Month: December 2011

adult with child

Emotional Behavioral Disorders Quick Fact Sheet

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Introduction

Emotional Behavioral Disorders, EBD, affects many people. As educators and parents, we need to be aware of the disorders, understand their causes, characteristics, and have a plan for working with children affected by it.

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Definition

Behavioral disorders become apparent when the student displays a repetitive and impact persistent pattern of behavior that results in the significant disruption in other students and to themselves. Such disturbances may cause significant impairments in academic, social, and or occupational functioning. Such a behavior pattern is consistent throughout the individual’s life. The behaviors within EBD vary between individuals and include a large range of symptoms.

Characteristics

Bullying, Physical Aggression, Destruction of Property, Harm to self, Substance Abuse, Phobias, Blame other for Wrong, Doing Physical Abuse to Others, Depression, Withdrawal, Acting Out, Obsessions, Compulsions, Anxiety, Academic Problems

Causes

  • Genetics – Especially depression and schizophrenia
  • Environmental Factors – Frequent exposure to stressers adds to likelihood of Emotional Behavioral Disorders
  • Living Conditions- More likely to develop Emotional Behavioral Disorders in poverty and single parent households
  • Biology – Works together with environment to affect children’s well-being
  • Lack of System Support – Need coordinated, culturally appropriate, & comprehensive supports
  • Child Abuse – An extremely large percent of children abused show signs of Emotional Behavioral Disorders

How to Work with Children

Set Curricular/life Goals- Normally done through the IEP process, may include ways to behave appropriately and how to build friendships
Implement Instruction/Intervention- A different method of instruction may be deemed necessary. Try thinking outside of the box.
Use Referrals- Outside help may be necessary for the child to overcome their disorder and function on a higher level in and out of the classroom.

Work As A Team

The child will need support in order to succeed. This takes effort from teachers, family, and other professionals. It is best when everyone is on the same page.

Learning Theories and Special Education

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There are many different beliefs about how people learn. Within schools, these theories are applied by teachers to maximize the experience of students. By applying an applicable theory that is prevalent to the students, the teachers can help students to retain pertinent information. This applies to how learning theories and special education can work together.

In special education classrooms, teachers need to apply these learning theories, so that students in SPED classrooms can get the most out of their learning. Some of the theories that apply to special education classrooms are: Gestalt, Connection Theory, L. Atincronbsch and R. Snow, Component Display Theory, Gagne’s Conditions of Learning, Cognitive Load Theory, and Sign Learning Theory.

The Gestalt theory is good because it encompasses grouping, which may make it easier for students. It is important to remember, however, that some connections may need to be made for students both verbally and in application because all of the students in an SPED class may not be able to connect the dots independently. The Cognitive Load theory and Sign Learning theory discuss this thought of simplifying and perhaps drawing lines to fully help students learn. A way to help connect the dots for some special education students is the Connection theory. It is based on the students learning from the cause-effect relationship of stimuli and response. Component Display Theory and Conditions of Learning are based on including a variety of elements to learn from both verbal and hands-on. They also discuss a similar structure that is helpful to follow during the learning process.

Taking all of these learning theories into account, the instructor can teach lessons based on how the students will learn the information the best. This seems to interfere with the beliefs of inclusive school settings. Since special needs children are different and learn differently, a traditional teacher may not be directing her lessons at this minority group. One of the mothers I currently work with wants to only have her child in inclusive classrooms. She has even fought a private school to allow for this. It is because her daughter is doing great at learning from peer example, something that the inclusive environment is best for. However, this does not mean that the teacher will be as well prepared to teacher her daughter. This seems to be the most difficult part of learning theory, clumping the kids into one or two categories, when in fact each are so individualized.

NBPTS, the National Board for Professional Standards, encourages teachers to discover their own belief in teaching theories. This helps to provide self-awareness of the teachers. By providing a structure for teachers to be reflective, it can help to assess the teachers’ job at teaching and reaching their students, which in turn helps improve the overall educational environment.

