Educational implications of behaviour in children who are deafblind

Children who have combined hearing and vision loss (deafblindness) experience multiple sensory processing challenges. For children who are deafblind, access to information from the world around them can be very limited and the information that is received is often inconsistent and/or distorted. Mainstream approaches to education rely on teaching and learning taking place through the main senses of sight and hearing. Children with combined sensory loss have unique educational needs because of their difficulties in accessing education in this way.

Children who are deafblind share the universal drive to understand, anticipate and control the events affecting them and to observe, interact with and learn from their environment. With the right support, they can learn to make best use of their sight, hearing and other senses, and develop the confidence to be inquisitive and interested in the world around them. 

In this presentation, Professor Timothy Hartshorne outlines strategies to identify and understand behaviours in children who are deafblind and explore effective interventions for supporting and improving educational and communication outcomes for learners. Professor Hartshorne highlights the importance of understanding individual support needs, self-regulation and routine in the classroom.

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Please note – Victorian Department of Education staff can access this professional learning offering free of charge. Enter your @education.vic.gov.au email address during the registration process to ensure the registration fee is waivered.

Participants will be able to:

• Identify three major sources of behaviour in children who are deafblind
• Identify basic strategies for reducing the impact of these sources of behaviour
• Describe the importance of self regulation
• Describe the communication bubble

Timothy Hartshorne is a professor of psychology at Central Michigan University. He is the grant holder for DeafBlind Central: Michigan’s Training and Resource Project, which provides support to children who are deafblind in Michigan. He has been researching and presenting about CHARGE syndrome since 1993, motivated by the birth of his son with CHARGE in 1989. Many features of CHARGE syndrome are related to multisensory impairment and include impairments in vision, hearing, smell, balance, proprioception and vestibular function. Professor Hartshorne has devoted much of his career to researching the challenging behaviours of children who are deafblind and multi-sensory impaired – his current research focuses on issues of sleep, play, and anxiety in the lives of children with multi-sensory impairment.

Download On-Demand Flyer

This On-Demand presentation is delivered in spoken English with captioning

Participants who successfully complete this On-Demand Presentation will receive a certificate noting 2 hours of professional learning.