SPECIAL

EDUCATION

DR. ADELAILA J. LEAÑO

 Special Education
• defined as individually planned,
systematically implemented and
carefully evaluated instruction to help
exceptional children achieve the greatest
possible personal self-sufficiency and
success in present and future
functioning.
• Other Classes of exceptional learners:
disabled, handicapped, impaired and
special.
• Disability – is defined as the capacity to
undertake work in the presence of
impairment.
• Handicapped – pertains to the social
reaction that the impairment generates
from the so-called normal group of the
general public.
• Impairment – refers to a measurable
psychological and functional loss of
capability in comparison with the normal
range of variance among the population.
 LEGAL BASES / Points of View about Special Education
• Special Education is a legislatively governed
enterprise. (Bases: Article XIV, Sections 1 and 5,
Article XIII, Section 11 of 1987 Constitution;
RA 7277 or Magna Carta for Disabled Persons)
• Special Education is a part of the country’s
educational system. (Inclusive Education)
• Special Education is teaching children and
youth with special needs to the Least Restrictive
Environment (LRE).
• Special Education is purposeful intervention.
(Early Intervention)
 Vision for Children with Special Needs
By the 21st century, it is envisioned that the special child
• could be adequately provided with basic
education.
• more importantly, he/she is God-loving
and proud of being a Filipino.
• will get full parental and community
support for his/her education without
discrimination of any kind
• should be provided with a healthy
environment along with leisure and
recreation and social security measures.
 Policy on Inclusive Education for All
• Inclusive Education form an integral
component of the overall
educational system that is committed
to an appropriate education for all
children and youth with special needs
 Goals of SPED Program of the DepED
The pronged goals include:
• The development of key strategies on
legislation,’
• human resource development
• family involvement and
• active participation of government and non-
governmental organizations
• To address major issues:
a. Attitudinal barriers of the general public
b. Effort towards institutionalization and
sustainability of SPED programs and services.
 Special Education Aims
• provide a flexible and individualized support system for
children and youth with special needs in a regular class
environment in schools nearest the student’s home.
• provide support services, vocational programs and
work training, employment opportunities for efficient
community participation and independent living.
• implement a life-long curriculum to include early
intervention and parent education, basic education
and transition programs on vocation training or
preparation for college.
• make available an array of educational programs and
services
 RANGE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS
AND SERVICES
• Special Education Center - is a service delivery
system which operates on the “school within
the school concept”.
– Principal – administers the Center following the
rules and regulations for a regular school
– The SPED teacher – manages special or self-
contained class, mainstreaming, tutorial and
mentoring resource room services, assessment,
parent education, guidance and counseling and
advocacy programs to promote the education of
children with special needs in regular schools.
• Special Class or Self-contained class –. A special
class is composed of pupils with the same
exceptionality or disability.
• Integration and Mainstreaming Programs – have
allowed children and youth with disabilities to
study in regular classes and learn side by side with
their peers. Integration was the term used earlier.
*Partial *Full
• Special Day School – serves one or more types of
disabilities.
• Residential School - provide both special education
and dormitory services for its students.
 WHAT IS INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
• Inclusion describes the process by which a
school accepts children with special needs for
enrolment in regular classes where they can
learn side with their peers.
• What are the salient features of
Inclusive Education?
• Inclusion –
– means implementing and maintaining warm
and accepting classroom communities that
embrace and respect diversity of differences.
– Implements multi-level, multimodality
curriculum.
–Prepares regular teachers and special
education teachers to teach
interactively.
–Provides continuous support for
teachers to break down barriers of
professional isolation.
– Inclusion involves parents, families
and significant others in planning
meaningful ways for students with
special needs to learn in regular class
with their normal peers.
SUPPORT SERVICES FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
SPED Programs can implement only the screening
and informal assessment to have the child enroll
as early as possible.
• Referral Services – are solicited from medical
and clinical specialists.
– Clinical Psychologist, School Psychologist,
Psychometrician – for psychological testing.
– Medical Doctor and Dentist
– Ophthalmologist – for those with blindness and low
vision
– Otologist or Otolaryngologist – hearing loss,
deafness, language and speech disorders.
