Teaching Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

Presented by Dave Jacobi and Marcie Murphy

Definitions of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

● Students whose behavior is frequently outside the norm and socially unacceptable ● Two common definitions: o o Federal definition of emotional disturbance Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders definition of EBD

Federal definition of

emotionally disturbed

Must show at least one of these characteristics o “An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors” o o o o “An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers” “Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances” “A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression” “A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems”

CCBD definition of EBD

● “Disability that is characterized by emotional or behavioral responses in school programs so different from appropriate age, cultural, or ethnic norms that the responses adversely affect educational performance, including academic, social, vocational, or personal skills, more than a temporary, expected response to stressful events in the environment; consistently exhibited in 2 different settings, at least one of which is school related, and unresponsive in general education, or the condition of the child is such that general education interventions would be insufficient.” ● May include more than one disability ● Includes schizophrenic disorder, affective disorder, anxiety disorder, or other disorder if it affects conduct or adjustment

Differences Between Federal and CCBD Definitions

● Federal is vague and can be interpreted differently ● Federal excludes those who are socially maladjusted (consistently violate social norms) if not determined to be emotionally disturbed ● CCBD definition may include more than one disorder (co-morbitity) ● CCBD addresses that norms are different depending on age, culture, and ethnic group

● Estimated 6% to 10% of school age have EBD ● Much few receiving services ● Referrals peak in early teen years ● Likely to have learning disabilities in addition to EBD ● Dropout rates higher than for students with other disabilities

● Students with EBD are some of the most segregated with disabilities ● 33% of youth in juvenile justice system receiving special ed serviced, most of these for emotional disturbances ● Students of minority populations over represented

Role as a Classroom Teacher

● Primary source for referrals (recognize signs) ● Part of response to intervention (RTI) team ○ Universal screening ○ Progress monitoring ● Help develop functional behavior assessment (FBA) and behavioral improvement plan (BIP) ● Adapt instruction and assignments ● Must know how to deal with difficult behaviors in class ● Will resolve conflicts between classmates ● Must provide a comfortable, inclusive classroom

Characteristics of Emotional & Behavioral Disorders

● Main commonality: inability to maintain satisfactory relationships with others ● Externalizing vs. internalizing behaviors

Types of Disorders

● Anxiety disorders: ○ Generalized Anxiety Disorder ○ Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder ○ Panic Disorder ○ Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ○ Social Anxiety Disorder ● Mood disorders: ○ Depression ○ Bipolar Disorder ● Defiance (ODD)

Tips for Teachers 8.1

Recognizing signs of depression

Tips for Teachers 8.2

Suicide warning signs

Types of Disorders (cont)

● Conduct & aggression ○ Most common EBD problem in school-age children ● Socialized aggression ● Schizophrenia ○ rare among children; usually emerges in late teens or twenties

Tips for Teachers 8.3

Key points about gangs

Tips for Teachers 8.4

Understanding violent behavior

Causes of Emotional & Behavioral Disorders

● Causes are complex and multiple ● Biological causes: o Brain disorders o Genetics ● Environmental Causes: o Home conditions o Community conditions

Initial Identification

● Should you refer? Consider these about the behavior: ○ Behavior-age discrepancy ○ Frequency of behavior ○ Number of symptoms ○ Inner suffering (low self esteem, loneliness, low interaction with others, sadness) ○ Harm to others ○ Persistence ○ Severity and duration

What you will likely report

● How often behavior occurs ● Where ● Antecedents and consequences ● When

doesn’t

the behavior occur ● Relationships with other students and teacher ● How severe is the problem ● Measures taken so far

Tips for Teachers 8.5

Making referrals for students with emotional or behavioral disorders

Response to Intervention

● Tier 1: whole class ○ Research-based instruction and classroom management ○ Universal screening ○ Positive behavioral supports ● Tier 2: small groups ○ Work on self-monitoring, self-management, social skills ○

Check-in/check-out

(progress monitoring, earn pts) ● Tier 3: individual ○ Functional behavior assessment ○ If students not responding to interventions, considered for special ed

