the side smiling. 


TIM HARTSHORNE
what their needs or wants are, and often what they want us to know. In order words, behavior is communication.