– Neurologist and Child Psychiatrist – mental
retardation, learning disabilities and emotional-
behavioral disorders
– Speech therapist – language and speech
problem
– Physical and Occupational therapist – with
physical disabilities
– Interpreter for Deaf – who communicates
verbal activities to deaf children through speech
reading, sign language and gestures.
– Orientation and Mobility Instructor – teaches
independent travel techniques to blind children
• Assistive Technology – are specialized
instructional and learning materials and
equipment that enable children with special
needs to function efficiently.
– For Blind Students – Braille writer, Braille slate and
stylus, Braille books, Braille watch, Braille ruler and
tape measure, Braille calculator, arithmetic slate,
computer with voice synthesizer, embossed
materials, manipulative materials, talking books,
tape recorder, Braille paper
– For Low Vision students – large print books, sign
language book, large print type writer, magnifying
lenses, Grade I lined pad paper.
– For Deaf Students – individual hearing aid,
sign language book, speech kit, wall
mirror, speech trainer, group hearing aid.
– For children with Mental Retardation –
teacher-made materials specific to the
Individual Educational Plan (IEP) on the
functional curriculum and adaptive
behavior skills
– For children with Physical Disabilities –
mobility devices such as wheelchair, braces
and splints, adjustable desk, table and chair,
communication aids for clear speech,
adapted computer system.
 TYPES OF EXCEPTIONALITIES
• GIFTEDNESS AND TALENT
• Giftedness. Individuals who have considerable
high IQ and are capable of high performance
and demonstrate potential ability in any of the
following six areas:
– General intellectual ability,
– specific academic aptitude,
– creative or productive thinking,
– leadership ability
– ability in the visual or performing arts, and
– psychomotor ability
• Talented. Individuals who excel in one or more
specific areas of endeavor, drama, art, music,
leadership, math, literature, etc.
• Basic Concepts on Giftedness and Talent
The following are the basic characteristics:
– Intense curiosity
– Fascination with words and ideas
– Perfectionism
– Need for precision
– Learning in great intuitive leaps
– Intense need for mental stimulation
• The following are the learning characteristics:
–Acquisition and retention of
knowledge
–Exceptional user of knowledge in the
application and comprehension of
knowledge
–Exceptional generator of knowledge
(individual and creative attitudes
–Exceptional attitudes (individual
motivational attributes)
• Other types of learners include:
– Average or Normal Learners - have the ability to
excel; with an I.Q. of 90-110.
– Superior or Bright Learners – Intelligent; critical
thinker; observant; open-minded; creative; fast
learner; sensitive to his environment;
– Slow learners –easy to give-up; limited reasoning
power; attention seeker; slow in vocabulary and with
I.Q. of 76-89.
– Over achievers –perform above the potential
indicated by the I.Q. or mental ability.
– Underachievers – Have good intellectual abilities but
who do not perform well for some factors like
daydreaming; poor motivation, disorganized family
problem,
• Assessment of Gifted and Talented
Children – Pre-referral intervention,
multi-factored evaluation,
curriculum compacting, enrichment,
acceleration and self-contained class.
– Multi-factored Evaluation
–Acceleration Curriculum Compacting
–Horizontal Enrichment
–Vertical Enrichment
–Self-contained Class
 2. MENTAL RETARDATION
• MENTAL RETARDATION – refers to substantial
limitations in present functioning. It is
characterized by significantly sub-average
intellectual functioning, existing concurrently
with related limitations in two or more of the
following adaptive skills areas:
communication, self-care, home living, social
skills, community use, self-direction, health
and safety, functional academics, leisure and
work.
Mental Retardation manifests before age 18.
• MR manifests before age 18 to 22. This means
that condition can start during pregnancy until
the age of 18 to 22.
• Classifying of MR:
A) IQ Ranges
– The milder forms of mental retardation;
– 50-70 – Mild – (Intermittent Support) - can care for
themselves, can finish elementary and high schools
and can even hold responsible for semi-skilled jobs.
– 35-49 – Moderate – (Limited Support) - maybe
trained to care for themselves; reach primary level of
education, can hold menial jobs, but have difficulty
maintaining social relationships.
B) the more severe forms of MR that
clusters the moderate, severe and
profound types.
–20-34 – Severe – (Extensive Support) –
may learn sedimentary language and
work skills but unable to care for
themselves.
–I.Q below 20 – Profound – (Pervasive
Support) - can spend their lives in
institutions that provide custodial
care, not capable of true interaction.
• *The classifications
– “educable mental retardation”
(EMR); and
–“trainable mental retardation” (TMR)
are no longer used.
• Causes of MR: Based on time of onset:
– Prenatal or biological (occurring before
birth) – also called chromosomal disorders:
Down Syndrome (named after Dr. Langdon
Down).
– Genetic Defect occurs during gestation
(Down Syndrome / Mongolism, Trisomy
21).
 What is Down Syndrome?
• Human being normally has 23 pairs of
chromosome with one member coming
syndrome has an extra, 3rd chromosome on
the twenty-first pair.
• The extra chromosome can come from
either the mother’s egg or by the father’s
sperm.
• They are moderately retarded and exhibit
distinctive physical characteristics (small ears,
small hands, short neck, feet and fingers,
protruding tongue, and fold over the eyes,
almond shaped appearance.
• Down Syndrome was called Mongolism and
victims were called “mongoloid idiots”.
– Hereditary – mental capacity is inherited from his
past familial ancestor
– Perinatal (occurring during birth)
– Postnatal and environmental (occurring shortly
after birth)
– Socio-cultural Deprivation – families who fail to
provide adequate intellectual stimulation; lack of
medical support with school.
– Brain Damage - caused by drugs or alcohol
ingested by pregnant women with diseases like
rubella (German Measles).
 Methods of instruction:
• Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
• Task Analysis
• Active Student Response (ASR) like
Systematic Feedback through positive
reinforcement for correct responses:
simple positive comments, gestures or
facial expressions.
 How to help Learners with Mental Retardation?
• Set goals that are realistic for the individual and the
community in which the individual lives.
• Assign tasks that (a) are personally relevant, (b)
are carefully sequenced from easy to difficult, and
(c) allow learner to be highly and frequently
successful.
• Recognize the individual strengths and weakness
provide incentives for performance, and establish
necessary rules for behavior.
• Explain the required tasks in terms of concrete
concepts.
• When given instructions, be specific and briefly
summarize
 Principles in Teaching Children with Mental Retardation
• Principle of Individual Differences
• Principle of concreteness
• Principle of Generalization by application
• Principle of Specificity
• Principle of Sensual Stimulation
Assessment Procedures – Traditional, Team
Based, Activity Based, Cognitive Assistant
Tools and Adaptive Behavior.
 3. LEARNING DISABILITIES (LD)

• It is a generic term that refers to a

heterogeneous group of disorders
manifested by significant difficulties in
the acquisition and use of listening,
speaking, reading, writing, reasoning or
mathematical abilities which are
intrinsic to the individual which is
presumed to be due to the central
nervous system dysfunction.
• The group of disorders is heterogeneous.
• IQ achievement discrepancy.
• Learning disabilities is intrinsic.
• Criteria in determining the presence of
LD
– Severe discrepancy between the child’s
potential and actual achievement.
– Exclusion or absence of mental retardation,
sensory impairment and other disabilities.
– Need for special education services.
 Characteristics of children with LD
• Reading difficulty (DYSLEXIA) – refers to
disturbance in the ability to learn in
general and the ability to learn to read in
particular.
• Spoken Language (DEVELOPMENTAL
APHASIA) – loss of speech functions, often,
but not always due to brain injury.
• Mathematical difficulty (DYSCALCULIA)
• Writing difficulties (DYSGRAPHIA)
• Speech (APRAXIA) – also known as
verbal apraxia. The child has trouble
saying what he/she wants to say
correctly and consistently.
• DYSARTHRIA – A speech condition
where the weakening of the muscles of
the mouth, face and respiratory system
affects the production of oral language.
• Children with ADD (Attention Deficit
Disorder) and ADHD (Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder). These are
conditions in which children exhibit
differences in the ability to pay attention
and to engage in work compared to their
normal peers (inattention, hyperactivity,
and impulsivity.)
• Behavior problems – inattention,
impulsivity, hyperactivity.
• Social Acceptance is low.
• Tend to fail and be retained in a grade level.
 How to help them?
• Always remember the major purpose or
objective of the learning disabled efforts.
• Be sure you don’t expect the individual to
perform beyond his capacity.
• Realize the working in area of disability is
frustrating.
• Try another way in finding a different method
of making teaching easier for LD persons.
• Try to figure out what strategies the learning
disabled individual is using to learn.
 4. VISUAL IMPAIRMENT

• Visual Impairment refers to a visual

problem requiring modification or
adjustment in a student’s educational
program, Blindness existed when vision
is measurably to be 20/200 or less in
the better eye with connection or when
the visual field is significantly less then
what is considered to be normal.
 Classification of Visual Impairment
– Low Vision/ Partially Sighted
– Blind
Types and Causes of Visual Impairment
– Errors of refraction – hyperopia, myopia
and astigmatism
– Imbalance of the eye muscle – strabismus,
amblyopia and nystagmus
– Diseases of the eye – cataract, diabetic
retinopathy, coloboma and glaucoma
– Trauma or accidents
 HOW TO HELP STUDENTS WITH LOW VISION?
• Special Optical Devices
• Large Print
• Classroom Modification
• Recorded books, magazines and other
materials come with synthetic speech
equipment.
• Braille
• Special Type Writer
• Manipulative and Tactile Aids
• Technological aids
• Ask whether you can be of any assistance
to a person with visual impairment
• When acting as a sighted guide, approach
steps to the visually impaired person.
• Be sure to talk directly to the person and
not to his companion.
• In entering and learning a room, let
them (blind person) know it.
• Set students with visual impairments that
maximize any residual vision.
 5. HEARING IMPAIRMENT
This is a disability which refers to the reduced
function or loss of the normal function of the
hearing mechanism.
• Two main categories of hearing impairment:
– hard of hearing,
– deaf
• Classifications:
– Conductive hearing loss occurs in the outer and
middle ear;
– Sensorineural hearing impairment occurs in the inner
ear (cochlea) wherein the neural energy delivered to
the brain is distorted or not delivered at all.
– Mixed hearing impairment: unilateral (one ear) or
bilateral (both ears).
 Identification or Assessment of
children with Hearing Impairment
• Audiological Evaluation
– Audiology – the science of testing and evaluating
hearing ability to detect and describe hearing
impairments.
• The use of audiometer, an electronic device that generates
sound at different levels of intensity and frequency.
– Informal Hearing Tests: Whisper test, Conversational
live, voice test, Ball pen click test, Tuning Fork test
• Pure Tone Audiometry
• Cognitive Assessment
 How to help them
• Talk directly to the person with a hearing impairment
when there is an interpreter
• Write messages or key phrases down if necessary
• Use gestures and facial expressions as much as possible
• Consider trimming facial hair if you work with hearing
impaired. It gets the person attention by waving your
hand or tapping him on the shoulder.
• Familiarize yourself with the basic operation of a person’s
hearing aid as well as the capabilities of the person using
it.
• Speak naturally and clearly; do not over dramatize or
over enunciate.
• Seat the students with hearing impairments appropriately,
near the speaker or the interpreter, away from noise and
glaring light.
 6. PHYSICAL IMPAIRMENTS
This refers to individual who have functional
disabilities related to physical skills Moreover, This
condition affects the bones and muscles and
makes mobility manual dexterity difficult or even
impossible.
• Types:
–Orthopedic –
• Poliomyelitis- infantile paralysis
• Osteomyelitis – tuberculosis of the bone
• Bone fracture – breakage in the continuity
of the bone.
• Muscular dystrophy – long-term diseases that
progressively weakens, deteriorates and wastes
away the muscles of the body.
• Osteogenesis imperfecta – skeletal systems fail
to grow normally, and bones are easily
fractured.
• Limb defieciency – absence or partial loss of an
arm or leg.
– Quadriplegia – all four limbs are loss.
– Paraplegia - motor impairment of the legs only
– Hemiplegia – Only one side of the body is
e\affected.
– Diplegia – major involvement of the legs, with less
severe involvement of the arms.
 – Monoplegia – only one limb is affected.
– Triplegia – three limbs are affected.
– Double hemiplegia – major involvement of the
arms, with less severe involvement of the legs.
• Crippling conditions –
– Clubfoot – the child is born with 1 or 2 feet
deformed usually with the feet and toes turned
inward, outward or upward often accompanied by
webbed toes.
– Clubhand – the same with clubfoot but the hand
and fingers are deformed.
– Polydactylism – the child is born with extra toes and
fingers.
– Syndactylism – the fingers or toes or both are
webbed like those of fowls, ducks and hens.
• Neurological –
– Cerebral Palsy – children have little or no control
over the arms, legs, or speech depending on the
type or degree of impairment. They may have
impaired vision or hearing, perceptual and
sensory difficulties, learning difficulties and
intellectual impairments.
– Hypertonia – (spasticity) tense and contracted
muscles and the movements are jerky,
exaggerated and poorly coordinated.
– Hypotonia – (weak and floppy muscles
particularly in the neck and trunk).
– Athetosis – slow, worm-like involuntary,
uncontrollable and purposeless movements.
– Ataxia – disturbance of balance and equilibrium
resulting in a gait like that of a drunken person
when walking and may fell easily if not
supported.
– Rigidity – marked resistance of the muscles to
passive motion and display extreme stiffness in
the affected limbs.
– Tremor – marked by rhythmic, uncontrollable
movements or trembling of the body or limbs.
– Mixed type – the presence of traits mentioned
in the preceding categories.
• Spina Bifida – a congenital defect in the
vertebrae that encloses the spinal cord. 80% to
90% of children with spina bifida develop
hydrocephalus, the accumulation of
cerebrospinal fluid in tissues surrounding the
brain that could lead to enlargement of the
head and severe brain damage.
• Spinal Cord injuries - may cause paralysis.
• Traumatic brain injury – temporary or lasting
symptoms may include cognitive and
language deficits, memory loss, seizures and
perceptual disorders.
Health Impairments - chronic or acute health
problems that adversely affect their educational
performance; present over long periods and tend to
get better or disappear.
• Examples: asthma, diabetes,
epilepsy (seizures) like the following:
– Generalized tonic-clonic seizure (formerly called grand
mal). The entire body shakes violently as the muscles
alternately contract; saliva may be forced out; legs and
arms jerk; and bladder and bowels may be emptied.
– Absence seizure (petit mal) occur more frequently as
often as 100 times. There is a brief loss of
consciousness (half a minute), stare blankly, flutter or
blink his/her eyes, grow pale, or drop whatever he/she
is holding.
 – Partial seizure – (psychomotor seizure) brief
period of inappropriate or purposeless activity.
The child may smack his/her lips, walk around
aimlessly, or shout, sudden jerking motions
with no loss of consciousness.
• Hemophilia – rare hereditary disorder in
which the blood does not clot as quickly as it
should.
• Burns –
• Other forms of health impairments: heart
conditions, leukemia or severe anemia,
rheumatic fever, nephritis, and lead poisoning.
 How to help them
• Treat them as normal people
• Don’t underestimate their abilities because of
such health problems. Be aware of their
specific situation and special needs
• Be concerned about their psychological
manifestation
• Ask whether users like some assistance
• Consider sitting down or kneeling in short
conversation with wheel chair users to get the
same level as they.
 7. AUTISM

• Autism means a developmental disability

affecting verbal and non-verbal
communication and social interactions
generally evident before age 3 that adversely
affects the child’s educational performance.
Other characteristics associated with autism
are engagement in repetitive activities and
stereotyped movements, resistance to
environmental changes, or change in daily
routines, and unusual responses to sensory
experiences.
• AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER – is a
developmental disability that severely hinders
the way information is gathered and processed
by the brain, causing problems in
communication, learning and social behaviors.
