Title: Chapter Eight Learners with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders
1Chapter EightLearners with Emotional or
Behavioral Disorders
- Virginia Jensen
- Teresa Marotto
- Kevin Macaulay
- Jessica Hill
- Jessica Dillon
- Elizabeth Hilton
2Definition Problems
- Defining emotional or behavioral disorders is
difficult because it is like trying to define a
familiar experience - - Anger
- - Loneliness
- - Happiness
3Definition Problems Continued
- Why is defining emotional and behavioral
disorders difficult? -
- - We lack definitions of mental health and
normal behavior (what is normal?) - - There are substantial differences among
conceptual models (everyone is different,
everyone has different kinds of symptoms on
all levels, some more than others) - - Measurement of emotions and behavior is
imprecise (not exact, there is no tool that
can measure the intensity of emotions and
behavior) - - Emotional and behavioral disorders often
overlap with other disabilities (especially
learning disabilities and mental retardation) - - Professionals disagree when diagnosing
children with emotional and behavioral
disorders
4Federal Definitions
- According to the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) the term used to describe
emotional and behavioral disorders is emotionally
disturbed - In general, the definition of emotional and
behavioral disorders is - - Behavior that goes to an extreme that is
not just slightly different from the usual - - A problem that is chronic one that does
not quickly disappear - - Behavior that is unacceptable because of
social or cultural expectations
5Alternative Definition to the Federal Definition
- Emotional/Behavioral disorder means a disability
characterized by behavioral or emotional
responses in school so different from appropriate
age, cultural, or ethnic norms that they affect
educational performance. Educational performance
includes academic, social, vocational, and
personal skills. This kind of disability is - - More than temporary, expected response to
stressful events in the environment - - Is consistently exhibited in two different
settings, at least one of which is school
related - - Unresponsive to direct intervention in
general education or the childs condition is
such that general interventions would be
insufficient
6Alternative to the Federal Definition Continued
- Emotional and Behavioral disorders can co-exist
with other disabilities. - Children or youths with schizophrenic disorders
are included as well as children and youth with
affective disorder, anxiety disorder and conduct
disorder. All these disorders affect educational
performance. - Affective disorder a disorder of mood or
emotional tone characterized by depression. - Anxiety disorder a disorder characterized by
anxiety, fearfulness, and avoidance of ordinary
activities because of anxiety or fear.
7Classification
- Emotional and behavioral disorders are so diverse
and vary greatly from person to person that there
is no universally accepted system for classifying
emotional or behavioral disorders. However,
individuals could be grouped into categories
according to the types of problems (or symptoms)
they have. - There are two broad categories of disordered
behavior - - Externalizing
- - Internalizing
- Externalizing involves striking out against
others while internalizing behavior involves
mental or emotional conflicts.
8Externalizing Characteristics
- Hostile behavior or aggression
- Abusive
- Destructive
- Bossy
- Quarrelsome
- Defiant
- Irritable
9Internalizing Characteristics
- Withdrawn
- Anti-Social
- Disinterest (in activities, etc.)
- Poor concentration
- Short attention span
10Classification Continued
- Very few individuals with emotional or behavioral
disorders exhibit only one type of maladaptive
behavior (one of the two general categories).
This is called co- morbidity. Co-morbidity is the
appearance of two or more conditions in one
individual this is not unusual. (Individual
will show qualities from both categories). - One third of children with emotional or
behavioral disorders have another disability as
well. (Example depression, anxiety disorder,
ADD, or ADHD)
11Final Thought on Classification
- Either dimension of behavior may be exhibited to
a greater or lesser extent which can range from
normal to severely disordered. - For example, an individual might have a severe
conduct disorder, an externalizing problem
defined by overt, aggressive, disruptive behavior
or covert anti-social acts (internalizing) such
as stealing, lying and fire setting.
12Schizophrenia
- Schizophrenia is a disorder that involves
psychotic behavior manifested by loss of contact
with reality, distorted thought processes, and
abnormal perceptions. In other words, it is a
severe disorder of thinking (internalization).
