Emotional Disturbance

Definition of Emotional
Disturbance
(i) 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 adversely affects educational
performance:
(A) An ability to learn which cannot be
explained by intellectual, sensory, or health
factors;

Definition of ED (2)
(B) An inability to build or maintain
satisfactory interpersonal relationships with
peers and teachers;
(C) Inappropriate types of behavior or
feelings under normal circumstances;
(D) A general pervasive mood of
unhappiness or depression; or

Definition of ED (3)
(E) A tendency to develop physical symptoms or
fears assocaited with personal or school
problems.
(ii) The term includes children who are
schizophrenic or autistic. The term does not
include children who are socially maladjusted
unless it is determined that they are seriously
emotionally disturbed. (Federal Register, August
23, 1977)

Why the sudden increase in the

number of ED students?
Previously they have
been:
Dropouts
Pushouts
Runways--100,00 on
any given day
Inadequately served as
LD

Incarcerated
in revolving door
suspensions (see
Honig v. Doe)
Truant
Most of these doors
are substantially now
closed

Four dimensions of disordered

behavior

Frequency
Duration
Topography (time, place, setting of behavior)
Magnitude or intensity of behavior

ED is a psychologists opinion and not a

measurement

Causes of Emotional
Disturbances
Biological
Psychological,
including the influence
of home--quality and
quantity of parental and
sibling attention
Influence of school.
Quality of behavior
management,
especially

A Tale of Two Terms

Neurosis. The neurotic worries too much.
This might describe a lot of lives in our
contemporary world.
Psychosis. The psychotic is past worry and
is out of touch with reality at least part of the
time.
The neurotic builds castles in the air; the
psychotic goes to live in them.

Phobias and their treatment

Phobias are fears that
go far beyond
evidence. Sometimes
fear is wise.
Acrophobia is a fear of
high places.
Agoraphobia is a fear
of open places

Algophobia is a fear of
pain.
Anthrophobia is a fear
of mankind
Claustrophobia is a
fear of closed places.
Mysophobia is a fear
of germs

Phobias (2)
Monophobia is a fear
of being alone.
Nyctophobia is a fear
of night or darkness
Ochlophobia is a fear
of crowds
Syphilophobia is a
fear of syphilis

Thanatophobia is an
exaggerated fear of
death
Zoophobia is a fear of
one or all animals
Phobias are not a
problem if they do not
prevent the person
from enjoying life.

Treatments for phobias

Exhaustion or flooding method.
Advantages: time, simplicity.
Disadvantages: real risk to client; spread of
phobia if procedure fails. Ethics can be a
concern depending upon how things are
handled. Best use of flooding: minor
phobias, phobias that are not intense or
deeply internalized.

Treatments for phobias (2)

De-sensitization method. Advantages:
natural method; less real risk to client; less
likelihood of spread of effect if the
procedure does not work; usually more
comfortable for the client since he is
partially in control. Disadvantages: time,
possible lack of motivation of client.
For more deep-seated phobias

Demographics of ED students
More likely male
Most likely eighth
grade
More likely disruptive
than withdrawn
Decision to drop out of
school is made in the
seventh grade, acted
upon later

Schizophrenia
Disorganized schizophrenia is characterized by a
flat or incongruous affect. There may be bizarre
mannerisms and social isolation. The onset of
this type of schizophrenia occurs early in life and
tends to be chronic.
Catatonic schizophrenia is noted by periods of
stupor, mutism, and psychomotor agitation,
contrasted with periods of almost constant talking
and delusions of grandeur.

Schizophrenia (2)
Paranoid schizophrenia tends to occur in
later life (30s) and is characterized by
suspiciousness and delusions of persecution
and grandeur.
Most likely schizoid, if the classroom
teacher ever has one in class, is the
disorganized one. Know where his
medicine is.

Characteristics of Autism
If a child has at least half of the
symptoms on the following list, he or
she may be diagnosed as autistic:

Autistic characteristics (1)

Difficulty in
socializing with other
children
Acts deaf.
Resists learning
No fear of real dangers.
Resists changes in
routine

Indicates needs by
gesture rather than
speaking or pointing
Inappropriate laughing
or giggling
Resists cuddling
Marked physical
overactivity

Autistic characteristics (2)

Avoids eye contact
Inappropriate
attachment to objects
Spins objects
Sustained odd play
Standoffish manner

Characteristics become
noticeable before CA
30 months, The first
few months of life
seem normal, but then
they seem to withdraw
from the world.
Source: Autism
Society of America

Indicators of suicide
Age range 15 to 24
Depressed or irritable mood
Loss of enjoyment or interest in normally
pleasurable activities
Change in weight, appetite, or eating habits
Problems with sleeping, either insomnia or
hypersomnia

Indicators of suicide (2)

Psychomotor agitation or retardation (hyperactivity in
children)
Loss of energy or feelings of fatigue
Feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate
guilt
Diminished ability to attend, think, or concentrate
(indecisiveness)
Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide
Last will and testament scenario

Approaches to Teaching
Emotionally Disturbed Students
Psychodynamic strategy. Freudian approach
that attempts to bring the id, ego, and superego
into balance with each other. Sometimes
referred to as the five year couch approach.
One feature of this approach that is frequently
used in schools is the life space interview
following a crisis. Problem: need something
more pro-active in a school situation.

Approaches to ED (2)
Biogenic approach. Appropriate when
problems are more physical than mental.
Schizophrenia, substance abuse, glucose,
ADHD, and other medically related problems.
Humanistic approach. Teacher acts as a nonauthoritarian resource and catalyst rather
than being directive. For most ED students
this approach is not recommended.

