Information and Resources for students with emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD)
“Students with EBD are educated in restrictive settings more often than any other students with disabilities” (Rosenberg, Westling, & McLeskey, 2011 p. 187).
“Teachers often believe they lack the expertise and skills to address the extreme behaviors of [EBD] students” (Rosenberg, Westling, & McLeskey, 2011 p. 187).
“The consensus in the field is that students with EBD require individually tailored programs that make use of the full continuum of placement and service options” (Rosenberg, Westling, & McLeskey, 2011 p. 188).
“Teachers often believe they lack the expertise and skills to address the extreme behaviors of [EBD] students” (Rosenberg, Westling, & McLeskey, 2011 p. 187).
“The consensus in the field is that students with EBD require individually tailored programs that make use of the full continuum of placement and service options” (Rosenberg, Westling, & McLeskey, 2011 p. 188).
How are emotional and behavior disorders defined?
According to IDEA 2004, emotional disturbance means a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child's 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 and teachers.
(C) Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.
(D) A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
(E) A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.
Emotional disturbance includes schizophrenia. The term does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they have an emotional disturbance (U.S. Department of Education, 2005).
EBD can be subjective to the tolerance of individual teachers, educational leaders, and caregivers, but there are two ways of classifying - statistically derived and clinically derived:
What are the characteristics of students with emotional and behavior disorders?
The characteristics of students with EBD vary from child to child, but may include:
Behavioral characteristics:
How many students are identified with emotional disorders, and what causal factors are associated with the disability?
Demographics of students with EBD:
How are students with emotional and behavior disorders identified?
Identification and Assessment
According to IDEA 2004, emotional disturbance means a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child's 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 and teachers.
(C) Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.
(D) A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
(E) A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.
Emotional disturbance includes schizophrenia. The term does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they have an emotional disturbance (U.S. Department of Education, 2005).
EBD can be subjective to the tolerance of individual teachers, educational leaders, and caregivers, but there are two ways of classifying - statistically derived and clinically derived:
- Statistically derived dimensional “EBD is viewed as a cluster of extreme forms of typical behaviors and emotions. Classification is viewed on how much an individual differs in rate and frequency from normative samples of the population” (Rosenberg, Westling, & McLeskey, 2011 p. 172).
- Clinically derived EBD is completed from the work of psychologists who observe how certain patterns of behavior occur regularly among certain groups of people (Rosenberg, Westling, & McLeskey, 2011).
What are the characteristics of students with emotional and behavior disorders?
The characteristics of students with EBD vary from child to child, but may include:
Behavioral characteristics:
- Externalizing behaviors (defiant, aggressive, and noncompliance)
- Internalizing behaviors (inwardly directed such as social withdrawal, anxiety disorders, and depression
- Social withdrawal (these children miss out on learning from their peers and may experience diminished academic achievement; they may also exhibit anxiety and/or depression)
- Attention deficits
- Social skills problems (Rosenberg, Westling, & McLeskey, 2011)
- Low to low-average IQ
- Students with EBD have a 58.6% school drop out rate (Rosenberg, Westling, & McLeskey, 2011)
How many students are identified with emotional disorders, and what causal factors are associated with the disability?
Demographics of students with EBD:
- 0.69% of school age children in the United States have been diagnosed with EBD
- 7.6% of students with disabilities have been diagnosed with EBD
- 80% of students with EBD are male
- Of students who have EBD, 60% are white, 26% are African American, and 11% are Hispanic
- 50% of students with EBD receive medication (Rosenberg, Westling, & McLeskey, 2011)
- Biophysical Influences (Biochemical abnormalities, brain injury and neurological dysfunction, and/or genetic transmission)
- Psychodynamic Influences ("underdeveloped or deficient internal, or intrapsychic, structures, making students with EBD unable to control their impulses" (Rosenberg, Westling, & McLeskey, 2011 p. 181)
- Familial and Home Influences
- Societal/Environmental Influences
- School influences (Rosenberg, Westling, & McLeskey, 2011)
How are students with emotional and behavior disorders identified?
Identification and Assessment
- Screening - teachers informally observe students for EBD characteristics, however due to the different tolerance levels of different teachers, this can be subjective. Teachers can also use commercially designed programs to monitor behavior and compare it to "typical behavioral standards and expectations" (Rosenberg, Westling, & McLeskey, 2011 p. 183).
- Identification - students who have been identified as having possible EBD will be referred to a team of experts and education leaders for further evaluation. This team will use observation and assessment to gather more information. The two most common assessment methods are:
· Behaviorally Oriented Methods - behavior rating scales
· Personality-Oriented Methods - used in clinical settings to document how "an individual thinks, behaves, and feels across situations and over periods of time" (Rosenberg, Westling, & McLeskey, 2011 p. 185) - Instructional/Behavioral Planning: The Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) is an assessment used to determine the triggers of a child's behavior and how to help the child reduce the inappropriate behaviors. For more information about the FBA, please visit: http://www.ped.state.nm.us/RtI/behavior/4.fba.11.28.pdf
What educational practices improve academic, social, early childhood and transition outcomes for students with EBD?
For information about best practices and interventions, please visit https://www.k12.wa.us/SpecialEd/Families/pubdocs/bestpractices.pdf and https://www.pbis.org
- Academic interventions are similar to those of students with a LD: shortened assignments, working with a peer, technology assistance, and self-monitoring checklists (Rosenberg, Westling, & McLeskey, 2011).
- Social/behavioral interventions help to reinforce appropriate behavior and reduce inappropriate behavior. A token economy is one method of helping students to recognize which behaviors are acceptable and which are not. Students with EBD also need to learn self-control, social skills, and replacement behaviors. It may be beneficial for wraparound services to be used in order to make sure the student is receiving the same interventions at school and home (Rosenberg, Westling, & McLeskey, 2011). For more information about wraparound services, please visit: https://www.pbis.org/school/tertiary-level/wraparound
- Early intervention is important to help students recognize how to cope with emotional and behavioral disorders. Children who are helped early on are less likely to have severe learning and social difficulties than those who go undiagnosed. However, early intervention can be difficult because preschoolers periodically exhibit the emotional behaviors of a person with EBD. Four to 6% of preschoolers have extreme emotional and behavioral problems and would benefit from early intervention services.
- Transition to adult life can be difficult for those with EBD if there is no support system. Statistically, people with EBD are less likely to achieve a higher-status in their careers. This may be due to poor interpersonal skills in the workplace. A recent graduate with EBD may benefit from a vocational specialist or job coach in order to help achieve career goals as well as personal success. Service learning is another possibility that could lead to success in a career (Rosenberg, Westling, & McLeskey, 2011).
For information about best practices and interventions, please visit https://www.k12.wa.us/SpecialEd/Families/pubdocs/bestpractices.pdf and https://www.pbis.org
For more information about Emotional/Behavioral Disorders, please visit the following websites:
http://www.gallaudet.edu/clerc_center/information_and_resources/info_to_go/educate_children_(3_to_21)/students_with_disabilities/emotionalbehavioral_disorders.html
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/children2005/children2005.htm
http://www.ccbd.net/home
For assistive technology resources that could benefit students with EBT, please visit the following website: http://www.atstar.org/atinfo/info_disabilities_behavioral.htm