Define: Emotional Behavioral Disorder
EBD is truly based on personal scenarios, the definitions are always under construction because each case of EBD may be different in some way. They have been compared to, defining a familiar experience. EBD is a disorder that manifests one or more of these characteristics in sufficient duration, frequency and intensity, anxiety, depression, extreme moods or feelings, disordered thought processes, aggressive and/or violent behaviors, hyperactivity, and poor communication skills. The characteristics of EBD adversely affect educational and/or developmental performances in several aspects of life, intrapersonal, academic, vocational, or social skills.
The reason that emotional or behavioral disorders are so hard to define is due to the following reasons (Hallahan,Kauffman, Pullen,11th ed.):
- We lack precise definitions of mental health and normal behavior
- There are substantial differences among conceptual models
- Measurement of emotions and behavior is imprecise.
- Emotional or behavioral disorders often overlap with other disabilities.
The established pattern of emotional or behavioral responses must adversely affect educational or developmental performance, including intrapersonal, academic, vocational, or social skills; be significantly different from appropriate age, cultural, or ethnic norms; and be more than temporary, expected responses to stressful events in the environment. The emotional or behavioral responses must be consistently exhibited in at least three different settings, two of which must be educational settings, and one other setting in either the home, child care, or community. The responses must not be primarily the result of intellectual, sensory, or acute or chronic physical health conditions.
The term "emotional disturbance" (ED) was changed to "emotional behavioral disability" (EBD):
- IDEA '04 uses the term emotional disturbance to describe students with emotional or behavioral disorders, which is the special education category under which students whose behavioral or emotional responses are not typical are served.
- Old versions of IDEA used the term serious emotional disturbance to describe this disability area, but serious was dropped in 1999 when the U.S. Department of Education created the regulations for the 1997 version of IDEA. The government did not, however, change the substance of the definition when it changed the term. Here's what it said about the deletion: "[It] is intended to have no substantive or legal significance. It is intended strictly to eliminate the pejorative connotation of the term 'serious'" (U.S. Department of Education, 1999, p. 12542). In addition, some implied parts of the federal definition are important to understand. For example, although only one characteristic listed in the IDEA '04 definition need be present for the student to qualify for special education, whatever the characteristics, me child's educational performance must be adversely affected. Because nearly all of us experience some mild maladjustment for short periods of our lives, the definition also requires that the child exhibit the characteristic for a long time and to a marked degree, or significant level of intensity.
- The IDEA '04 term and definition have been criticized by many professionals (Kauffman, 2005). To them, using only the wordemotional excludes students whose disability is only behavioral. The exclusion of students who are "socially maladjusted" contributes to this misunderstanding because the term is not actually defined in IDEA '04. Many educators interpret the term social maladjustment as referring to students with conduct disorders or those youth who have been adjudicated for rule violations (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). And the reference to "educational performance" has been narrowly interpreted to mean only academic performance and not behavioral or social performance, life skills, or vocational skills.
EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE -- IDEA DEFINITION (http://www.catherineshafer.com/emotional.html):
A condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period
of time and to a marked degree, which adversely affects a child's educational
performance:
a. An inability to learn which cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or
health factors;
b. An inability to build or maintain satisfactory relationships with peers and
teachers;
c. Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances;
d. A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression; or
e. A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal
and school problems.
The term includes schizophrenia. The term does not apply to children who are
socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they have an emotional disturbance
under [the first part of this definition].
of time and to a marked degree, which adversely affects a child's educational
performance:
a. An inability to learn which cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or
health factors;
b. An inability to build or maintain satisfactory relationships with peers and
teachers;
c. Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances;
d. A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression; or
e. A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal
and school problems.
The term includes schizophrenia. The term does not apply to children who are
socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they have an emotional disturbance
under [the first part of this definition].
Council of Exceptional Children definition (http://nichcy.org/disability/specific/emotionaldisturbance):
[The term] emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) refers to a condition in which behavioral or
emotional responses of an individual in school are so different from his/her generally
accepted, age-appropriate, ethnic, or cultural norms that they adversely affect educational
performance in such areas as self-care, social relationships, personal adjustment,
academic progress, classroom behavior, or work adjustment. EBD is more than a transient,
expected response to stressors in the child's or youth's environment and would persist even
with individualized interventions, such as feedback to the individual, consultation with
parents or families, and/or modification of the educational environment. The eligibility
decision must be based on multiple sources of data about the individual's behavioral or
emotional functioning. EBD must be exhibited in at least two different settings, at least one
of which must be school related.
- EBD can coexist with other disability conditions as defined elsewhere in this law (IDEA).
- This category may include children or youth with schizophrenia, affective disorders, or . . . other
sustained disturbances of conduct, attention, or adjustment.
emotional responses of an individual in school are so different from his/her generally
accepted, age-appropriate, ethnic, or cultural norms that they adversely affect educational
performance in such areas as self-care, social relationships, personal adjustment,
academic progress, classroom behavior, or work adjustment. EBD is more than a transient,
expected response to stressors in the child's or youth's environment and would persist even
with individualized interventions, such as feedback to the individual, consultation with
parents or families, and/or modification of the educational environment. The eligibility
decision must be based on multiple sources of data about the individual's behavioral or
emotional functioning. EBD must be exhibited in at least two different settings, at least one
of which must be school related.
- EBD can coexist with other disability conditions as defined elsewhere in this law (IDEA).
- This category may include children or youth with schizophrenia, affective disorders, or . . . other
sustained disturbances of conduct, attention, or adjustment.
Mental disorders using different “umbrella” terms such as emotional disturbance, behavioral disorders, or mental illness. Beneath these umbrella terms, there is actually a wide range of specific conditions that differ from one another in their characteristics and treatment. These include (but are not limited to): http://nichcy.org/disability/specific/emotionaldisturbance
- anxiety disorders;
- bipolar disorder (sometimes called manic-depression);
- conduct disorders;
- eating disorders;
- obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); and
- psychotic disorders.
Works Cited & Credible EBD Links:
