Emotional/Behavioral Disorders Exceptionality Report

Introduction
Individuals with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) may experience great difficulties in
relating appropriately to people of all sorts, such as peers, parents, siblings, teachers, and other
adults. However, due to recent advances in intervention approaches, a huge difference is being
made for children and youth with EBD. These children are more often able to integrate into
regular classrooms, community-based programs, and neighborhood schools. Even with the
integration, children with EBD still have difficulty responding and interacting with academic and
social tasks that are required within school and other settings (Hardman, Drew, & Egan, 2014).
By researching and understanding the definition of EBD, characteristics, classifications,
assessments, strategies, interventions, service providers, and resources, we will better understand
the students that we may have within our own classrooms one day.

Definition and Prevalence

IDEA Emotional disturbance is defined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA) as:
(I) A condition exhibiting one or more characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked
degree, which adversely affects educational performance:
(A) An inability to learn which cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health
factors;
(B) An inability to build or maintain satisfactory relationships with peers and teachers;
(C) Inappropriate types of behaviors or feelings under normal circumstances;

(D) A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression; or

(E) A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school
problems.
(II) The term does not include children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that
they are seriously emotionally disturbed (Hardman, Drew, & Egan, 2014).

Definition of the National Mental Health and Special Education Coalition: Emotional
Disturbance is a disability characterized by behavioral or emotional responses in school so
different from appropriate age, cultural, or ethnic norms and affect educational performance.
Such a disability:
1. Is more that a temporary expected response to stressful events in the environment.
2. Is consistently exhibited in two different settings, at least one of which is school related.
3. Is unresponsive to direct intervention in general education or the childs condition is such
that general education interventions would be insufficient (Ogden, 2012).

According to Hardman, Drew, and Egan, studies over the prevalence of EBD vary greatly from
one study to the next, ranging from 2% to 20%. A sensible estimate had been estimated at 3% to
6%. Unfortunately, during the last 10 years within the U.S., less than 1% of youth have been
identified as showing EBD. Significant numbers of children and youth with EBD remain
unidentified and do not receive the care, resources, or special education that are needed for them
to develop necessary skills to succeed. There is also a very disproportionate number of AfricanAmerican males who are identified as having EBD, greatly exceeding the percentage that would
be expected among the population of school-age students (Hardman, Drew, & Egan, 2014).

Characteristics
A child with EBD is effected in several ways, such as their intellectual capacity, their academic
performance, their long-term prospects for a career, their behavior, and their social skills. Listed
below is a list of characteristics to look for when observing and analyzing a child who may be
showing the signs and symptoms of having EBD:
Emotion and Behavior

Internalizing vs. Externalizing Behaviors

Same emotions and behaviors typical students have, but are more intense and more often.

Fears and Anxieties associated with coming to school

Might have Anger with externalizing behaviors and aggression

Might be depressed, internalizing behaviors

Social

Hard to establish and maintain peer and adult relationships

Lack of social skills and appropriateness

Cognition and Academics

Low to average intellectual ability

Lowest GPAs and highest dropout rate

Many students with EBD also show comorbid or additional disabilities

(Ogden, 2012).

Classifications
There are several classifications of emotional and behavioral disorders. These classifications
allow professionals to describe the specific disorder, communicate between one another, and
diagnose and treat the symptoms that are presented. Below are the specific disorders that are
under the umbrella term of emotional and behavior disorders:
1. Adjustment Disorders: Describes emotional or behavior symptoms during stressful times.

Marked distress at school or home

Fear or anxiety of people or places
Acts of truancy, vandalism, or fighting

2. Anxiety Disorders: A large family of disorders that have exaggerated anxiety.

Headaches or stomach pains

Refusing work or interacting in school
Emotional responses, such as crying/laughing
Interferes with childs functioning

3. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A child has recurrent and persistent obsessions/compulsions.