– Autistic Disorder – extreme withdrawal and
impairment in communication and other
characteristics like the following:
• Qualitative impairment of social interaction (lack of
social or emotional reciprocity)
• Qualitative impairment of communication (delay or total
absence of spoken language)
• Restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of
behavior, interest, and activities (persistence
preoccupation with parts of objects).
• Asperger Syndrome – is a milder form
of autism without significant
impairments in language and
cognition; characterized by primary
distinctive feature is impairments in all
social areas particularly an inability to
understand how too interact socially.
– They do not have language delay
– Have average or higher or above-average
intelligence and communication skills
– Display most if not all of the other
characteristics of autism.
– Highly verbal.
• Rett Syndrome - normal
development for five months to
four years, apparently normal early
infancy followed by regression and
mental retardation; then loss of
previously acquired skills, loss of
purposeful use of hands replace by
repetitive hand movements – much
more prevalent in FEMALES.
• Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CCD) –
normal development for at least two and
up to ten years, followed by significant loss
of skills; much more prevalent among
MALES; (Regressive autism).
• Pervasive Development Disorder not
Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) There is a
severe and pervasive impairment in
specified behaviors, have significant
impairments in socialization with
difficulties in either communication or
restricted interests.
 Causes
• Early Causal Theories. No causal link between
parental personality and autism has ever been
discovered (1977, Autism Society of America)
• Today’s Causal Theories.
– Neurological Basis of Autism Spectrum Disorders
– Hereditary basis
• Areas (Symptoms) that are among these may be
affected by autism (Autism Society of the Phils.):
– Communication
– Social Interaction
– Sensory Impairment
– Play
– Behaviors
Guide for Parents (Autism Society Philippines):
• No pointing by 1 year
• No babbling by 1 year, no single words
by 16 months, no two-word phrases by
24 months;
• No pretend playing
• Little interest in making friends
• Extremely short attention span
• No response when called by name,
indifference to others
• Little or no eye contact
• Repetitive body movements, such as
hand clapping, rocking
• Intense tantrums
• Fixations on single object, such as a
pinning fan
• Unusually strong resistance to changes in
routines
• Oversensitivity to certain sounds,
textures or smells
 Educational Approaches
• Critical Importance of Early Intensive
Behavioral Intervention
• Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
8. SPEECH AND LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENT
• Speech is abnormal when it deviates so far from
the speech of other people that it calls attention to
itself, interferes with communication or causes the
speakers, or listeners to feel distressed.
• Basic Concepts on Speech and Language
Impairment
• Three types of speech problems
– Voice disorders
– Articulation disorders
– Fluency disorders
• Stuttering –
• Cluttering
• Voice disorders- are deviations in phonations
such as:
– Pitch (too high or too low)
– Frequency (too loud or too soft)
– Quality ( pleasant or irritating to the ear
– Speech can be hoarse
• Vocal resonance is affected by impedance in the
flow of air:
– Hypernasality - too much air flow and voice seems to
come from the nose
– Hyponasality – air flow is too little & the voice seems
to be impeded by severe colds
• Articulation disorder – errors in the formation
of speech sounds:
– Omission (see for seen)
– Substitution (wip for lip)
– Distortion (talt for salt)
– Addition of extra sounds (buhrown for brown)
• Fluency disorders:
– Cluttering – speech is very fast with extra sounds
and mispronounced sounds.
– Stuttering – is marked by “rapid-fire repetitions of
consonant or vowel sounds especially at the
beginning or word and complete verbal blocks.
• Language disorders – are those characterized
by abnormal acquisition, comprehension or
expression of spoken or written language.
• Language disorders may be classified according
to
– Form problems
– Content problems
– Pragmatic problems
• Some examples are
– Central auditory processing disorders
– Aphasia
– Apraxia
– Dysarthria
• Language disorders – are those characterized by abnormal
acquisition, comprehension or expression of spoken or
written language.
• Language disorders may be classified according to
– Form problems (cover phonology, morphology, and syntax
problems that range from difficulty of decoding spoken
language, abnormal use of prefixes, to abnormal structure of
words and wrong use of tenses.)
