SERIOUS EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCES

-Whitney Piatt

Defining Emotional Disturbances

 Individuals with behavior disorders are “those who chronically and markedly respond to their environment in socially unacceptable ways and/or personally unsatisfying ways but who can be taught more socially acceptable and gratifying behavior” (pg. 291)

*Characteristics*

 1) Conduct Disorder (CD): antisocial, acting out, disrupting, temper tantrums, negative, argumentative, bully, blames, others, selfish, cruel  2) Socialized Aggression (SA): socialized delinquents, possible gang membership, lies, runs away, steals, admires criminals  3) Attention problems-immaturity (AP): acts younger than age, difficulty with directions, distractable

…characteristics cont.

 4) Anxiety Withdrawal (AW): anxious, depressed, believes will fail, complains of being sick, difficulty making decisions  5) Psychotic Behavior (PB): difficulty differentiation between reality and fantasy, hallucinations  6) Motor Excess (ME): jumpy, fidgety, nervous, high activity level

Having a behavior disorder involves…

 Behavior that goes to an extreme- behavior that is not just slightly different from the usual  A problem that is ongoing- one that does not disappear  Behavior that is unacceptable because of social or cultural expectations

SED in Education

*In order to receive special education, the students must exhibit one or more of the following characteristics: 1) An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors 2) An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers 3) Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances 4) A general, pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression 5) A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal school problems

-Students with SED-

      2/3 of students with SED could not pass competency exams for their grade level These children have the lowest GPA of any group of students with disabilities 44% failed one or more courses in their most recent school year They have a higher absenteeism rate than any other disability category (missing an average of 18 days of school per year) 48% drop out of out high school compared with 30% of all students with disabilities and 24% of all high school students Over 50% are not employed within 2 years of exiting school

REFERENCES

 Dunn, J., & Leitschuh, C. (2006). Special Education (11 th ed.). Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt.

 EMOTIONAL & BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS http://www.slc.sevier.org/emoclass.htm