Behavior modification
Behavior is controlled by its consequences
until the student gains self-control.
BMOD has the strongest research base of
any of the approaches for ED.
Even with BMOD there are some situations
that do not always work. ED is the last
great frontier of special education teaching.

Approaches for ED
Ecological approaches. These try to rearrange key elements in the childs
environment, including his home, to
facilitate his adjustment to the world.
The combination of behavioral and
ecological approaches, called Project REED, has been the most effective thus far.

The goal of discipline is selfdiscipline

The goal is not to find or invent novel
ways to punish people

CONTINUUM
OF DISCIPLINARY
METHODS
Disciplinary
Continuum

________________________________________________________________________________

Looking On Discipline
Behaviors
With Dignity

Reality Assertive Behavior

Therapy Discipline
Mod.

__________________________________________________
Simple

Discipline

Control
ation

With

Reality
Therapy
Dignity

Assertive
Discipline

Behavior
Modific-

Looking On Behaviors (Simple

Control)
For classes with a
minimum of
disciplinary challenge
Please, Thank
you, and May I see
your eyes
Big advantage:
Doesnt quash
creativity

Discipline with Dignity

Long-term behavior
changes vs. short-term
quick fixes
Stop doing ineffective
things
I will be fair, and I
wont always treat
everyone the same

Rules must make sense

Model what you
expect
Responsibility is more
important than
obedience (??!!)
Always treat students
with dignity

Glassers Reality Therapy

Approach
What am I doing?
Is it working?
Recognition--Give the student the time of
day.
What are you doing?
Is it against the rules?

Glassers Reality Therapy

Approach (2)
Work it out (and make a plan), to wit:

No excuses

No planning for failure

No labeling and forgetting

No exempting from the rule--the student

is responsible

No punishment at this point

Glassers Reality Therapy (3)

Isolate from the class

OUT to in-school suspension
Send the student home
Get professional help

Canters Assertive Discipline

Percent | X

|
Of |

|
Students |

|
Off

|
|

Task

X
X

X
X X X

__________________________________________

If you could have five to seven

rules,
What would they be?

Typical Assertive Discipline rules

Come to class with all of your study materials
Listen to what the teacher and classmates have
to say
Respect the body and privacy rights of others
Attempt every assignment
Speak about others as you would like to be
spoken of

Typical consequences in an
assertive discipline classroom
First offense (no warnings given)--name on
board, lose 10 minutes of recess or lunch
Second offense--check mark by name, lose
thirty minutes of recess or after school
Third offense--for schools that operate D-Hall,
Saturday D-hall
Fourth--corporal punishment or suspension
Severe clause--see principal immediately

Canters disciplinary personality

types
Assertive--tells students
what is expected and
informs them when
they have done it
Non-assertive--opposite
of assertive
Hostile--meets own
needs at expense of
students

Behavior modification
For most demanding
disciplinary situations
Fits well with mastery
learning,
individualized
instruction, and
contracts
Very structured

How a token economy works (1)

Students earn tokens for doing school work.
Combined with individualized instruction,
this provides a very fair means of assigning
work
Mastery learning is incorporated in that
only work done to at least 80 % accuracy
gets paid for

How a token economy works (2)

Work not up to 80% gets returned marked
Not finished. In BMOD parlance, this is
extinction
Fines can be used to remedy misbehavior
Time-out can be worked into the system
Tokens can be charged for pencils and
paper, encouraging responsibility

The behavior-modifiers tools

Positive reinforcement, response cost,
timeout, overcorrection, extinction,
ALT-R, negative reinforcement, PAC

Effective positive reinforcement

Should be something
that the STUDENT
finds rewarding
In schools, will likely be
tertiary reinforcement
Beware of satiation
Timeliness
Reinforcers can change

Using response cost effectively

Spell out the rules of
the game early
Allow for buildup of
reserve without telling
students
Take fining only so far
before mixing it with
other techniques such
as time out

Using time out effectively

Remove the person
from sources of
stimulation
immediately
Timeout situation must
be neutral with no
reinforcing properties
of its own
Short in duration

Overcorrection (restitution)
Insure the relevance of the corrective
measure to the problem behavior
Apply the procedure immediately and
consistently
Keep the performance consistent during
overcorrection. If the student is having to
walk heel-toe, do not allow him to run the
last few yards.

Extinction (systematic nonreinforcement)

Specify the conditions
for extinction so that
the child knows why
these things are
happening
Dispense no
reinforcement before
its time
Watch for spontaneous
recovery

Reinforcement of alternative
behaviors (ALT-R)
Behavior to be reinforced must be
incompatible with that to be extinguished
Alternative behavior must already be
established
Alternative behavior must be one that is
likely to be supported by the natural
environment

Negative reinforcement, also

called escape conditioning
Do not allow the noxious
stimulus to become
aversive or a different set
of behaviors will take
over.
Dispense R- immediately
Do not remove the
noxious stimulus
prematurely

Using PAC effectively

Communicate the rules
before beginning an
episode where PAC
might be used
No escape after
announcement that
PAC is about to occur
Consistent and
immediate application

Present at strong
intensity
Combine PAC with
extinction so that the
student will not
attempt the prohibited
behavior again.

Differences between negative

reinforcement and PAC
Negative
reinforcement uses a
noxious stimulus
NR has an increase in
behaviors as its goal

Presentation of
aversive consequences
uses an aversive
stimulus
PAC has the
elimination of
behaviors as its goal

Whatever we do,
Let us remember that helping the
student is what we are trying to do.