Emotional And Behavioral Disorders : An Emotional Or Behavioral Disorder

There are four main factors of emotional and behavioral disorders; biological disorders and diseases, pathological family relationships, undesirable experiences at school, and negative cultural influences. Most students with EBD fall into the normal IQ range, but EDB can prevent students from performing their best. They are smarter than their tests show, but their disability holds them back from showing us their potential on said tests. EBD individuals normally have aggressive behavior and act out, as well as being immature, withdrawn

While Reading the book, Lost at School, written by Ross W. Greene, one can appreciate the clear focus and overall direction for teaching different students with maladaptive behaviors. For teachers, those children present the greatest obstacle in education. A student’s mental health problems allude to the challenges in teaching. It’s hard enough to keep a large group of adolescents on task in the first place, let alone when there may be one or more children with maladaptive behaviors in a single class, who have a hard time regulating their focus levels like the typical student. The number of disruptive students has seemingly increased through the years. Now studies show that, “About 10 percent of the school population—9 to 13 million children—struggle with mental health problems. In a typical classroom of 20, chances are good that one or two students are dealing with serious psychosocial stressors relating to poverty, domestic violence, abuse and neglect, trauma, or a psychiatric disorder. These children represent the most challenging students in our classrooms today.” (Rappaport and Minahan) To combat those alarming statistics, Ross Greene’s informational book talks about how to improve a child’s behavior, while embracing the patience it takes to effectively communicate with such children.

A special education student’s transition from school to adulthood is important. Several things need to be addressed and obstacles need to be overcome in order to do so. Specific student evaluations to assess emotional social and academic levels are necessary are beginning steps in this transition.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is an important law that was passed, which advocates for the needs of disabled children. Federal funding is given to the schools to meet the needs of students with disabilities. Each state works with the federal government to provide this service. It is the states responsibility to follow the laws and find appropriate placement for these children. (US Department of Education, 2007) These students go through a process called appropriate placement by going through a series of referrals, evaluations, and classifications to see which category they fall under. These students may suffer with learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, emotional disorders, cognitive challenges, autism, hearing impairment, visual impairment, speech or language impairment, and developmental delay. Once they find the category then the Child Study Team (CST) made up of a school psychologist, social worker, and a learning disabilities teacher consultant will decide if the student needs an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Then the consultant will decide if the student needs an Individualized Education Program (IEP). This program is offered to students struggling in school allowing them to be taught a different way in the school system. If the student needs an IEP the multidisciplinary committee will meet. The

The IDEA lists 13 different disability categories which children and young adults aged 3-year-olds to 21-year-olds may be eligible for services. Emotional disturbance is one of the 13 disability categories under the IDEA and is the label Sarah was served under. Under the IDEA, emotional disturbance means a condition revealing inability to learn which cannot be clarified by other factors; difficulty building or maintaining reasonable interpersonal relationships with classmates and teachers; unsuitable types of conduct or emotions under ordinary conditions; and general persistent mood of unhappiness or depression.). Sarah met three criteria to be served under the ED label which included her 4 years of behaviors out of the norm, the severity of

Children who have behavioral, emotional and social difficulties may be withdrawn or isolated, disruptive and disturbing and they may be hyperactive.They may lack concentration and have immature social skills. Challenging behavior may arise from other complex special needs. Children who have these needs may require a structured learning environment, with clear boundaries for each activity. They may need extra space to move around and to ensure a comfortable distance between themselves and others. They may take extreme risks or have outbursts and need a safe place to calm down.Behavior support or counseling may take place in a quiet supportive

So educators have developed a three-tiered model for helping those students with emotional and behavioral disturbances learn to cope with the symptoms (Magyar, 2012). The first tier of the model is helping the student learn classroom survival skills training and supports. Also listed under the first tier is schedules and visual support (Magyar, 2012). The second tier of the model explains coping skills, social problem solving, and self-regulation training for the students in the classroom (Magyar, 2012). The last tier of the model includes individualized behavior support plan, EBD services (emotional/behavior disorders), and wraparound services (Magyar,

This can be mental, physical, learning, chronic illnesses, anything that could potentially hinder their learning. These children, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), are given the right the same education given to all others students, while keeping in mind the child’s needs. However, with their education comes the Individualized Education Program. The IEP is tailored to each child that has a disability and “includes[s] annual goals and a statement of the special education and related services the child will receive (Spiker,

Mental health disorders can affect the behaviours of individuals which explains the increasing number of them exerting their frustrations towards a school environment.