Persistent thoughts, impulses, or images

Repeated behaviors or mental acts

Having to complete a routine often

4. PTSD: Develops following exposure to an extremely traumatic event or series of events.

Occurs within one month of the event(s)

Intense fear and/or helplessness
Difficulty falling asleep and/or nightmares
May repeat experience during a play setting
May lose recently required skills, such as toilet training

5. Selective Mutism: Occurs when a child persistently fails to speak in specific social settings.

Cannot speak around teachers or peers, or even at home

Interferes with a childs educational achievement and social communication
Usually occurs before the age of 5, but may not be evaluated until school begins
Rare; lasts anywhere from a few months to their school career

6. Oppositional Defiant Disorder: Recurring negative, defiant, disobedient, and hostile behaviors.

Arguing with adults

Defying or refusing to follow adult directions
Deliberately annoying people
Blaming others
Being spiteful or vindictive

7. Conduct Disorder: Pattern of behavior where rights of others, socials norms, rules are violated.

Staying out late in spite of parental objections

Running away from home; being truant from school

Bully/Threaten others; may be physically cruel to people/animals

Early onset of sexual behavior, drinking, smoking, and risk-taking acts

8. Anorexia Nervosa: An adolescent has a distorted body image, feeling overweight/unattractive.

Refuses to maintain a minimally normal body weight

Intensely afraid of gaining weight
Has no realistic idea of shape and size of his or her body
Low body weight, dry skin, hair loss, depression, constipation, low blood pressure
Hiding food or binge eating

9. Bulimia Nervosa: Episodes of binge eating, then purging, behaviors to balance out the act.

Eating enormous amounts of foods then taking laxatives/vomiting to get rid of it

Loss of menstruation
Fatigue or weak muscles
Gastrointestinal problems
Intolerance of cold weather
Depressive symptoms

10. Bipolar Disorder: An alternating pattern of emotional highs and emotional lows/depression.

6 different types of Bipolar 1 Disorder, covering depressive and manic symptoms

Episodes of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood
Could include both manic and depressive moods, both happening in one day

11. Major Depressive Disorder: Having two plus depressive episodes, with two-month intervals.

Continuing irritability or inability to get along with others

Distinguished by interference with the persons usual functioning
Based on severity, chronicity, and persistence

12. Autistic Disorder: A pervasive developmental disorder, showing up in childhood.

Characterized by the presence of markedly abnormal impaired development

Affects social interaction and communication
Has a restricted level of activities or interests
May fail to develop relationships with peers or have no interest in relationships
Impairment in communication (verbal/nonverbal) can be very severe

13. Schizophrenia: Characterized by loss of contact with environment and personality changes.

Includes hallucinations and delusions

Disorganized speech when talking

Includes subtypes - Paranoid Type, Disorganized Type, Residual Type, etc.

14. Tourettes Disorder: Includes multiple motor tics and one or more vocal tics.

Motor or verbal occurring many times per day, nearly every day
Can last anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to a few years
Sometimes may affect a person on and off throughout entire life

Though it is not a medical diagnosis, Seriously Emotionally Disturbed, or SED, is a label often
used in public schools for children, due to their behaviors, are in need of special services. It is the
schools responsibility to provide services for students with emotional or behavioral under the
special education category, as well as various or related mental illnesses. Students are put into
this organizational group when their emotional or behavioral problems are so severe that they
cannot succeed without help (Pacer Center, 2006).

Diagnostic Assessments
An assessment team collects information from the child they are assessing through interviews,
examining effects of manipulation, and making observations. By discovering relationships
among specific problem behaviors, the settings that allow these behaviors to arise, and their
consequences for the student. A major problem with assessing students with EBD is that there is
a fear of misdiagnosing the student due to labels sticking for years. Students with EBD are
typically known to have a problem for years without being diagnosed. Below is an overall
assessment order, followed by a more specific assessment used by teachers or parents:
Assessment

Emphasis is on emotional behaviors and social concerns

o Formal Assessments- Such as the Scale for Assessing Emotional Disturbance
(SAED) to categorize the student.

o Classroom Assessments- Rating scales and observations within the classroom.

Can include curriculum based assessment too.
o Other Strategies- Might obtain family history records and medical information
and records. Also, some take the Strengths based assessment approach which
focuses on the students social strengths, such as communication and relation to
peer within the setting of the school or playground (Ogden, 2012).
Formal Screening Procedures Used By Parents/Teachers:

Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders a three stage process that identifies young
children who need interventions and other services before being seriously considered for
formal referrals for special education services. Stages include:
1. Nominations by a general education teacher.
2. Students grouped by severity or frequency of behavior.
3. Observations in the classroom and other school environments evaluate how the
students adapt to their environment.
Response to Intervention A problem-solving structure to identify and address student
difficulties suing research-based instruction and interventions monitored over time;
tailors to the needs of the students learning or behavior issues based on assessments.
o Parent or teacher rating scales.
o Behavioral checklists.
o Teacher or parent interviews.
o Diagnostic academic assessments.
Functional Behavioral Assessments Information that has been collected to obtain
knowledge about the possible antecedents, taking the following into consideration:
o What the student does before the behavior.
o What the student dos during the behavior.
o What the student does after the behavior.

