Transcript Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

Emotional and Behavioral
Disorders in Children
Katie Conn
EDN 410 – Fall 2009
November 4th, 2009
1
DESCRIPTION
The descriptor emotional and
behavioral disorders is commonly used
for students whose behavior falls
considerably outside the norm.
 The federal government use the term
emotional disturbance in its criteria for
placement of students in special
education.

Vaughn, S., Bos, C. S., & Schumm, J. S. (2007).
Teaching Students Who Are Expectional,
Diverse, and at Risk in the General
Education Classroom (4thth ed., pp. 120141). USA: Pearson Education, Inc.
2
Federal Definition of Emotional
Disturbance

The federal government defines
“emotionally disturbed” as follows:
◦ The term means a condition exhibiting one or
more of the following characteristics over a
long period of time and to a marked degree,
which affects educational performance
including:
 An inability to learn that cannot be explained by
intellectual, sensory, or health factors;
 An inability to build or maintain satisfactory
interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers;
Continued on next slide
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Federal Definition of Emotional
Disturbance Continued
 Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under
normal circumstances;
 A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or
depression; or
 A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears
associated with personal or school problems.
◦ The term includes children who are
schizophrenic. The term does not include
children who are socially maladjusted, unless it
is determined that they are emotionally
disturbed.
Vaughn, S., Bos, C. S., & Schumm, J. S. (2007).
Teaching Students Who Are Expectional,
Diverse, and at Risk in the General
Education Classroom (4thth ed., pp. 120141). USA: Pearson Education, Inc.
4
Specific Types of Emotional and
Behavioral Disorders

The following 6 specific types will each be
described within the next couple of
slides.
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Conduct Disorders and Aggression
Hyperactivity
Socialized Aggression
Immaturity
Depression
Anxiety-Withdrawal
Vaughn, S., Bos, C. S., & Schumm, J. S. (2007).
Teaching Students Who Are Expectional,
Diverse, and at Risk in the General
Education Classroom (4thth ed., pp. 120141). USA: Pearson Education, Inc.
5
Conduct Disorders and Aggression
Children usually have little
concern for others and
repeatedly violate the basic
rights of others and the rules of
society.
 They act out their feeling or impulses in
destructive ways.
 Some offenses that these children commit
often grow into more serious crimes.
 as, theft, lying, aggression,

Continued on next slide
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Characteristics of Conduct
Disorders

Some offenses that children with conduct
disorders show are:
◦
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◦
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◦
◦
Lying,
Aggression,
Theft,
Truancy,
Setting of fires, and
Vandalism
United States Dept. of Health and Human Services. (2003, April). Children's Mental Health Facts
Children and Adolescents with Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders. Retrieved November 2,
2009, from http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/CA-0006/default.asp#7
7
Hyperactivity
This can also be referred to as ADHD.
 Children with hyperactivity are unable to
focus their attention and are often
impulsive and easily distracted.
 Occurs in up to five of every 100
children.
 They have great difficulty remaining still,
taking turns, and keeping quiet.

Continued on next slide
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Hyperactivity CONTINUED
The symptoms must be present in two
setting for children to be diagnosed as
hyperactive.
 For example, children would be observed
at school, and at home in order to make
sure their actions are consistent.

United States Dept. of Health and Human Services. (2003, April). Children's Mental Health Facts
Children and Adolescents with Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders. Retrieved November 2,
2009, from http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/CA-0006/default.asp#7
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Socialized Aggression
The term socialized aggression is used
to refer to students who routinely engage
in antisocial behaviors.
 Students are categorized as hanging
around with the wrong kinds of kids,
displaying behaviors that are not typical of
others in their age group, harassing
others, and stealing and damaging
property.

Continued on next slide
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Socialized Aggression CONTINUED

Social aggression is also associated with
group behavior.
◦ When one student within the group behaves one
way, the rest of their group is assumed to act
exactly the same.
◦ They associate gang life as being a part of social
aggression in some inner cities as well as in
suburban and rural areas.