Emotional and Behavioral Disorder (EDB) students have a reputation when entering a classroom creating a significant challenge for classroom teachers. Throughout the day students with EBD are in different classroom settings with multiple teachers and staff members, which can cause a variety of rules and boundaries. These students often will be classified as aggressive, disruptive, and unfocused. Teachers are often re-teaching, re-telling, or re-focusing EBD students in the classroom to deal with negative behavior. Effective classroom rules are used to promote student accountability in the classroom. Since EBD students have deficits in language, social interactions and communicative skills, these skills need to be first and foremost addressed in a well-designed classroom management guide. By having the guide in place in each of the student’s classrooms provides a routine and structured day which is beneficial.

Each session, I observe students being assessed on their behavior; all students attending the alternative program are identified as having emotional/behavior disorders. The teacher uses informal assessment to evaluate student’s ability to express emotions and to complete student’s individual daily behavioral sheets. Students begin the day by completing the “high low” activity; the activity requires students to share their high and low emotions of the day and the reason(s) why. The teacher assesses the student’s ability to identify their feelings (student’s record their feelings on the whiteboard) and their capability to express reason for each of their feelings during class discussion. Both elements of the “high low” activity are assessed through teacher observation and class discussion. In Addition, the daily behavior sheets are individualized for each student, correlating to each student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP); the student’s are assessed on their behavior each hour based on a score of 0-5. Students are aware of all the items on their behavior goal list and the scores they receive each day. The co-teacher evaluates each student on how well they complete the items on their daily behavior sheet (i.e. proper use of coping skills, engagement, on-task, and

Research indicates that schools continue to lack the resources to help students with emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) become successful. Students with EBD tend to be the most time consuming in terms of school financial, programming, and staffing resources. Any strategy to help students with EBD must begin with helping professionals in schools continue to be the social change agents that are working towards positive change behaviors for the students. Helping professionals are the staff in schools providing direct services to the children with EBD. This may be in the form of counseling, behavior plan writing, family and community outreach, or response to intervention and crisis intervention (Agresta, 2004). The helping professionals in schools generally have undergone rigorous training in working with children, and they also tend to be the center of services, often working with administration, educational staff, community and family (Agresta, 2004).

Access to mental health services, will guide students to learn how to manage their feelings. In learning how to do this, students will be more likely to think logically and make better choices. The emotions of any person, no matter the age, will affect his or her attitude. A student’s attitude will depict the choices they make, how they feel, how they interact with others, and how they learn. Emotional barriers do not contribute to progressiveness. Incorporating mental health in schools will produce positive outlooks, motivation, and good

“Each child is unique and wonderful. And some children have differences we call special needs. Special needs can mean many things. Sometimes children will learn differently, or hear with an aid, or read with Braille. A Young person may have a hard time communicating or paying attention. A child can be born with a special need, or acquire it by an accident or through a health condition. Sometimes a child will be developing in a typical manner and then become delayed in that development. “Therefore, if a child is born with physical, emotion, learning, and behavior problems, we must remember that they are a human being with feeling and special needs first.

While the presence of certain characteristics in children with behavioral disorders might sometimes seem discouraging but the bottom line is not to give up on any student in any case. Most of the times, children with behavioral and emotional problems might challenge a patience of teachers and cause temporary despair. In this situation, teachers require the support of others in supported students to succeed. The classroom is a learning community; therefore, it is very much significant to create a constructive atmosphere in the classroom. The successful behavior management in classroom can be improved by colleagues as well as by the family of the students. While considering the needs of students with behavioral and emotional problems, the paper aims to develop appropriate strategies for teaching students with behavioral disorders in the classroom.