Teaching Students with Emotional, Behavioral & Communication Disorders
This paper examines special education practices for students with emotional, behavioral, and communication disorders (EBD). Part One covers the IDEA-based definitions of emotional disturbance and communication disorders, outlines the externalizing, internalizing, and academic characteristics associated with EBD, and reviews evidence-based instructional strategies including social skills development and functional communication training. Part Two addresses the role of the special education leader in developing inclusive instructional programming, fostering collaboration with specialists and co-teachers, implementing IEP-guided interventions, evaluating program effectiveness, and pursuing ongoing professional development to stay current with emerging research and best practices.
- Definitions of Emotional, Behavioral, and Communication Disorders: IDEA and EBD definitions, speech and language disorder types
- Characteristics of Students with EBD and Communication Disorders: Externalizing, internalizing, academic, and speech characteristics
- Instructional Strategies for EBD and Communication Disorders: Evidence-based strategies including SLAM, FCT, and literacy support
- Inclusive Instructional Programming and Legislation: IDEA-based programming, collaboration, and inclusion goals
- Collaboration, IEP Implementation, and Program Evaluation: IEP monitoring, specialist roles, and intervention assessment
- Professional Development for Special Education Leaders: Ongoing training and resources for special education teachers
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What makes this paper effective
- Clearly organized into two complementary parts — the first addressing identification and classroom strategies, the second addressing leadership, programming, and evaluation — creating a coherent progression from theory to practice.
- Consistently grounds claims in cited research and legal frameworks (IDEA, ASHA), demonstrating awareness of both policy and evidence-based practice.
- Balances breadth (covering EBD and communication disorders together) with sufficient depth on each, including concrete examples such as the SLAM method and functional communication training.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper effectively uses categorical classification to organize complex material. By dividing EBD characteristics into externalizing, internalizing, and academic/intellectual subcategories, the writer makes a broad topic manageable and directly applicable to classroom observation. This technique — breaking a concept into mutually informative subcategories — is a strong move in education writing and helps the reader connect abstract definitions to observable student behaviors.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a consistent parallel structure across both parts: definitions lead to characteristics, which lead to instructional strategies in Part One; then programming, collaboration, evaluation, and professional development follow in Part Two. Each major section addresses EBD and communication disorders in sequence. This mirrored organization makes the argument easy to follow and signals careful planning. References are formatted in APA style and draw from peer-reviewed journals and a primary textbook.
Definitions of Emotional, Behavioral, and Communication Disorders
Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
Students with emotional, behavioral, and communication disorders have special needs that instructors can address in the classroom through best-practice instructional strategies. Working with strong, evidence-based definitions, instructors can also identify students with these disorders by recognizing their core characteristics, while acknowledging and appreciating each student's individuality and unique self-expression.
Emotional and behavioral disorders are defined differently at the state and federal level, with IDEA language referring to the term "emotional disturbance," which is eschewed in most states (Taylor, Smiley & Richards, 2009, p. 167). The IDEA definition of emotional disturbance includes children with schizophrenia as well as those who exhibit an inability to learn or to develop social relationships for other reasons (Taylor, Smiley & Richards, 2009). Controversies and disagreements over the IDEA definition have led to new nomenclature for referring to students with emotional or behavioral disorders. The phrase "emotional or behavioral disorder," or EBD, is defined by several components, including adverse impacts on social, academic, or vocational performance that are unresponsive to standard interventions (Taylor, Smiley & Richards, 2009, p. 168). Like the IDEA definition of emotional disturbance, the definition of EBD also encompasses students who have been diagnosed with a psychiatric condition that is the cause of those issues.
Communication Disorders
Communication disorders refer to any type of struggle with language or speech. Both language processing and decoding may be problematic for students with communication disorders. Speech and language impairments are relatively common communication disorders. Stuttering and other voice impairments are also communication disorders because they can adversely affect student performance academically and socially (Taylor, Smiley & Richards, 2009). Both speech disorders and language disorders fall under the rubric of communication disorders according to laws like IDEA and organizations like the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) (Taylor, Smiley & Richards, 2009). Speech disorders refer to articulation issues specifically, while language disorders refer to disorders related to the form, content, and function of language (Taylor, Smiley & Richards, 2009).
References
Ennis, R.P. & Jolivette, K. (2014). Using self-regulated strategy development for persuasive writing to increase the writing and self-efficacy skills of students with emotional and behavioral disorders in health class. Behavioral Disorders, 40(1): 26–36.
Hollo, A. & Burt, J.L. (2018). Practices reflecting functional communication training for students with or at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders. Behavioral Disorders, 44(1): 20–39.
Huzinec, C. (2016). Critical education program components for students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Pearson. https://www.pearsoned.com/critical-education-program-components-students-ebd/
La Salle, T., George, H.P. & McCoach, B. (2018). An examination of school climate, victimization, and mental health problems among middle school students self-identifying with emotional and behavioral disorders. Behavioral Disorders, 43(3): 383–392.
Lieberman, A. (2018). Counseling issues. American Journal of Speech and Language Pathology, 27(2018): 13–23.
Ricci, L.A., Zetlin, A. & Osipova, A.V. (2017). Preservice special educators' perceptions of collaboration and co-teaching during university fieldwork: implications for personnel preparation. Teacher Development, 21(5): 687–703.
Taylor, R.L., Smiley, L.R. & Richards, S.B. (2009). Exceptional students: Preparing teachers for the 21st century (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill. Digital Edition.
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