Chapter 6Students with Emotional of Behavioral

Disorders

Objectives

• Understand how individuals identified as having emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD) have been treated throughout history.

• Identify and understand the various definitions and classifications of EBD.

• Identify the causes and characteristics of EBD.• Understand how students with EBD are identified.

Introduction

• All material presented in this slideshow was gathered from Chapter 6 Students with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders for the book Exceptional Students written by Ronald L. Taylor, Lydia R. Smiley, and Stephen B. Richards.

• After viewing the presentation students will be directed to the blog I have created providing additional resources about students with emotional or behavioral disorders.

• On the blog there will be an activity for the students to complete. The goal is that the students will be able to complete the activity after having viewed all the materials.

*Must view in presentation mode to be redirected to blog

What Are the Foundations of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders?

• Individuals with emotional or behavioral problems have been present since the beginning of recorded history.

• Education for students with these exceptionalities really only began during the 20th Century

• Currently being discussed in the field is how to identify these students and what is the best way to define the category.

• There is a concern that students receiving special education services due to a emotional or behavioral disorder is below prevalence estimate.

History of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

• 1400 BC: Greek philosophers and educators described conditions consistent with schizophrenia.

• 1600s: individuals were separated from rest of society placed in hospitals or asylums

• 1700s and 1800s: more humane treatment; also important to note that in the late 1800s the interest in children with these disorders grew. Prior to that the focus was on adults.

• 20th Century: appropriate education and treatment of individuals with emotional or behavioral problems. Professional organizations like Exceptional Children and the American Orthopsychiatry association provided strong advocacy.

• Presently: children with emotional or behavioral disorder are given same rights as any other student.

Definitions of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders:

• There is controversy over which term(s) should be used to describe these students

• Emotional Disturbance is the currently used term in the IDEA 04 definition implies only emotionally disturbed students)

• Behavioral disorders being more descriptive of the students actually identified in the educational setting

• Emotional or Behavioral disorders endorsed by many professionals which implies that a student could display either type of a problem.

• Emotional disturbance is not supported in many states.

The IDEA 04 Definition

(1). A condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marker degree that adversely affects a child's education performance.a. An inability to learn which cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health

factors.b. An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and

teachersc. Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstancesd. A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depressione. A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school

problems

(2).Emotional disturbance includes schizophrenia. The term does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted unless it is determined that they have emotional disturbance.

An Alternative Definition

• Federal definition has been referred to as “vague and internally inconsistent” As a result various alternatives have been proposed.

• Forness and Knitzer (1992) proposed that a new term emotional or behavioral disorder (EBD) replace the term serious emotional disturbance used in the IDEA 04.

1. The term emotional or behavioral disorder means a disability that is characterized by emotional or behavioral responses in school programs so different from appropriate age, culture or ethic norms that they adversely affect educational performance, including academic, social, vocational, or personal skills, and which:

a. Is more than a temporary, expected response to stressful events in the environment;

b. Is consistently exhibited in two different setting, and least one of which is school related; and

c. Is unresponsive to direct intervention applied in general education, or the child's condition is such that a general education interventions would be insufficient. Emotional and behavioral disorders can coexist with other disabilities.

2. This category may include children or youth with schizophrenia disorders, affective disorders, anxiety disorders, or other sustained disorders of conduct or adjustment when they adversely affect educational performance in accordance with section 1.

Classification of Individuals with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders

• Internalizing Disorders: Disorders that a typically expressed inwardly, including personality problems, anxiety, and depression.

• Externalizing Disorders: Disorders that are typically expressed outwardly, including aggression, acting out, and disobedience.

• Dimensional Classification System: A classification system for emotional disturbance that includes 6 categories or dimensions. (See right)

• Conduct Disorder: Includes physical aggression, anger, disobedience, and oppositionality.

• Socialized Aggression: Involves behaviors such as stealing or using drugs around others, lying, school truancy, and gang membership.

• Attention Problems: Immaturity: Includes short attention span, problems in concentration, distractibility, and impulsivity. It also includes passitivity and childishness.

• Anxiety Withdrawal: Includes internalizing disorders such as generalized fearfulness and anxiety, fear of failure, poor self-esteem, and hypersensitivity to criticism.

• Psychotic Behavior: Includes speech disturbances, delusions, and impaired reality testing.

• Motor Tension Excesses: Involves behaviors such as over activity, restlessness, and tension.

Educational Classification

Medical Classification

• Based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

• 16 Major Categories Including:1. Mood disorders2. Anxiety Disorders3. Schizophrenia

• Another medical classification is provided by the International Classification of Diseases

Includes mental and behavioral disorders

Prevalence

• U.S. Department of Education estimates 2% of students for more than two decades.

• Various other sources estimate 3%-6% of school aged children exhibit emotional or behavioral problems requiring special education.

• “Rule of One-Third” Suggests that one third of all students in a particular school year might display behavior problems that concern teachers. Of that third about 10% need to have some type of modification of the educational program. Of that one-third, one-third approximately 3-4% will require special education or other services to deal with their problems.

Gender and Age Factors:• More boys are identified

than girls • Males are more likely to

have an externalizing disorder

• Females are more likely to have internalizing disorders

• Older students are more likely to be identified than younger students

1. teachers may be more hesitant to label a child

2. Aggression displayed differently with age

Socioeconomic Status and Ethnicity Factors:• Poverty doubles risk

of being identified• African American

males are were 5.5 times more likely to be identified than white females

• Overrepresentation of African American students has been recognized for years

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS?

