Emotional Behavior Disorder (EBD)
Accommodations
Characteristics
- Aggression or self-injurious behavior (verbal aggression, physical violence).
- Hyperactivity
- Academic performance difficulties
- Immaturity
- Abnormal mood swings, unpredictable behavior (Bipolar)
- Distorted thinking
- Enability to cope with peers and environment
Instructional, behavior, and/or support needed to access learning
- Students with EBD can succeed in mainstream
Challenges!!!
The Disability
Often times, schools do not try to understand the disability ut instead aim at punishing it!
Importance of interpersonal relationships with peers & especially teachers.
Fears associated with school or personal problems.
Behavior supports include free & appropriate public education.
Many children who do not have emotional disorders may exhibit there characteristics. However, students with emotional disturbances experience these characteristics over long periods of time!
Inclusive instructions
- Organized classroom
- Establish a routine
According to the IDEA, Emotional behavior is defined as "Mental illnesses are medical conditions that disrupts a person's thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others and daily functioning. Mental illnesses are medical conditions that often result in a diminished capacity for coping with the ordinary demands of life"
- Possibility to leave self-contained classroom to attend general educational classroom
- Participate in PE with non-EBD students and lunch seating with gen-ed students
- Reward positive behavior
Educational issues that impact learning related to disability
Difficulty to learn
Difficulty controlling & managing feelings
EBD not only affects individual's with the disorder. It can also affect others students learning process and environment. It can especially affect student's safety. Often, EBD's outburst are unpredictable & can be set by small incidents.
Classroom that would best suit students with disabilities
Please watch this video: "Best practices & Accommodations for EBD"
In Florida, behavior plans are often put in place in EBD classrooms to promote inclusion and control behavior. Students who excel in the behavior plan can then attend general education classes!
- Classroom with simple & clear rules
- Rewarding behavior plan
- Motivational & independent strategies to promote positive behavior
- Ideally, no more than 15 students
- Assistants
- Consistent and fair treatment for all students
Controversy: Do students with EBD
benefit more from educational services in special education classrooms, alternative schools
or in general education settings?
Internalizing & externalizing behavior
- Internalized: poor self-esteem, symptoms of depression, social-phobia, eating disorder, panic disorder, etc
Over 2.9 million children have been prescribed medication for EBD.
- Externalized: aggressive/violent behavior, ODD, ADHD, bi-polar disorder, bullying, cursing, etc.
UDL
Males with EBD show more external symptoms than females
- Early intervention is crucial
- Counseling to help students deal with emotions and reacions
Literature
- Provide options for perceptions
- Provide options for communications & expressions
There is a lot of literature that speaks on EBD. Helps guide and redirect innaproprite physical aggression or internal emotional conflicts!
- Guide appropriate goal settings
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
National Alliance on Mental Illness
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
- Support planning & strategy development
Leyfer, O. T., Folstein, S. E., Bacalman, S., Davis, N. O., Dinh, E., Morgan, J., ... & Lainhart, J. E. (2006). Comorbid psychiatric disorders in children with autism: interview development and rates of disorders. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 36(7), 849-861.
- Monitor & celebrate success
Dekker, M. C., Koot, H. M., Ende, J. V. D., & Verhulst, F. C. (2002). Emotional and behavioral problems in children and adolescents with and without intellectual disability. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 43(8), 1087-1098.