Students+with+Emotional+Disturbance

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The emotionally disturbed student poses a unique struggle for teachers, their schools, and other students. Diagnosing a child can be difficult, or tricky, because the definition of emotional disturbance (or ED) on a federal level is broad, and often contradictory to itself. Emotional disturbance can be classified as a disability, however, it is tough to get this classification, because it is based more on judgment than a black and white diagnosis. It is sometimes hard to gauge the difference between a child who is just shy and a child who has a severe phobia to social interaction. Because of this, many students who realistically could be classified as emotionally disturbed and given the proper assistance are not being recognized. ======

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The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (or IDEA) defines ED as follows: [ED] “ is a condition characterized by 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 inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors; (b) an inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers or 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. The definition also includes children who are schizophrenic. The definition excludes children who are socially maladjusted, unless they are also ED.” (Wilson) ======

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Students need to have at least one of the above criteria to be considered a possible ED. However, because the language is not specific, it can be subjective and a student who really should qualify as an ED may be overlooked based on one person’s judgment call. There are many criticisms of the current evaluation of ED. Because of these criticisms, a new way to evaluate students has come about called Response to Intervention (RTI). RTI states that if a student does not improve after either one intervention in long duration, or several interventions, they should be eligible for services that specialize in ED. ======

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There are several important principles in teaching a child with ED. Working with a child with ED is very similar to working with a mainstream classroom. The most important thing to remember is to have strong classroom management and follow through. Here are some important things to remember when introducing the student to your classroom: ======
 * ====== Get background on the student from previous teachers, administrative staff, and assessments. Find out specific needs, medications, triggers, and reinforcements that can help you accommodate the student and help the student feel comfortable in the classroom. ======
 * ====== Establish the rules and procedures of your classroom from day one and make sure the student knows the consequences of breaking them. Most importantly, once rules and consequences have been established, follow through with them if a rule or procedure has been broken. ======
 * ====== Praise good behavior, do not acknowledge bad behavior. By reacting to a behavior it is giving the student attention, and whether negative or positive it will satiate them. When a child with ED observes another child being praised for good behavior, they will start to be conditioned to act that way as well. ======
 * ====== Administer consequences immediately. Not reacting to a bad behavior and responding to a behavior are entirely different. A student screaming will cause classroom disruption, but to respond to that will feed into their attention seeking. If a student blatantly breaks a rule, however, one must respond quickly. ======
 * ====== Praise the student often for even the smallest good behavior. ======

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When assessing a student with ED, one must be conscious that they are not doing a normal assessment. It’s not the basic diagnostic, summative, and formative assessment. Assessment comes in the form of observing the student being able to accomplish the smallest tasks. A big part of working with students with ED is working on their social skills and interaction. This comes from modeling appropriate behaviors, discussing the reasoning behind them, and having the students rehearse these behaviors. ======

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When assessing a student with ED from an academic standpoint, one must remember to base the assessment on what they are capable of. They need to be assessed with modifications and accommodations specific to their IEP. While a mainstream student may learn up to 3 or 4 concepts in a lesson, it may take several days for an ED student to learn just one. Assessment should be made based on the progress of the student and not the time it took to get there. ======

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The main thing to remember when working with ED students is to have patience and make sure that that student is in a consistant environment when they enter your classroom. Repetition, reliability, and reinforcement are huge when working with any special needs student, but especially a student with ED. ======

Work Cited:

[|Education & Treatment of Children (ETC)] ; November 2005, Vol. 28 Issue 4, p328-344, 17p

Keller, E. (n.d.). STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING STUDENTS WITH BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS. //West Virginia University//. Retrieved March 26, 2012, from www.as.wvu.edu/~scidis/behavior.html

CEC | Behavior Disorders/Emotional Disturbance. (n.d.). //CEC | Home//. Retrieved March 26, 2012, from http://www.cec.sped.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Behavior_Disorders_Emotional