Individuals tend to withdraw into their own
private worlds where they have delusions or
hallucinations. - Childhood schizophrenia is a disorder that
typically begins after a normal period of
development during early childhood. It is
distinguished from autism or autistic spectrum
disorders.
13Autistic Spectrum and Autism
- Autistic Spectrum- consists of five similar
conditions autism, Asperger syndrome, Rhett
syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and
pervasive developmental disorder. All involve
communication problems and problems with social
interactions. - Autism one of five autistic spectrum disorders
it is characterized by extreme social withdrawal
and impairment in communication.
14Schizophrenia Continued
- Children with schizophrenia usually have
delusions (bizarre ideas) and hallucinations
(seeing or hearing imaginary things), whereas
children with autism usually do not. - Children with schizophrenia tend to have
psychotic episodes interspersed with periods of
near-normal behavior, whereas children with
autism tend to have more constant symptoms. - About 25 of children with autism have epileptic
seizures, whereas children with schizophrenia
rarely have seizures. - Classifications of emotional or behavioral
disorders describe behavioral dimensions. These
dimensions are composed of a wide range of
externalizing and internalizing problems.
15Prevalence
- The prevalence of emotional or behavioral
disorders varies among children and youths
because there is no standard or reliable
definition or screening instrument. - Credible studies in the U.S. (and other
countries) have consistently indicated that at
least 6 to 10 of children and youths of school
age exhibit serious and persistent
emotional/behavioral problems. - However, about 1 of schoolchildren in the U.S.
are identified as emotionally disturbed for
special education purposes. - - A very small percentage of children with
serious emotional and behavioral disorders
receive mental health services.
16Prevalence Continued
- The most common types of problems exhibited by
students who are placed in special education for
emotional or behavioral disorders show
externalizing qualities. - - Boys outnumber girls in displaying
externalizing behaviors by a ratio of 5 to 1
(or more). - - However, antisocial behavior in girls is an
increasing concern.
17Prevalence Continued
- Juvenile delinquency and the antisocial behavior
(conduct disorder) present problems in estimating
prevalence. - - One point of view is that all delinquent and
antisocial youths should be thought of as
having emotional or behavioral disorders. - - Some argue that most youths who commit
frequent antisocial acts are socially
maladjusted, not emotionally disturbed - (We cannot clearly distinguish social
maladjustment from emotional disturbance.) - Those who exhibit serious antisocial behavior are
at high risk for school failure as well as other
negative outcomes. - If schools are to address the educational
problems of delinquent and antisocial children
and youths, then the number served by special
education must increase dramatically.
18Causes
- There are four major factors that attribute to
emotional and behavioral disorders - - Biological disorders and diseases
- - Pathological family relationships
- - Undesirable experiences at school
- - Negative cultural influences
- In the majority of cases, there is no conclusive
empirical evidence that any of these factors is
directly responsible for the disorder. Some
factors might give a child a predisposition to
exhibit problem behavior and others might trigger
it.
19Biological Factors
- Behaviors and emotions may be influenced by
genetic, neurological, or biochemical factors or
by combinations of these. - Prenatal exposure to alcohol can contribute to
many types of disabilities which include
emotional or behavioral disorders. - Disease, malnutrition, brain trauma, and
substance abuse can predispose children to
develop emotional or behavioral problems. - For individuals with severe and profound
disorders, there is evidence to suggest that
biological factors contribute to their conditions
however, biological factors alone are not solely
the root of the problem. - All children are born with a biologically
determined behavioral style, or temperament
(which can be changed by the way they are reared)
however it is believed that children with
difficult temperaments are predisposed to develop
emotional or behavioral disorders.
