Emotional Behavioral Disorder

1. Emotional and
Behavioral Disorders

2. Risk Factors for Internalizing
Disorders
Children who are anxious or withdrawn are likely to
be more of a threat themselves than to others around
them. Because they usually are not disruptive, they
generally do not cause classroom management
problems. In contrast to children with conduct
disorders, children who are anxious and withdrawn
have problems with excessive internal control;

3. in most settings they maintain firm control over their
impulses, wishes, and desires. Children who are
anxious and withdrawn may be rigid and unable to
be spontaneous (Gresham & Kern, 2004).

4. Learn Helplessness
Learned helplessness in children is the belief that nothing
they do can stop bad things from happening. Learned
helplessness results in severe deteriorations in performance
after failure, as though the children have said to themselves,
“It’s all happening again.” These children often have such
low self-concepts that failure in a school task or a social
setting only confirms for them their worthlessness and
helplessness in the face of an unfriendly environment.

5. These children’s poor performance in the classroom
maybe such worse than they are capable of, simply
because they are so pessimistic about themselves and
their abilities. Low self-esteem seems to be at the
heart much of the underachievement of children who
are anxious and withdrawn.

6. Suicide
A strong feeling of hopelessness can be the predominant reason for
teenagers to think about suicide or even attempt it. For some time,
suicide has been one of the major causes of adolescent death. Today it is
the third leading cause of teenage deaths in the U.S, with 272 deaths
recorded and about 8 times more suicides attempted.
The following are some currently cited signs of a potential suicide:
 Extreme changes in behaviour
 Previous suicide attempts
 Suicide threats and statements
 Signs of deep depression

7. Emotional and behavioral disorders have an impact on all
aspects of information processing. Although vision, and
auditory abilities may test as normal, how the child perceives
the stimulus may be altered. Pete, very aware of his power
status in his group, may misinterpret actions and words of
others as a threat to him and his status.
Anxiety and stress can influence of all the central processing
Mechanisms from memory to evaluation.

8. The child’s attempt to communicate through the
speaking and writing is clouded by either
externalizing or internalizing concerns as well as
social relationships. The decision making of the
student (executive function) is at the mercy of the
emotional forces working on him or her at any given.
In short, a child with emotional and behavioral and
behavioral disorders has serious problem in every
major aspect of information processing.

9. EDUCATIONAL RESPONSES
to students with emotional and behavior disorders
It is particularly important to identify children at the
preschool age with symptoms of EBD, since we have
good evidence that preschool problems do not go away
but persist and become more serious in later grades
unless action is taken early (Eager & Angold, 2006).
The most common problems found at this age are
ADHD, oppositional defiant and conduct disorders,

10. anxiety disorders, and depressive disorders. We are
not well equipped to apply diagnostic services and
subsequent treatment at the preschool age because
preschool services such as child care centers, do not
have the resources of the public schools, so it is
important for child caretakers to be aware of the
community mental health resources available.
There is a concern that “normal” aggression may be
tagged as a sign of an emotional or behavior problem,

11. so it must be clear that oppositional behaviors be
persistent, pervasive, and severe to warrant mental
health referral. (Still only about one in four children
who would be identified as emotionally and
behaviorally disturbed are referred for treatment,
representing a major gap in services (Egger and
Angold, 2006).
Some attention has been given to the issue of pre
school depression, with the predominant symptoms

12. being sad and irritable mood, low energy, eating and
sleeping problems, and low self-esteem (Luby et
al.,2003) . These conditions are often comorbid, that
is they exist alongside other disorders such as anxiety
and fearful feelings. The availability of technical
assistance services that can find appropriate
treatment facilities for children with EBD would be
a great advance for many communities.

13. For our purposes as educators, however, it is
important to note that these children were still in
academic trouble, whatever the labels. These findings
indicate that the best plan may be to moved ahead
with IEPs that specify student’s difficulty and
outline specific supports and services to meet the
child’s needs.

14. The RTI Model
How does the response to intervention (RTI) model
fit into these various attempts to create a plan for
behavioral adjustment?
The bottom of the RTI triangle or (Tier I) is
concerned with the universal interventions – the
schoolwide behaviour system.

15. Three levels of behavioral support seem to be necessary for
good school operation (Sugai & Horner, 2006). The first of
these is universal group behavior support for most
students.
The Tier II activities (for about 5 to 15 percent of
students) would apply the positive behavior supports through
small-group work or individual tutoring.
The Tier III activities involved a small number of
students (1 to 7 percent), those with the most serious
emotional and behavioral problems.

16. The Tier III activities involved a small number of
students (1 to 7 percent), those with the most serious
emotional and behavioral problems.