It can also allow teachers to recognize how they are learning best, so that they are encouraged to continue expanding their knowledge. For example, I learn best from a multi-approach, such as the Component Display theory discusses. I also learn well from anchored instruction, Adult Learning, Social Learning theory, and Cognitive Flexibility theory.

I talk with a couple of my families this week about their optimal learning environments and experiences. It seems some learn best when they can apply it to rules, some when they can group it, and some when they are actually applying it. I side with those who learn best with application. Their seems to be a consistency between those I asked and my own beliefs that special needs children learn best from simplified lessons, in non-distracting environments, with fun lessons that they can see and feel the cause-effect of. However, it is not always possible to make all lessons agree with what the child wants to do.

It is important for both parents and teachers to remember to have patients with their children. It is also great to remember that there is a long list of theories that can be applied as different strategies to help teach children, so one is not working, find a new one.

Identifying Learning Disabilities

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This week I corresponded with three individuals involved in the Special Education Process: a regular education teacher, a special education teacher, and a parent. They discussed with me the process of identifying learning disabilities.

The regular education teacher admitted she did not have as much information to share on this topic. The special education teacher provided the IDEA definition of learning disabilities, “A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.”

The parent shared her experience of finding that her son was not performing well on school work and seemed frustrated, however, her son was bright and doing well with other development. She discussed this with the teacher, and they decided to proceed with a screening. This part included vision and hearing screenings, as well as some other tests. Eventually this led to a referral to specialist, which diagnosed her son as having a learning disability.

The special education teacher shared there are a variety of assessments that are used in diagnosing children with learning disabilities. These included ecological, portfolio, individualized intelligence tests, and individualized achievement tests. These tests reveal the child’s skill levels in reading, math, and written language. Most tests look at the children’s deviation from the norm, which can qualify the student for services when there is a variance between the child’s IQ level and their achievement levels.

Students go through a complex process to be diagnosed with learning disabilities. This process is full of tests and can only be started with parents and teachers working as a team to benefit the child’s education. Please let me know of your experiences:)

other health impairments

Physical Health Impairments

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other health impairments

Physical health impairments, PHI, are another disability that might affect your family or those you know. To help me to understand the needs of those with PHI and in turn help me to be a better teacher and civilian, I wanted to do some personal research to what is more specifically entailed with those effected by PHI. The thing I found, in trying to better comprehend Physical Health Impairments, is that they effect individuals differently, so it is important to understand the individual’s history, needs, and desires. This means reading background information, consulting prior teachers/doctors/etc, and being ready to adapt new ideas to the classroom and home environments, so that the child can be included and prosper within the classroom as well as all areas of life. My experiences thus far with those with PHI have mostly been out in society and some in early intervention. I have found that I find it easiest to problem solve how to best help the individual by putting myself into their shoes. In early intervention, we primarily worked on exploring their home environments through textile play and promotion of using/building other muscles to promote overall movement, but as they grow older their needs evolve and can become more entailed. It is important to regularly revisit the goals for the individual and make sure that the goals are not only realistic but also true challenges that help broaden the child’s future. Because PHI is such a broad term, it is important to look at the individual and brainstorm their current challenges, future challenges, and the greatest way to minimize both of these. Here are some items to think about:

  • Accessibility- what in their daily life might be hard to access
  • Endless Possibilities- What are the dreams and hopes for this child
  • Friendships- Who are they going to bond with and enrich themselves socially with
  • Self-confidence- We could all use a little more and these kids especially need it
  • Living Life- In the end it is most important that everyone lives their lives to the fullest with no regrets so help push them to reach those high goals and be the best version of themselves

I would love to hear more about your personal experiences, so feel free to leave a comment

Best Internet Sites for Kids With Special Needs

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The internet is a powerful tool full of everything you need to become aware of what is involved with a diagnosis and coming up with a game plan on how to work with your child to help them become the best version of themselves. Below is a list of the best internet sites for kids with special needs. Please share if you know of any good sites.

General Parental Resources:

Activity Sites:

Speech:

Autism:

 

Down Syndrome: