Under current federal guidelines, students who are considered behavior disordered display at least one of the following features over a long period of time:

• Student is not experiencing academic success, and no explanation can be given for this failure.
• Student cannot develop friendships with his/her classmates - no social skills are seen.
• Student behaves inappropriately under circumstances considered by others to be "normal".
• Student appears depressed and/or unhappy.
• Student complains of physical ailments like stomach aches, headaches, fear, etc…

The definitions for Behavior Disorders are divided into 2 categories: Type I/Mild, and Type II/Clinical-Severe.

TYPE I/Mild TYPE II/Clinical

No progress made in Regular No progress made in Regular

classroom setting, but this class; placement in other types

Success school counseling. Counseling services required by

Past records indicate presence Evidence of clinical evaluations

of behavior problems through- and/or recommendations with

out entire school career. problem areas diagnosed.

Problem areas isolated to just

one classroom, or just one school. Problem at home, in school,

in class, on playground -

Success with Behavior Management Problems remained no

Plans. matter what was tried.

4. What causes behavior disorders?

• Biophysical: Involvement of the biological and/or physical systems including factors such as: genetic background, neurological background, nutritional background, and biochemistry involvement. These types of disorders are usually diagnosed under medical circumstances through medical exams and tests. They sometimes involve medical or drug therapy which may alter or even correct the dysfunction.
• Psychodynamic: This area focuses on the various stages of psychological development, which may be altered or affected by a trauma or some type of conflict. These are identified by psychiatric evaluations which focus on specific developmental periods. Treatment usually involves counseling by a psychiatrist to reduce conflict - no drug therapy mentioned.
• Behavioral: This theory concentrates on antecedents and consequences centered around behavior. These types of behaviors are usually the result of learning situations, types of conditioned responses, how behavior is reinforced, and how behavior is punished. This type of behavior is usually identified through observation, and areas that "trigger" the behavior are listed. Treatment involves behavior therapy where learning environment is specified and monitored.
• Pyschoeducational: This area focuses on student’s ability to adjust to school, and how student’s behavior changes in this environment. Usually triggered by developmental delays along with pre-determined expectations of others. They are usually identified

through observations and events which control the behavior are named. Usually treated with "re-teaching" and focuses on individual progress along with some changes in the existing system.

5. What are some characteristics of students with behavior disorders?

Students with behavior disorders have many and varied characteristics - each student is different. Many of these students exhibit perceptual deficits, as well as inhibited communication skills and problem behaviors. These areas of deficit directly affect the student’s academic performance. The following areas have been isolated as problematic:

• COGNITIVE: The majority of students with behavior disorders score in the mid to low average range on standardized IQ tests. Basically, the student’s behavior(s) throughout their educational experience has prevented them from learning and comprehending all of the necessary academic areas mandated for success in school.

• COMMUNICATION: Students with behavior disorders are unable to express themselves through communication. This usually begins when the students fail to share their feelings, and instead suppress them inwardly. This lack of sharing creates further problems within the student’s mind, convincing the student that he/she is worthless - not worthy of friendships, etc... The more worthless the student feels, the less he/she communicates his/her feelings. A vicious cycle of failure begins.

• SOCIAL-ADAPTIVE: Students with behavior disorders OBVIOUSLY behave differently than their peers. Because "negative" attention is the only type of attention these students have gotten throughout their entire schooling career, they feel that negative behavior is what others expect of them. Classmates build a resentment towards students who constantly misbehave. They

3. Describe the different procedures they must undertake when disciplining a student identified with emotional and behavioral disorders and receiving services in special education and a student who is socially maladjusted.

"When disciplining a student who’s ED/BD, the most important thing for the teacher to do is NOT GET MAD! These students love for the teacher to lose his/her cool - and staying calm is the key. The next most important issue is having a plan of action - and sticking to it. These students must know all of your procedures, and the consequences for not completing each procedure. There can be NO surprises! I feel like a point system is valuable, because the students can see immediate feedback for positive or negative behavior. In my classroom, each student has a chart on his/her desk where we record progress in 15 minute intervals. Each student must successfully pass all 5 levels on our behavior plan to be mainstreamed back into the regular class. These students have to earn EVERYTHING - and I have to keep track of every loss or gain! Another important issue, when dealing with BD students, is never confront them in front of an ‘audience’. I must always speak with them in private. If and when I have to remove a student from my classroom, I have to have a plan of action. I have to know who to call, and they have to know what to do when I do call them!

Discipline with a socially maladjusted student is entirely different. First of all, I seldom have a confrontation with these students because they don’t know how to respond. My goal when one of these children behaves inappropriately is to make sure they understand exactly what they did to cause a problem. Many, many times they have no idea that what they did or didn’t do was wrong! I always try to do this, again, in private. Once I’ve identified with the student what was done that shouldn’t have been, I explain to that child an alternative reaction for them to practice. Most of the time this works. If it is unsuccessful, we try again using another tactic."

4. Describe the special programs, schools, placements, or opportunities that exist within their school district for students with emotional and behavioral disorders and those who are socially maladjusted.

"My classroom is the only one in our school system - and this is the first year for this program. We have no other programs, schools, opportunities, etc., for these students to be placed in. It’s sad, but very true! Unfortunately, socially maladjusted students are not considered a priority for my program. Most of these students have to function in the regular classroom, with minimal resource

assistance. As far as BD students are concerned, my classroom limit is 8. That

means that out of the 13 elementary schools in our system, only 8 students TOTAL will receive intervention. Pathetic!"

5. Estimate the numbers of students you have in your school with emotional and behavioral disorders and those who are socially maladjusted.

"In my opinion, at least 35% of our school’s population are behavior disordered. Unfortunately, only about 5% of these students are identified and receiving services of any kind. With my class being the only one of it’s kind, selection of students is definitely limited! At the rate that students with behavior disorders are appearing within our system, I feel an additional 5 BD classrooms could easily be justified."