17. Tier I - Schoolwide
adjustment
When we realize that poor academic performance is
one of the key elements for children with EBD, our
attention needs to be focused on all the tiers of the
RTI model. Included in Tier I must be strong core
reading program that is adaptable for students
currently doing poorly (Simonsen et al., 2008).

18. Tier II – Small group
interventions
Positive Behavior Supports
The history is quite short, but its influence is growing
rapidly across the country. The basic concept is that
misbehavior should not necessarily be followed by
punishment of one sort or another but with attempts
to understand the causes or antecedents of the
misbehavior (Dunlap & Carr, 2007).

19. Functional Behavior Assessment
 (FBA) is a key part of positive behavior supports. It can be
described as a collection of methods for gathering information
about a child’s behavior that tries to answer the question
“Why did h or she do that?” rather than, “What did he or she
do now?”. To answer this key question, a child study team
may wish to seek the antecedent behaviors to the event
or to comprehend the child’s understanding of the
consequences of his or her action.

20. Gresham (2007) describesfivemajor waysin which
unwanted behavior can accomplish certain goalsfor the
individual child or adult;
Gain Social attention (Positive social reinforcement)
Gain access to tangibles or preferred activities (material or
activity reinforcement)
Escape, delay, reduce, or avoid aversive tasks or activities
(negative reinforcement)
Escape or avoid other individuals (negative social
reinforcement)
Gain internal satisfaction(automatic or sensory
reinforcement)

21. Tier III – Intensive
Interventions
Applied Behavior Analysis
One of the most frequently used methods of modifying
student behavior is applied behavior analysis (ABA),
procedures that follow the work of B.F Skinner on operant
conditioning. In addition to the attention paid to the problem
behavior, the procedure focuses on the antecedents to the
behavior and the consequences following it; this referred to
as the A – B – C approach. (antecedents – behavior –
consequences)

22. Residential Care
Despite the strong tendency to cry to place children with
emotional and behavior disorders in inclusive settings, other
alternatives are being investigated. A small residential unit in
North Carolina enrolls twenty-four children with severe
behavior problems (6 – 12) for periods up to six months and
provides them with an organized program using the
reeducation model (Fields, Farmer, Apperson, Mustillo, &
Simmers, 2006)

23. Special Teacher and program
strategies for children with EBD
Social Skills Training
One of the clear goals in remediation of emotional and
behavior disorders is to improve the social skills of the
student to produce socially acceptable learned behaviors such
as cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self
control. There has even been some suggestion that
improvement in academic skills instruction, as much as social
skills instruction, might improve the behavior of many
students.

24. Developing Social Skills
many children with behavior disorders not only engage in non
adaptive behaviors that cause them trouble with their peers
and teachers but also lack positive social skills. Some students
may have little opportunity in their neighborhoods or in their
families to see positive social skills. Some students may have
little opportunity in their neighborhoods or in their families
to see positive social skills in use.

25. Self-monitoring, self-
instruction
There is a family of strategies currently known as the
cognitive strategy approach. Whether self-monitoring, self-
control, these methods rely on the cooperation of the child and
encourage the development of effective conscious coping
skills. One attraction of self-management techniques is that
students who successfully apply then assume greater
responsibility for their behavior instead of being externally
controlled or “forced” to change by various kinds of
conditioning (Polsgrove & Smith, 2004).

26. There are several self-
management techniques:
Self-monitoring – requires students to determine whether a target
behavior has occurred and then record its occurrence.
Self-instruction training (SIT) – is a strategy for teaching any
sequential thinking skills such as problem solving, handling frustration,
managing anger, or resisting peer pressure (Polsgrove & Smith, 2004).
Self-evaluation - asks the student to compare his or her behavior
with some criteria and make a judgment about the quality of the
behavior being exhibited.
Self-reinforcement – means that the students rewards himself or
herself with a token or a tally after meeting some performance standard,
such as avoiding aggressive outbursts for a set period of time.

27. Behavior Contract for Pete
Behavior and impact : I, Pete Walker, understand that when I start fights with
Jason, I disrupt the class, I don’t do my own work, I make my teacher mad at me, and
Jason and I sometimes get hurt.
Target for change: This week I will work on leaving Jason alone.
Reward for change: If I do not get into a fight with Jason this week, I can pick three
classmates to play my favorite computer math game with me on Friday during
independent work time.
Consequences for no change: If I do a fight with Jason this week, I will use my
independent work time to do a classroom chore. That way, I can give something back
to my classmates.
Date: 9/15/2010
Student’s signature: ____________
Teacher’s signature: ____________

28. What is most important about behavior contract is that they
are directed by the students: The student identifies specific
objectionable behavior, articulates the impact of this
behavior, identifies its consequences, and describes rewards
for not indulging in it. This ownership, for students, is
critical to helping them take responsibility for their behavior
and for the impact it has on those around him.

29. Teacher Preparation
 The Teacher and the Pressures of Inclusion
 Personal Preparation – studies of teachers in the EBD field yield
good news in terms of increasing confidence such prospective teachers
have in controlling the classroom behavior (Henderson et al., 2005). The
bad news is that not enough of these teachers are available.
 The Support Teacher (EBD Specialist) – one innovative
suggestion for supporting classroom teachers is to use a support
teacher, a person with social education training in many of the
approaches noted earlier. The support teacher generally uses techniques
that are an extension of regular education procedures, emphasizing
positive behavior supports.

30. The wraparound approach
The wraparound approach makes extensive use of
agencies outside the school program, though they are expected
to include school personnel in the planning. The family is also
a critical part of this planning if it is so work, and strong
efforts are made to involve them (Eber, Sugai, Smith, &
Scott, 2002)

31. Peer tutoring
One of the instructional strategies in use with students with
mild disabilities such as EBD is peer tutoring. Obviously,
if peers can be helpful in improving the performance of
chidren with disabilities, it could be a substantial boon for
the teacher. This approach consists of pairing students, one of
whom is the player (student with a disability) and the other
the coach (a student who has been prepared for help).

32. Technical assistance
One of the marks of the success of the positive behavioral
intervention movement has been the establishment of the
OSEP Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral
Interventions and Supports, a collaboration between the U.S
Department of Education and eleven technical assistance
units across the U.S.
A number of technological aids can provide some supportive
help for those working with children with behavior or
emotional difficulties.

33. Time-Out
One of the techniques used most frequently to control
the behavior of children with behavior disorders is the
time-out-sending students who have violated
classroom rules to secluded place in the room or in a
space nearby with instructions to come back when
they feel they have regained control of themselves.

34. Assistive technology for students with
emotional and behavior disorders
 A computer can be an especially useful learning tool for a
student with a behavior disorder because it provides an
objective, neutral response to the child’s sometimes provoking
or challenging behavior.
Computer assisted learning can support the child’s academic
performance by helping with spelling, word definitions, text-
to-speech options for reading, and organizational support for
writing his or her thoughts and ideas.

35. The role of the family
The importance of the family, in both positive and
negative ways, has long been recognized for children
with EBD. This is one of the reasons parents play a
significant role in IDEA legislation. Table 7.3
summarizes the various interactions the family will
have with the school.

36. Table 7.3 – Parental
involvement in IDEA
•Understand what consent is and provide informed consent for services under
IDEA.
•Notified in advance about any proposed changes to a child’s evaluation, IEP/EFSP,
or educational placement to ensure the opportunity to participate in meetings
regarding the education of their child.
•Informed about the process used to assess the child’s response to scientific,
research-based intervention, appropriate strategies for improved achievement, and
the right to request an evaluation.
•Informed about the disciplinary actions regarding their child.
•Given a copy of the procedural safeguards, the evaluation report, the
documentation of determination of eligibility, and a copy of the child’s IEP at no
cost for the parent.
•Informed about the state procedures for filling a complaint and the right to records
of hearings, findings of fact, and decisions.
•Allowed to inspect and review all education records related to their child, and
request that information be amended.

37. transition
One of the unsolved challenges involving the education of
students with emotional and behavior disorders is their poor
record of school completion, together with limited success in
the vocational arena following school.
These findings suggest (1) the difficulty of entering a labor
market with low and uncertain wages, (2) the possibility of
trouble with the law, and (3) the unlikelihood of their
seeking additional training on their own.

38. Table 7.4 – responses from students with
EBD on staying in school
Are there any advantages or disadvantages to staying in school?
Advantages:
-Better education and jobs.
-Getting a better job and better pay.
-Diploma means a better job.
-Good education and a job.
-So I can get in the army and get a
job.
-You will get a better job.
-Good job.
Disadvantages:
-Getting into trouble with peers.
-A lot of homework and not much
free time.
-Can’t get a job.
-Can’t work.
-Working in class is too hard.
-Don’t get a lot of time with
friends.

39. What Changes Would Help
an Individual Student
Finish School, and How?
More support:
-Help pass.
-Help me with my homework.
-Help me get good grades.
-Give me more help.
-Help me control my anger.
What Changes Would Help
More Students Stay in
School?
Curriculum:
-More detail in classes.
-Up-to-date books.
-Newer texts.
-Social studies books should be
easier for kids in special
education classes. Some of the
books are too difficult.
-More fun things in class.
-Put tutors in {classes}.