– Content problems ( include semantic disorders manifested in
poor vocabulary development, inappropriate use of words, and
poor comprehension of meaning of words.)
– Pragmatic problems – ( cover the ability to comprehend or use
language in context or conversation on various situations)
• Some examples are
– Central auditory processing disorders
– Aphasia
– Apraxia
– Dysarthria
 How to help them
• Teachers and parents should be aware of what
skills and behavior the speech therapist is aiming
• Listen attentively – patiently when the person is
talking
• Explain what you didn’t understand and ask for
clarifications in the utterances of person
• Look at and not away from them when they talk
• Encourage but do not force them to talk
• Do not say things for them
• Encourage them to participate in group
activities/tasks
 9. EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCES / BEHAVIOR DISORDERS
These are disorders referring to disabilities of
individuals to function adequately in a psychological
or social context.
• Basic Concepts on Emotional / Behavioral
Disorders
It is a condition exhibiting one or more of the
following characteristics over a long period of time
(chronicity), and to a marked degree (severity)
which adversely affects educational performance
(difficulty in school)
– An inability to learn which cannot be explained by
intellectual, sensory and health factors
–An inability to build or maintain
satisfactory interpersonal relationships
with peers and teachers
–Inappropriate types of behavior or
feeling under normal circumstances
–A general pervasive mode of
unhappiness or depression
–A tendency to develop physical
symptoms or fears associated with
personal or social problems
• Three factors are considered if a
child is emotionally disturbed
–Intensity – refers to the severity of the
child’s problem.
–Pattern – means the time when the
problem occurs
–Duration of behavior – refers to the
length of time the child’s problem has
been present.
• Related disorders are schizophrenia
and autism
• This does not include children who
are socially maladjusted unless it is
determined that they are seriously
emotionally disturbed.
 Characteristics of children and youth with
emotional and behavioral disorders
• Intelligence, intellectual characteristics, and
academic achievement
– Most could not pass competency examination for
their grade level
– Have the lowest grade point average of any group of
students with disabilities
– 40% failed one or more courses in their most recent
school year
– Have higher absenteeism rate
– Most dropped out
– Often not employed within 2 years of exiting school
• Social Skills and Interpersonal Relationships
– Often experience great difficulty in
developing and maintaining interpersonal
relationships as early as during early
childhood
– Tend to have low empathy for others –
“I don’t care attitudes”
– Participate in fewer curricular activities
– Fewer contacts with friends
– Show lower quality interpersonal
relationships.
• Antisocial Behavior
–Consistent and frequent disordered
patterns of behavior that violate the
rules and regulations at home, the laws
of the community and the country.
–Other very challenging behaviors are
often displayed inside the classroom.
• Do not complete school work
• Run around, hit and pick up fights
• Disturb their classmates, ignore, talk back
to and argue with teachers and school
authorities
• Oppositional Defiant Disorder
– Often loses one’s temper
– Often argues with adult request or rules
– Often actively defies or refuses to comply with
adult requests or rules
• Externalizing and internalizing behavioral
disorders
– Out-of-seat behavior
– Making unnecessary noise
– Truancy
– Constant talking to self and others
• Aggressive and violent behavior
–Mild forms of aggression
• Abusive – teasing, clowning around,
tattling, and bullying
–Severe aggression – physical harm,
physical attack, destruction of property,
and cruelty.
• Delinquency
– Refers to the criminal offenses
committed by an adolescent.
 How to help them
• Do not let yourself be caught up in their
pathology
• They need to know what is okay and what
is not. Don’t keep them guessing
• Don’t expect love and attention in return.
You must be willing to extend love,
affection and structure
Management of behavior problems in the
classrooms; simple strategies that can cut down
classroom disruptions
• Establish respect for the teacher
• Know when to ignore a situation
• Charge the pace
• Give reminders and warnings. Reminding
students of classroom rules and the
consequences of breaking serves as early
warning
• Move closer or put an arm around the student
calm the student down- especially at the first
sign of a problem, before it gets out of hand.