Tips for Teachers 8.6

Recommendations for effective interventions

Tips for Teachers 8.7

Steps for implementing check-in/check-out (CICO)

Universal Screening

● Useful in identifying students in need of academic support, also those in need of emotional support ● Look at: absences, discipline referrals, requests by teachers for help with student ● Rating scales: social skills, and behavior checklist

Progress Monitoring

● Should occur frequently ● May include o o o Checklists Observation Interviews o Logs or journals ● Determine if interventions should be altered or stopped ● Should also analyze the interventions

Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)

● Looks at the

contributors to

● To identify and address needs of students ● Monitor student’s progress the behavior ● Required for all students with behavior disabilities which interfere with learning

Steps to Create Effective FBA https://www.k12.wa.us/SpecialEd/Families/pubdocs/bestpractices.pdf

1)Identify the undesirable behavior 2)Clearly define desired behaviors 3)Make observations of setting, antecedent, and consequences 4)Develop a hypothesis statement including the function (motivation) of behavior 5)Produce Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP)

Possible Sources for FBA

-Observations in different settings -Student interviews -Teacher interviews -Parent interviews -Rating scales

Teaching Guidelines and Accommodations

● Good relationship between teacher and student ● “Respect the student, dislike the behavior” ● Changing behavior, resolving conflicts and promoting self-control, teaching self-monitoring, teaching self-management, teaching social skills, using social learning strategies, implementing school-based wraparound, adapting instruction

Tips for Teachers 8.8

Creating an appropriate emotional environment

Changing Behavior

● Changing behavior is difficult and takes time o You will make mistakes! Be okay with this.

o o You can’t force a student to change.

Giving positive feedback and recognizing strengths doesn’t just apply to the student--do it for yourself as well!

Tips for Teachers 8.9

Promoting desirable behaviors and decreasing undesirable ones

Tips for Teachers 8.10

Fostering change by targeting key behaviors

Resolving Conflicts

● Conflicts

will

happen; when they do, remember that you are the adult in the room!

● Dealing with extreme cases (violence) o o Don’t physically restrain a student unless you’ve been trained to do so ● Conflict resolution techniques/strategies: Working together: compromising, sharing, taking turns o o Communication: apologizing, I-messages, active listening Defusing: distraction, postponement, humor

Teaching Self Monitoring Skills

●

Teaches student to be aware of themselves

● Helps develop self-control ● Can lead to improvement in other academic and social skills ● Provides concrete evidence of improvement (charts) ● Immediate feedback compared to what a teacher gives ● Increases student’s independence and responsibility ● Individualized goals for student to work toward ● Can increase communication between teacher and parents

Steps to Teach Self Monitoring

● With student, define behaviors to control ● Choose method for recording progress ● Choose a schedule for student to check in with self

Teaching Self-Management Skills

● With student, identify behavior to change ● Identify when and where behavior occurs ● Determine attainable goals and timeline ● Decide on reinforcers and consequences ● Let the student evaluate their own progress in behavior ●

Student implements reinforcers

Reinforcers in Self-Management

● What are some possible reinforcers?

● Suggestions: bcpbs.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/non-cost-mostly-rewards ms_hs.doc

Teaching Social Skills

● Students with EBD often lack basic social skills o o Acquisition, performance, and fluency problems ● Principles for effective Social Skills Training (SST): Tailor training to the specific skills each student needs to learn o Cooperative learning and inclusion of “popular” peers o Involve practice in multiple settings for skill transfer o Encourage reciprocal friendships ● Social learning strategies (peer modeling)

Tips for Teachers 8.11

Guiding students to learn appropriate behaviors from classmates

Implementing School-Based Wraparound

● Involves school, family, and community in servicing the student ● Individualized to each student’s needs and strengths ● Culturally appropriate ● A professional is the wraparound facilitator ● Classroom teachers may be part of wraparound team

Adapting Instruction

● Important for students to feel they are doing worthwhile activities ● Teachers must explain why students are learning a topic, why doing particular assignments, and how they will benefit ● Adapt assignments and expectations

Tips for Teachers 8.12

Adapting instruction for student success