Teaching Students With EBD Perhaps

¶ … Teaching Students with EBD

Perhaps one of the most tragic elements of primary school is the suffering some children experience because of undiagnosed, misdiagnosed, or ignored psychological or educational disorders. Today, however, most educators recognize the vital necessity of catering to children's needs when educating them. If these needs are not met, the children in question could experience both short- and long-term problems, not only with education, but also with their interpersonal relationships, their ability to find and retain employment, and other issues.

However, it is also important to recognize that identifying categories for children suffering from learning or emotional disorders is by no means a simple task. One of the challenges is distinguishing among children who are simply being difficult and those suffering from conditions such as EBD. A further challenge is that, once the distinction and diagnosis have been made, the educator still faces controversies relating to the different definitions and emphases when working with these children.

To mitigate such challenges and issues, a good idea is to assemble teams of different experts and concerned parties. This can help to provide children diagnosed with EBD to relate better to their work and peers, as well as with the educators concerned with their progress. When such individuals work together, they can do much towards helping children going through these challenges to reclaim the joy that is supposed to be part and parcel of childhood.

Teams

The special education team for this course will include Ms. Marjorie Helm, a regular educator in English language arts; Ms. Tammy Hillside, a special educator; Mr. Tanner Whitmore, the school psychiatrist; Mr. Stephen Hake, the school guidance counselor; Ms. Anna Gonzales, the parent of an 8-year-old daughter diagnosed with EBD; and Mr. John Jefferson, also a parent with a son suffering from the same condition.

Ms. Helm was chosen for her expertise in language arts, because communication and interaction is one of the specific challenges children with EBD face. As part of the team, she can contribute valuable communication strategies to help these children voice their concerns and emotions in a guided and appropriate way.

Ms. Hillside, in turn, can work closely together with Ms. Helm, as she specializes in communication techniques for emotionally troubled children.

Mr. Whitmore specializes in developmental psychiatry, and can use his expertise to contribute towards an understanding of the underlying issues and challenges that EBD children n face. Mr. Hake can also contribute to this understanding in a practical way, as he often works with children suffering from the disorder. As such, he can contribute and recommend specific techniques to help deal with these children.

The parents, Ms. Gonzales and Mr. Jefferson, can contribute their own experiences with their children, as well as techniques that they found to work particularly well. In a practical sense, the most important contribution the parents can make is towards liaising with other parents to help create a global understanding of children suffering from this disorder. Furthermore, these parents can also help others to identify potential symptoms in their own children, and as a result obtain the help they need as soon as possible.

Diagnostic Concerns

One of the concerns in diagnosing EBD in children lies in its definition, and concomitantly in the documentation used to diagnose the disorder. Psychiatrists and psychologists, for example, tend to favor the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) by the American Psychiatric Association in defining and identifying the disorder. Educators, on the other hand, tend to use dimensional systems such as the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), which defines behaviors as internalizing an externalizing groups. The differentiating interpretations of child behavior obtained in this way make it difficult to provide integrated services that cater to the specific needs of each child diagnosed.

Martines (2007, p. 54), for example, states that generally accepted current definitions of the disorder complicates the issue of obtaining the appropriate help for children with EBD. Great emphasis is, for example, placed upon the emotional factors implied in the definition, while the educational factor is somewhat underemphasized. This means that children suffering from behavior or emotional disturbances will not be eligible for special education services unless this is also affecting their academic performance. This separation of issues can result in severe difficulties for these children later in life. On the other hand, if such children do receive the special education attention they need, they can learn to not only adjust to and interact with their social situation in a more acceptable way, but also to adjust to new educational environments in an effective manner.

What is needed is therefore an integrated approach towards the difficulties experienced by children with EBD. This is what the above-mentioned SPED team would be assembled to accomplish. The fact that a multiplicity of relationships with these children are implied by the professions and expertise of the team members will help to form a more uniform, integrated way of defining EBD itself, and diagnosing those suffering from the disorder. In this way, solutions can also be obtained in a more integrated manner, where there is a recognition that, although children might not currently suffer academically as a result of their condition their future careers may be in jeopardy because of their emotional and psychological issues.

In order to resolve the situation, I would therefore draw upon the various areas of expertise represented within the team to construct an integrated set of steps to diagnose children with EBD, consult with the parents and carers involved with such children, and construct ways to address all the issues they face, whether socially, psychologically or educationally. The solutions obtained in this way can then be used as a platform for further development, as well as to help other educational institutions struggling with these issues.