20Severe Disorders
- Two severe biological emotional/behavioral
disorders are - - Schizophrenia
- - Tourettes Syndrome
- Tourettes syndrome a neurological disorder
beginning in childhood characterized by multiple
motor tics (repetitive, stereotyped movements)
and verbal tics or verbal outbursts that may
include strange noises or inappropriate words or
phrases such as swearing. - Although schizophrenia, Tourettes syndrome,
attention deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD),
some forms of depression, and many other
disorders are caused wholly or partly by brain
biochemical dysfunctions (biological causes of
emotional or behavioral disorders).
21Biological Causes
- Four important points to remember about
biological causes - - The fact that disorders have biological
causes does not mean that they are not
emotional or behavioral disorders. An
emotional or behavioral disorder can have
physical cause, the biological malfunction is a
problem because of the disorder it creates
in the individuals emotions or behaviors. - - Causes are seldom exclusively biological or
psychological. Once a biological disorder
occurs, it nearly always creates
psychosocial problems which can contribute to
the emotional or behavioral disorder. - - Biological or medical treatment of the
disorder is rarely sufficient to resolve the
problem. Medication is used to help the
disorder but it is not the only intervention
used in helping the individual cope with
his/her disorder. - - If a disorder is known to have biological
causes, medical or biological approaches to
the problem can be of little or no help
because medications do not work equally for
every individual and for some disorders,
there is not medication that can be
prescribed. -
22Family Factors
- There is no consistency or valid research that
shows parents are to blame for emotional and
behavioral disorders in their children. - Good parents sometimes have children with very
serious or behavioral disorders, and incompetent,
neglectful, or abusive parents sometimes have
children with no emotional or behavioral
disorders. - However,
- Parents who are generally lax in disciplining
their children but are hostile, rejecting, cruel,
and inconsistent in dealing with misbehavior are
likely to have aggressive, delinquent children. - Broken, disorganized homes in which the parents
themselves have arrest records or are violent are
more likely to have children with a lack of
social competence and delinquency.
23School Factors
- Some children already have emotional or
behavioral disorders when they begin school,
others develop such disorders during their school
years (probably from damaging classroom or school
related experiences). This includes - - Teachers being insensitive to childrens
individuality - - Requiring conformity to rules and routines
- - Too high or too low expectations for
achievement and/or conduct - - Might give the child the impression that they
are inadequate or undesirable - - Discipline may be too rigid, too lax, or too
inconsistent - - Misbehaving children are rewarded by special
attention (even if attention is criticism or
punishment), whereas a child who behaves is
ignored - - Teacher and peers might be models of
misconduct the child might misbehave by
imitating them
24School Factors Continued
- There is a fear that a child who exhibits problem
behavior will become trapped in spiral or
negative interactions, in which he/she becomes
increasingly irritating to and irritated by
teachers and peers. - Teachers cannot and should not take blame for
disordered behavior which they are not
contributing to, however, it is important that
they eliminate whatever contributions they might
be making to their students misconduct.
25Cultural Factors
- Many environmental conditions affect adults
expectations of children and childrens
expectations of themselves and their peers. - Values and behavioral standards are communicated
to children through a variety of cultural
conditions, demands, prohibitions, and models. - The culture in which a child is reared influences
his or her emotional, social, and behavioral
development as well as having influences on
anxiety, depression, and aggression. - Violence depicted on television has been proven
to increase levels of violence in U.S. society. - Dramatic increases in the ethnic diversity of
most communities might contribute to the mistaken
identification of behavioral differences as
behavioral disorders.
26Cultural Factors Continued
- Abuse and other forms of extreme trauma are known
to contribute significantly to the emotional or
behavioral disorders of many children in society
today. - Imprisonment and punishment combined with lack of
economic and educational opportunities, appear to
perpetuate if not exacerbate the harsh conditions
of life that contribute to emotional or
behavioral disorders and delinquency.
27Identification
- It is easier to identify disordered behaviors
than to define and classify them or identify
their causes. Teachers and peers sometimes fail
to detect emotional and behavioral disorders
because they fail to assess the strengths of
students with emotional or behavioral disorders.