(Hardman, Drew, & Egan, 2014)

Once a diagnosis is made, the student can receive appropriate special education services that will
allow the student to get the skills and help that is needed for them to succeed academically and
socially throughout their life. Without the identification of these students, they would not receive
help, and they would be much less likely to succeed within their future life plans.

Eligibility Criteria
511 IAC 7-41-7 Emotional disability
Sec. 7. (a) "Emotional disability" means an inability to learn or progress that cannot be explained
by cognitive, sensory, or health factors. The student exhibits one (1) or more of the following
characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects
educational performance:
(1) A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school
problems.
(2) A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
(3) An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships.
(4) Inappropriate behaviors or feelings under normal circumstances.
(5) Episodes of psychosis.
(b) Eligibility for special education as a student with an emotional disability shall be determined
by the student's CCC. This determination shall be based on the multidisciplinary team's
educational evaluation report described in 511 IAC 7-40-5(e), which includes the following:
(1) An assessment of the following:
(A) Current academic achievement as defined at 511 IAC 7-32-2.
(B) Emotional and behavioral functioning.
(2) A social and developmental history that may include, but is not limited to, the following:
(A) Communication skills.
(B) Social interaction skills.
(C) Responses to sensory experiences.
(D) Relevant family and environmental information.
(E) Patterns of emotional adjustment.
(F) Unusual or atypical behaviors.
(3) A functional behavior assessment as defined at 511 IAC 7-32-41 that includes an analysis of
any interventions used to address the behaviors leading to the referral for the educational
evaluation.
(4) Available medical and mental health information that is educationally relevant.

(5) Any other assessments and information, collected prior to referral or during the educational
evaluation, necessary to:
(A) address whether the student's inability to learn or progress is caused by:
(i) cognitive;
(ii) sensory; or
(iii) health factors;
(B) determine eligibility for special education and related services; and
(C) inform the student's CCC of the student's special education and related services needs
(Indiana State Board of Education, 2014).

Strategies, Interventions, and Adaptive Materials

There are many strategies that can be taken to help a child with an emotional or behavioral
disability. These can range from academic to social to behavioral to emotional. Below is a chart
of strategies and interventions that can be taken to help these students succeed:
Learning and Academics
Post a general class schedule that indicates what students should be expected to do as
they enter your classroom, when homework is collected, etc.
Before your students enter class, write on the board what will happen during that
specific class period and how long each activity will take.
Develop and maintain an active schedule with evenly intermixed direction instruction,
individual seatwork, and cooperative learning activities.
To prevent student frustration, intersperse more challenging, acquisition-oriented
learning activities with review / maintenance-enhancing activities.
Provide time for the student to catch up on missed work or to review concepts that
they are struggling with.
If the student enters your classroom just after lunch or physical education, it may be
necessary to first engage them in a lively class discussion to appropriately channel
excess distractibility or hyperactivity.
Use self-monitoring checklists that the student can use to check off activities as
completed.
Break assignments into chunks to avoid overwhelming the student.
Seat student in close proximity to teacher, towards front of the room.
Provide additional review.
Teach self-monitoring for attention.

Use separate setting and/or extended time for exams and tests if needed.
Explicitly teach test-taking strategies.
Explicitly teach organizational skills (use of planners, notebooks, folders, checklists).
Ask previous teachers about techniques that were effective with the student in the
past.
Anticipate classroom situations where the student's emotional state may be vulnerable.
Be aware of how the student communicates.
Keep instructions simple and very structured.
Provide opportunities for group participation.
Keep classroom organized.
Serve as a model for the students.
Provide structure in classroom with regard to physical features of the room,
scheduling, routines, and rules of conduct.
Clearly distinguish time, place, and expectations during unstructured activities.
Let students know your expectations.
Provide students with clearly stated learning objectives.
Use visual supports to supplement verbally delivered instructions and information.
Seek input from student about his / her strengths and weaknesses.
Modify classroom activities to meet the learning needs of the student, while
maintaining the same learning objectives.
Be sensitive when pairing students together.
Keep activity instructions simple but structured.
Acknowledge contributions of student.
Be aware of student's socialization skills when asking for participation.
Make a plan with student to replace inappropriate responses with appropriate
responses.
Work gradually toward group activities.
Target and teach behaviors such as taking turns, working with partners, and following
directions.
Demonstrate and reward appropriate reading.
Review and discuss with the student all of the steps involved in activity.
Give clear examples of what the student should expect with an activity or project.
Prepare alternative activities that the student can work on independently.
Collect a portfolio of work samples from the student.
Teach student how to attribute successes to effective strategy use and effort.
Monitor student progress through informal assessment.
Self-monitoring techniques can be used in the school setting. Self-monitoring of
attention involves signals to the student to determine how much attention is being paid
to a task. This can be done using a signal such as a random beep, timer, or cue
provided by the teacher. The student then records on or off task behavior on a
recording sheet. Self-monitoring techniques can be tied to rewards and accuracy
checks.

Socialization
Explicitly and frequently teach social rules and skills.
Model appropriate responses to social situations.
Engage student in role-play opportunities to practice appropriate responses.
Explain rules / rationales behind social exchanges.
Target perspective-taking skills.
Teach student to accurately label his / her own emotions.
Teach student to accurately label the emotional status of others.
Be aware of and control for teachers, aides, and students with whom the student
interacts negatively.
Behavior
Arrange observation and data collection system to monitor students behavior across
all school contexts.
Use data to inform decision-making.
Regularly communicate with family members and teachers to ensure consistent
response to students behavior.
Model tolerance and acceptance.
Provide opportunities for the student to assume responsibilities, such as distributing
papers.
Teach other students to ignore inappropriate attention-seeking behaviors.
Have other students (who demonstrate appropriate behavior) serve as peer tutors.
Be aware that some students may work better alone.
Develop rules that are clear (and give concrete examples).
Specify rewards for following rules, as well as consequences when rules are
disobeyed.
Be consistent when enforcing rules, emphasize positive over punitive.
Model responses to potential triggers for escalation.
Engage student in role-play opportunities to practice appropriate responses.
Provide models of acceptable behaviors.
Respond to the student, not to their behavior.
Use positive and age-appropriate comments frequently to reinforce good behavior.
Teach students to monitor their own behavior.
Use individualized behavioral contracts with the student.
Monitor seating arrangements in the classroom.
Teach student to identify signs of stress, anxiety, anger, etc.
Be aware of the students triggers for anger, stress, and anxiety.
Use visual organizers to help student evaluate appropriate alternatives to maladaptive
behavior.
Teach student to describe the conflict or problem, identify possible responses, select a

response, and evaluate the selected response.

Think out loud as you generate alternatives and select a response.
Provide subtle pre-corrective prompts in situations where the student has often
displayed interpersonal relationship problems in the past.
Use visual scales to help the student label escalating emotions (e.g. 1-5 scales,
Volcano scale).
Teach and practice coping strategies to reduce anxiety, stress, anger, etc.
Develop a coping plan; rehearse plan with student when they are calm.
Keep potentially harmful objects or substances out of reach.
Use time-out sessions to cool off disruptive behavior.
Make sure the punishment fits the "crime."
Immediately praise good behavior and performance.
Pre-establish consequences for misbehavior with student.
Administer consequences immediately.
Withhold reinforcement for inappropriate behavior.
Recognize signs of escalation.
Remain calm, state misconduct, and avoid debating or arguing with student.
Ask student for reward ideas.
Change rewards if they are not effective in changing behavior.
Develop a schedule for using positive reinforcement; work to thin that schedule of
reinforcement over time.
Work for overall improvement, which may be slow.
If student has a desire for attention, find ways to recognize positive contributions.
If student shows aggressiveness, being in charge of an activity may reduce
aggressiveness.
Set goals with the student that can realistically be achieved.
Set up a special time-out location, so student has a place to go to take a break (could
be a quick trip to the restroom or water fountain).
Behavior management techniques can be used in the home, school, and community
settings. Functional Behavior Assessments/Behavior Intervention Plans can be created
by examining a student's specific problem behavior, identifying antecedents,
understanding consequences that maintain the behavior, and developing strategies to
reduce the inappropriate behavior and increase desirable behavior.