• There is debate about what causes emotional and behavioral disorders, although evidence indicates that both environment and genetic factors play a role.• The characteristics can vary as a function of

gender, age, and ethnicity. • Set of externalizing, internalizing, intellectual,

and academic characteristics is recognized.

Environmental Causes

• Exposure to television violence has been suggested as a direct cause • More consensus about the effect of family, school, and community factors• Family factors could include:1. Parental discord2. Inconsistent or extreme punishment3. Lack of Emotional Support• Absence of these characteristics increases the child's risk of developing

problems:1. A legitimate source of authority, established and supported over time2. A consistently enforced rule system3. Stable and consistent nurturing behavior4. Effective child-rearing practices5. Common family goals6. Flexibility to adapt• School Factors Include:1. Negative school experiences2. Unrealistic teacher expectations• Community Factors , such as gang involvement can also play a role

Genetic and Combined Causes

Genetic Causes• Any dispassionate review

of evidence indicates that there are substantial genetic effects on psychopathology, including emotional and behavioral disturbance.

• Mental illness occurring in families suggests that schizophrenia, in particular has a genetic basis.

Combined Causes:• An emotional or

behavioral problem may be due to environmental factors, to genetic factors, or perhaps a combination of the two.

Characteristics of EBD

Externalizing Characteristics:• Directly affect others and are

easy to observe• More difficult to identify the

cause of their aggression• Conduct Disorders: a

disorder that involves a repetitive and persistent pattern that violates age-appropriate societal norms or the basic rights of others

Internalizing Disorders:• Directly affect the individual with

the emotional or behavioral problem.• Not as easy to identify because their

behaviors do not directly affect others.

• Social withdrawal and anxiety are often seen

• Mood Disorders: a class of disorders that includes manic disorders, depressive disorders, and bipolar disorders.

• Most individuals with schizophrenia (a condition characterized by delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized speech and behavior) are considered to have an emotional disorder.

Intellectual and Academic Characteristics

• As a group students typically score in the low-average range of intelligence

• Behavioral and Emotional disorders are shown to influence a students IQ

• More likely to have language deficits. (Approximately 3 out of 4 students with emotional and behavioral disorders)

• It is important that general education teachers look for signs of emotional and behavioral problems that tend to go unnoticed (withdrawal and depression)

• As a teacher be prepared to address wide range of academic, emotional, and behavioral needs.

How are students with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders Identified?

• Professionals from a number of disciplines could be involved: education, psychology, and psychiatry.

• Decisions should only be made based on multiple sources of information

• Include:1. Interviews with parents and teachers2. Use of academic testing in addition to techniques

such as observation and the use of behavioral rating scales, behavioral assessment systems, personality inventories, and projective tests.

Observations

• Widely used by teachers, and excellent screening method for students with emotional or behavioral problems

• Usually the first way a student is identified• Objective, precise,, but still requires subjective decision

making• Teacher with often compare a suspected student with a

controlled student• Should not be used exclusively • Inexpensive, easy to do, and can be done in a natural setting

Behavioral Rating Scales

• Document the presence and degree of a certain behavior• Composed of a list, formatted like “Shows signs of depression” • Each item is rated using a rating scale• Show to reliably differentiate students with and without behavior problems• Example The DBRS-SF which has 2 forms one for ages 5-12, another for ages

13-18• Used by either the general or the special education teacher • Includes 40 items grouped into 4 categories:1. Interpersonal problems2. Inappropriate behaviors/feelings3. Depression4. Physical symptoms/fears

Behavior Assessment Systems:

• Multiple components including behavior rating scales.

Teacher, parent, and peer

• Provide ratings from multiple informants in multiple settings

Personality Inventories:• Characteristics

1. They are designed primarily for use with adolescents and adults

2. Use true/false format

3. Measure a large number of personality characteristic factors such as paranoia, reality distortion, and psychological discomfort

• Questions regarding ‘truthfulness’ individual provides

• Primarily used for medical rather than educational terminology

Projective Tests

• Based on psychoanalytical theory, assume that a student will “project” his or her feelings, emotions, and personality characteristics when a relativity abstract stimulus is presented

• Ink Blot Test-present pictures or photographs to elicit certain dynamics• Draw-a-Person Screening-examiner interprets drawings made by a student• Projective tests are one of the more frequently used techniques to evaluate

students with emotional disturbances• Teachers should NOT use projective tests and techniques but should be aware of

their uses and limitations• Although some of the identification procedures are administered by

psychologists/psychiatrists teachers still play important role• Teachers are frequently asked to provide data, complete a behavior rating scale, or

contribute information for the appropriate component of behavioral assessment system

Wrap-UpI hope that with this information you are now able to understand how individuals identified as having emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD) have been treated throughout history, identify and understand the various definitions and classifications of EBD, identify the causes and characteristics of EBD, and understand how students with EBD are identified. For your activity I would like for you to visit the mini-blog I have created for this chapter. (link below) From there you will find more information regarding students with emotional and behavioral disorders. You will also see your assignment. Just a few questions to make sure you understand the material. I will post the answers Wednesday afternoon. *Must be in presentation mode in order to be directed to the blog

Chapter 6 Blog