There is a high rate of overlap between
socialized aggression, conduct disorders, and
attention problems.
Vaughn, S., Bos, C. S., & Schumm, J. S. (2007).
Teaching Students Who Are Expectional,
Diverse, and at Risk in the General
Education Classroom (4thth ed., pp. 120141). USA: Pearson Education, Inc.
11
Immaturity

Various behaviors are associated with
immaturity:
◦
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Lack of perseverance,
Failure to finish tasks,
A short attention span,
Poor concentration, and
Frequent daydreaming or preoccupation.
These students come to a teachers
attention because they show little interest
in school work.
Continued on next slide
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Immaturity CONTINUED
Students often seem dependent on their
parents or caretakers and have difficulty
being responsible member of a group.
 If they have a severe case of immaturity,
they have difficulty interacting with other
people, using social skills, and playing with
children their own age.
 These students may retreat into fantasy
and develop fears that are out of
proportion to the circumstances.

Vaughn, S., Bos, C. S., & Schumm, J. S. (2007). Teaching Students Who
Are Expectional, Diverse, and at Risk in the General Education
Classroom (4thth ed., pp. 120-141). USA: Pearson Education, Inc.
13
Depression
Many people believe that depression does
not affect children, but studies today show
evidence against this.
 Studies show that two of every 100
children may have major depression, and
as many as eight of every 100 adolescents
may be affected.

Continued on next slide
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Signs of Depression

This disorder is marked by changes in:
◦ Emotions—Children often feel sad, cry, or feel
worthless.
◦ Motivation—Children lose interest in play
activities, or schoolwork declines.
◦ Physical well-being—Children may experience
changes in appetite or sleeping patterns and
may have vague physical complaints.
◦ Thoughts—Children believe they are ugly,
unable to do anything right, or that the world
or life is hopeless.
Continued on next slide
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Key Point on Depression

VERY IMPORTANT for parents and
caregivers to be aware that some children
and adolescents with depression may not
value their lives, which can put them at
risk for suicide.
United States Dept. of Health and Human Services. (2003, April). Children's Mental Health Facts
Children and Adolescents with Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders. Retrieved November 2,
2009, from http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/CA-0006/default.asp#7
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Anxiety-Withdrawal
Children with anxiety disorders
may experience excessive fear, worry, or
uneasiness.
 This is the most common of the
childhood disorders.
 Based upon one study of 9- to 17-yearolds, as many as 13 of every 100 young
people have an anxiety disorder.

Continued on next slide
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Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders include:
◦ Phobias, which are unrealistic and overwhelming fears of objects
or situations.
◦ Generalized anxiety disorder, which causes children to
demonstrate a pattern of excessive, unrealistic worry that
cannot be attributed to any recent experience.
◦ Panic disorder, which causes terrifying "panic attacks" that
include physical symptoms, such as a rapid heartbeat and
dizziness.
◦ Obsessive-compulsive disorder, which causes children to
become "trapped" in a pattern of repeated thoughts and
behaviors, such as counting or hand washing.
◦ Post-traumatic stress disorder, which causes a pattern of
flashbacks and other symptoms and occurs in children who have
experienced a psychologically distressing event, such as abuse,
being a victim or witness of violence, or exposure to other types
of trauma such as wars or natural disasters.
United States Dept. of Health and Human Services. (2003, April). Children's Mental Health
Facts Children and Adolescents with Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders. Retrieved
November 2, 2009, from http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/CA0006/default.asp#7
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Other types of disorders

Besides the 6 main types of emotional and
behavior disorders that were described in
the previous slides, there are others that
exist, but don’t really fit into one of the main
categories according to our text by Vaughn,
Bos & Schumm, such as:
◦ Bi-polar, and
◦ Schizophrenia

Bi-polar is sometimes categorized with
depression, and schizophrenia is sort of with
the anxiety disorders because it deals with
fears and people freaking out.
Vaughn, S., Bos, C. S., & Schumm, J. S. (2007). Teaching Students Who Are
Expectional, Diverse, and at Risk in the General Education Classroom
(4thth ed., pp. 120-141). USA: Pearson Education, Inc.
19
Etiology/Causes of Emotional and
Behavioral Disorders
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The causes remain elusive.
However, relationships between some causal
factors and this disability are becoming
clearer.
Children who experience abuse are more
likely to have emotional or behavioral
disorders.
The reason it is do difficult to have a certain
cause for these disorders is because there
are likely to be multiple and overlapping
factors.
Continued on next slide
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Causes CONTINUED

At least three general areas can contribute to
emotional or behavioral disorders: biology, home and
community, and school.
◦ Biology: Many biological and genetic factors are
causes, such as mood disorders, depression, and
schizophrenia.
◦ Home & Community: The child’s environment and
culture. Children use the people around them as role
models, not matter if they have parental involvement
or none. Children mimic the behaviors they see
around them.
◦ School: Teachers and schools have a tremendous
influence on students. Expectation, feedback, and
interaction with peers all play a role in how children
behave. This can cause children to act out or begin to
internalize issues.
Smith, D. D. (2007). Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: Causes and Prevention. Retrieved
November 2, 2009, from http://www.education.com/reference/article/emotional-behavioraldisorders-prevention/
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Prevalence
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Higher prevalence rates are reported for
mild emotional or behavioral disorders, and
lower prevalence rates for more severe
disorders.
Current reports show that the prevalence of
emotional and behavioral disorders in the
general population range from 10 percent to
20 percent of the school-age population.
Fewer than 1 percent of students receive
special education services for emotional
disturbance, and of those students, less than
half are identified in elementary school.
Continued on next slide
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Underidentification

Below are reasons for underidentification of students with
emotional and behavioral disorders:
◦ Social Stigma is associated with the label “seriously emotionally
disturbed.”
◦ Eligibility for categorization as emotionally disordered is not
clearly defined.
◦ The identification process lacks uniformity.
◦ Co-morbidity, or the presence of multiple disabilities, can make
identification difficult.
◦ A lack of funding may limit school districts’ willingness to identify
and provide services for those students.
◦ There is often a lack of appropriate services when students are
identified, and identification limits a school’s ability to take
disciplinary action against misbehavior.
◦ Adequate assessment measures to facilitate identification are
few.
Continued on next slide
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Underidentification CONTINUED
Even though these disorders are
underidentified, the majority of students
identified are males.
 Males outnumber females by a ratio as high
as 8 to 1.
 Minority populations are also
disproportionately represented.

◦ This issue of overrepresentation of minority
students is complex, and is viewed in terms of a
combination of factors, including cultural bias,
poverty, and the historical practice of segregation
and discrimination in schools.
Vaughn, S., Bos, C. S., & Schumm, J. S. (2007). Teaching Students Who
Are Expectional, Diverse, and at Risk in the General Education
Classroom (4thth ed., pp. 120-141). USA: Pearson Education, Inc.
24
Strategies for Teaching Students
with Emotional and Behavioral
Disorders
There are numerous strategies out there for teaching
students with emotional and behavioral disorders.
 It is important for the teacher to create a community
where all students are respectful and encourage
others.
 Some of those strategies are:

◦ After a week, or so, of observation, try to anticipate
classroom situations where the student's emotional state
will be vulnerable and be prepared to apply the
appropriate mitigative strategies.
◦ Check on the student's basic capacity to communicate and
adjust your communications efforts accordingly.
Continued on next slide
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More Strategies!
◦ Use a wide variety of instructional equipment which
can be displayed for the students to look at and
handle.
◦ Teachers should reward students for good behavior
and withhold reinforcement for inappropriate
behavior.
◦ Some aggressive students act as they do because of a
subconscious desire for attention, and it is possible to
modify their behavior by giving them recognition.
◦ Special efforts should be made to encourage and
easily facilitate students with behavioral disorders to
interact.
◦ Keep an organized classroom learning environment.
◦ Devise a structured behavioral management program.
Continued on next slide
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And MORE Strategies!!
◦ If unstructured activities must occur, you must
clearly distinguish them from structured activities
in terms of time, place, and expectations.
◦ Do not expect students with behavioral
disorders to have immediate success; work for
improvement on a overall basis.
◦ Present a sense of positiveness in the learning
environment.
◦ Find ways to encourage the student.
◦ Develop a schedule for applying positive
reinforcement in all educational environments.
◦ Make sure the discipline fits the "crime," without
harshness.
Keller, E. (2007, April 20). Strategies for teaching students with
behavioral disorders. Retrieved November 2, 2009, from
http://www.as.wvu.edu/~scidis/behavior.html
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Differentiated Instruction (DI)
Strategies in an Inclusive Classroom
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Differentiated instruction is when we meet
the needs of all learners in the classroom by
differentiating instruction.
This technique can be applied for students
with emotional and behavioral disorders in
many ways.
Since students with these disorders are
often tied closely to their own emotions and
feelings, instruction within the classroom can
be designed to help all students.
Some strategies of DI are listed on the
following slide.
Continued on next slide
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Differentiated Instruction (DI)
Strategies CONTINUED

DI strategies:
◦ Fill out an interest and skill survey
 This will allow all students, including those with emotional and
behavioral disorders to feel as is their teacher cares about their
interests.
◦ Then, create differentiated instruction based upon what
the classes interests are. For example:
 Create a math lesson/activity
 Students work in small groups that they are familiar with so it
makes them feel more comfortable.
 Hands-on activities that help the students learn.
 Give responsibilities to children within each group; recorder,
reader, speaker, etc.
 Allow students to share their results, but make sure not to give
answers, dig deeper to understand their answers
 Make children feel appreciated and valuable through letting them
come up with their own ways.
Franny. (2009, September 15). Differentiating Instruction … One Size Doesn’t Fit All:
Effective Strategies to Improve Student Performance!. Retrieved November 2, 2009, from
http://www.learnerslink.com/curriculum.htm
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Differentiated Instruction CONTINUED
DI strategies can vary from subject to subject and
from class to class.
 Not all students are the same, and students with
emotional and behavioral disorders need to know
that they are cared for and valued.
 Instruction for them needs to allow them to feel
that they are wanted and valued within the
classroom.
 Emotions are strong behind these students, so the
more we can show them that we care, the more
successful they will hopefully become.

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Websites for Teachers to Use
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Listed below are helpful websites that contain
information about emotional and behavioral
disorders, along with other disorders, that may help
teachers when they need it:
Council for Exceptional Children (CEC):
http://www.cec.sped.org
United States Dept. of Health and Human ServicesSAMHSA’s National Mental Health Information
Center: http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/
National Association of School Psychologists:
http://www.nasponline.org
**National Association of Special Education Teachers:
http://www.naset.org (I added one more because it
was another good resource to know about)
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Resources

Franny. (2009, September 15). Differentiating Instruction … One Size Doesn’t Fit All: Effective
Strategies to Improve Student Performance!. Retrieved November 2, 2009, from
http://www.learnerslink.com/curriculum.htm

Keller, E. (2007, April 20). Strategies for teaching students with behavioral disorders.
Retrieved November 2, 2009, from http://www.as.wvu.edu/~scidis/behavior.html

Smith, D. D. (2007). Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: Causes and Prevention. Retrieved
November 2, 2009, from http://www.education.com/reference/article/emotionalbehavioral-disorders-prevention/

United States Dept. of Health and Human Services. (2003, April). Children's Mental Health
Facts Children and Adolescents with Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders. Retrieved
November 2, 2009, from http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/CA0006/default.asp#7

Vaughn, S., Bos, C. S., & Schumm, J. S. (2007). Teaching Students Who Are Expectional,
Diverse, and at Risk in the General Education Classroom (4thth ed., pp. 120-141). USA:
Pearson Education, Inc.
32