Emotional & Behavior Disorders

Rebecca White

Definition and Criteria

It is hard to tell the difference…Ask how severe the problem is and

how persistent.Emotional or Behavioral Disorder-

behavior that falls outside the norm.

Characteristics

Externalizing Behavior – aggression, conduct disorders, acting out, tantrums, hitting, lack of attention, impulsivity , and bizarre behavior.

Tend to bother children with internalizing behavior.

Internalizing Behavior – shyness, immaturity, tenseness, worry, withdraw, depression, fears/phobias, or anxiety.

Tend to be disturbing to themselves and their families, not to others.

Conduct Disorders

Include: hitting fighting throwing temper tantrums teasing acting defiant or disobedient destroying property bullying being physically cruel to others or animals stealing with a victim present lying conning deceiving serious rule violations

Their intelligence is within the normal range, however the students will display low academic achievement.

Other Characteristics (you may see alone)

Hyperactivity – ADD & ADHDPervasive Development Disorder- far

fetched ideasImmaturity – failure to finish tasks,

short attention span, frequent daydreaming

Depression – feelings of dejectionAnxiety – worry, fearfulness, concern

Causes Emotional and Behavior Disorders do not reflect

directly on parents… Dysfunctional parenting contributes to behavior

disorders in children. These disorders are a direct result of

environment and genetic factors, however one may play a greater role than the other.

Treatments - Medications

Stimulants – target central nervous systemMeds: Cylert, Ritalin, Dexatrin, Benzedrine.Side effects: loss of appetite, insomnia, growth retardation,

depression. Antidepressants – treatment for depression, anxiety disorders,

bedwetting, compulsive and obsessive behavior, stomach aches, anxiety attacks and muscle tics.

Meds: Elavil, Tofranil, ProzacSide effects: nausea, dry mouth, seizures Antipsychotics – severe behavioral disordersMeds: Haldol, Thorazine, Mellaril, Navane, and Stelazine.Side effects: listlessness, passiveness, impaired cognitive

performance, increase in appetite, enuresis, and motor difficulties.

Lithium may be used to treat severe mood disorders such as bi-polar.

A child cannot be required to get a prescription for medications as a condition of school attendance or receiving services.

Assessment of Students with Emotional and Behavior Disorders How do you decide whether a student

is problematic enough to warrant referral to special education or other specialized services?

1. Behavior-age discrepancy2. Frequency of occurrence of the behavior3. Number of Symptoms4. Inner Suffering5. Harm to others6. Persistence of the behavior7. Self-satisfaction8. Severity and duration of the behavior

Identifying by asking the following questions:

How often? How long? Under what conditions? Where does this

behavior occur? What happens before the disturbance, triggers?

Consequences? Does the student maintain any positive

relationships? Is the student ever happy? Deviance compared to other students? Is the problem related to the teacher or another

student? What have the people around the student done to

eliminate a certain behavior?

Teaching Accommodations for Students with Emotional or

Behavioral Disorders

Maintaining an Organized Physical Environment Establishing Positive Relationships – make sure

your students can trust you. Empathy requires genuine concern and understanding the student no matter what.

Changing Behavior Resolving Conflicts and Promoting Self-Control Using Life-Space Intervention Adapting Instruction

Resources – Useful Websites

http://www.michkids.org/index_files/page0027.htm

http://www.as.wvu.edu/~scidis/behavior.html http://www.easychild.com/parentingclick2.htm http://www.conductmanagement.com/abtp.htm http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/socialcare/d

isabledchildren/facts/ http://adda-sr.org/BehaviorManagementIndex.

htm