Affective Characteristics

Regularly communicate with family members, guidance counselors, community-based

service providers, counselors, etc.
Be aware of fears (through communication with the student, teachers, and parents).
Be aware of medication schedules and what the medication effects may be.
Be positive and supportive.
Introduce opportunities for free writing, journaling, or drawing to express feelings.
Monitor for signs of drug and alcohol use.
Monitor for signs of self-mutilation (e.g. cutting).
Monitor for signs of gang involvement.
Take any threats of suicide seriously; immediately report threats.
(Do2Learn, 2013).

RECOMMENDED EDUCATIONAL PRACTICES

Prevention and Early Intervention is the way to go. Stop the progression of the disorder
before it worsens!

Set up Positive Behavior Supports (PBS):

o Approach to discipline that is agreed upon by all school staff
o A positive statement of purpose of the PBS
o A small number of rules for student and staff worded positively
o Clear procedures for teaching behavior expectations to students
o A set of procedures encouraging students to display appropriate behaviors
o A clear plan for monitoring school wide PBS and evaluating its effectiveness

Collaboration is also very important!

Take the System of Care approach which is guided by ten principles that organize a
network of service providers that is child and family centered, community based and
sensitive to cultural diversity.

IDEA Intervention Requirements

IDEA requires that school professionals use a very systematic procedure system to
document the behavior problems that students display, analyze the reasons for the
behaviors, and develop systematic interventions untended to reduce the inappropriate
behaviors!

Use the Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) model to solve the problems

o Identify the problem behavior

o Describe the details of its occurrence
o Gather info using rating scales, interviews, observations, etc.
o Review the data
o Form a hypothesis about the behavior
o Based on the hypothesis, make a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP). If the BIP is
not successful, the team goes back and reviews the data to come up with
another BIP.

Cooperative Learning and Peer-Mediated instruction has also shown to have positive
affects.

Teachers should:
o Make lesson objectives clear
o Engage students and teach in a lively manner
o Encourage students
o Build student interest
o Prompt for answers

(Ogden, 2012).

Support/Services Providers
These websites can offer the resources and services that are needed within our state. They can
help with all of the following:
Local Resources
Information
Referrals
Support Groups
Connections, Inc.
http://www.connections-inc.net/employment.html
Positive Pathways
http://www.positivepathways.net/behavioral-support-services.html
NAMI National Alliance of Mental Health

http://www.namiindiana.org/
Resources
Website
Kids Mental Health
http://www.kidsmentalhealth.org/childrens-behavioral-and-emotional-disorders/
National Organization
Education Directory for Children With Special Needs
http://apps.militaryonesource.mil/MOS/f?
p=EFMP_DIRECTORY:HOME:0::::EKMT:37.20.10.240.0.0.0.0.0
State or Local Organization
Indiana Federation of Families for Childrens Mental Health
http://indianafamilies.org/
Informational Book for Parents
School Success for Kids with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
By Michelle R. Davis, Vincent P. Culotta, Eric A. Levine, Elisabeth Hess Rice
Childrens Book for Learning Disabilities
The Behavior Survival Guide for Kids: How to Make Good Choices and Stay Out of Trouble
By Thomas McIntyre

References

Do2Learn. (2013). Emotional Disturbance Strategies. Retrieved from Do2Learn:

http://www.do2learn.com/disabilities/CharacteristicsAndStrategies/EmotionalDisturbance
_Strategies.html
Hardman, M., Drew, C., & Egan, M. (2014). Human exceptionality: School, community, and
family, 11e. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth-Cengage Learning.
Indiana State Board of Education. (2014, August). Special education rules (Title 511, Article 7,
Rules 32 47).
Ogden, J. (2012). Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. Retrieved from School Psychology:
Resources for Parents, Teachers, and Psychology: http://schoolpsychology.org/emotional-and-behavioral-disorders
Pacer Center. (2006). What is An Emotional or Behavioral Disorder? Minneapolis: Pacer Center:
Champion For Children With Disabilities.