Some also fail because they arent sensitive to
the childs problems or because they do not stand
out among other children with more serious
problems.
28Identification Continued
- The most common type of behavioral disorder is
conduct disorder which is an externalizing
problem attracts immediate attention. - Children with schizophrenia are rarely mistaken
for those who are developing normally their
language, mannerisms, and ways of relating to
others become concerns among teachers, parents,
and the childs peers (also casual observers). - However, a child will be considered as having
ADHD or depression first, before being diagnosed
with schizophrenia. - The younger the child, the more difficult it is
to determine if his/her behaviors signifies a
serious problem. - Some students with emotional or behavioral
disorders do not exhibit problems at school
detection problem in the classroom.
29Psychological and Behavioral Characteristics
- Describing the characteristics of children with
emotional and behavioral disorders is difficult
because these disorders are extremely varied from
person to person. - Intelligence and Achievement
- The average student with emotional or behavioral
disorders has an IQ in the dull-normal range
(around 90) and few scores above the
bright-normal range (most are average). - More children with emotional or behavioral
disorders fall into the ranges of slow learner
and mild retardation. - Many students with severe disorders lack basic
reading and arithmetic skills those without
problems in reading and math are often unable to
apply their skills to everyday problems.
30Intelligence and Achievement Continued
-
- Intelligence tests are not perfect instruments
for measuring intelligence but they are a good
predictor of how far a student will excel
academically and socially. It can be argued that
emotional or behavioral difficulties might
prevent children from scoring as high as they are
capable of scoring however, the lower than normal
IQs for these students do indicate lower ability
to perform tasks that other students may be
successful at. Lower scores are also consistent
with impairment in other areas of functioning
like academic achievement and social skills.
31Social and Emotional Characteristics
- Two major dimensions externalizing and
internalizing - Studies show that the social statuses of
students in regular elementary and secondary
classrooms indicate that who are identified as
having emotional or behavioral disorders may be
socially rejected. Early peer rejection and
aggressive behavior place a child at high risk
for later social and emotional problems.
32Aggressive, Acting Out Behavior(Externalizing)
- Conduct disorder is the most common problem
- (as discussed earlier).
- Hitting, fighting, teasing, yelling, refusing to
comply with requests, crying, destructiveness,
vandalism, extortion these behaviors if
exhibited often, will earn the child to be
labeled disturbed. - Note that normal children do these things, but
not as often. - These youths tend to be unpopular with their
peers and do not respond positively to
well-meaning adults who try to help them. - Some are considered to have attention
deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADD or ADHD) or
brain injury. - Behavior is extreme and resistant to discipline
because they have been scolded so many times that
it means nothing to - them anymore.
- Children with emotional or behavioral disorders
behave - horribly frequently enough that the people they
live with - or be with cannot stand them.
33Aggression
- Children learn aggressive behaviors through
parents, siblings, playmates, and media. - If children are placed in unpleasant situations,
they use aggression because it is encouraged by
external rewards such as social status, power,
suffering of the victim, or obtaining desired
items. It is also encouraged by vicarious rewards
(seeing others obtain desirable consequences for
their aggression), and self reinforcement
(enhancing self-image). - If children can justify their aggression, they
are more likely to use it. - Punishment can increase aggression if punishment
is inconsistent or delayed. - There is a high probability that the aggressive
child who is a failure in school with becoming a
social misfit as an adult than the child who is
withdrawn (internalizing).
34Immature, Withdrawn Behavior and Depression
(Internalizing)
- The child whose behavior fits a pattern of
extreme immaturity and withdrawal or depression
cannot develop the close and satisfying human
relationships that characterize normal
development. - Children who are withdrawn or depressed are often
social isolates who have very few friends, rarely
play with children their own age, and lack social
skills necessary to have fun. - Some children withdraw into fantasy or
daydreaming and some develop fears completely out
of proportion to the circumstances. - Some complain constantly of little aches and
pains to avoid participating in normal
activities. - Some become depressed for no apparent reason.
- Over restrictive parental discipline, punishment
for appropriate social responses, reward for
isolated behavior, lack of opportunity to learn
and practice social skills, and models of
inappropriate behavior can be leading factors in
causing immature, withdrawn behavior.
35Depression
- Depression is an increasing factor among
children, youths and adults. Depression includes
disturbances of mood or feelings, inability to
think or concentrate, lack of motivation,
decreased physical well-being. A child with
depression might act sad, lonely, exhibit low
self esteem, excessive guilt, pessimism, and
avoid tasks and social experiences. Sometimes
depression is accompanied by problems such as bed
wetting (nocturnal enuresis), fecal soiling
(encopresis), extreme fear or refusal to go to
school, failure in school or talk of suicide or
suicide attempts. Depression also frequently
occurs in combination with conduct disorder as
well as substance abuse. Depression can have a
biological cause and anti-depressants are usually
prescribed to help individuals with depression
(can be helpful). However in some cases there is
no biological cause and psychological or
environmental factors are the cause - - Instructing children and youths in social
interaction skills and self-control techniques
and teaching them to view themselves more
positively are usually successful in coping or
dealing with depression.
36Suggestions for Teaching
- As a teacher, it is important to be very
organized and clear with the children who have
these disorders. Some managing behaviors that you
could use for your classroom is as fallows and is
listed from LESS restive to MORE instance
restrictive - Enhancement procedures Reductive
procedures - Self-regulation
Differential reinforcement - Social reinforcement
Extinction - Modeling
Verbal aversive - Contracting
Response cost - Activity reinforcement Time-out
- Token reinforcement Over
correction - Edible reinforcement Physical
aversive - Tactile and sensory reinforcement
- Reinforcements should be given every now and
then, and if the child is receiving a lot, they
can sooner or later be slowly taken off of
them. You would only reinforce good behavior,
not bad behavior.
37Definitions
- Social reinforcement- giving the child a high 5
for a good job, telling them job well done on
working alone, etc. - Activity reinforcing- if you are good and do
your homework we can have extra play time. - Token reinforcement- tokens or points are given
out, which then can be exchanged for prizes. - Contracting An actual contract is constructed
between the parents, teacher and students. It
will say, For each day Sam doesnt might with a
student, he will receive a check. When he has
reached 10 checks they will be sent to his
parents who will then sign them, and Sam can now
have 15 extra minutes on the computer in class. - Modeling- teachers may model a behavior, such as
expressing anger appropriately, and having the
children practice doing so with them.
38Teaching Social Skills
- There is a pattern used to correct social skills.
This is as fallows -
- Trigger Student notices external or internal
things that trigger their anger. - Cue child identifies physiological factors that
indicate anger is aroused in them. - Reminders- student makes self-statements to
reduce the anger. - Reducer Students uses strategies such as
counting backwards or forwards and concentrating
on their behavior and reflecting on it to reduce
the anger. - Students generates alternatives to anger and
aggression - Student evaluates the use and results of the
anger control sequence. - Differential reinforcements- if you want to
permute hand raising in class instead of talking
out load, you would permute hand raising more and
more.
39When Using Punishment
- Teachers should
- -Combine punishment with positive reinforcement
of alternative behaviors - -Manage punishment carefully and use it
consistently and immediately. - -Use punishment only after positive procedures
have been unsuccessful - When using any other punishments on the list,
professionals should only use them. If you are
reprimanding, be sure to keep it privet, stand
near to the child, and give the child eye contact.
40Teaching Conclusions
- It is also wise for teachers with out of control
students to devise a plan. This plan should be
shown to the students incase of a sudden outbreak
occurs and a student is threatening themselves or
others. You should have a reliable student know a
signal to go get another adult or to have another
teacher call the office if you are having
problems and are tied up with the children and
moving them to safety. This plan should be used
as a drill from time to time to refresh the
childrens minds on what to do if something ever
did occur.
41The End!!!!