EBD Training

The federal definition of EBD is as follows: IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) 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 (IDEA, 2004).

IDEA defines emotional disturbance as follows:

“…a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child’s educational performance:
(A) An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.

(B) An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.

(C) Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.

(D) A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.

(E) A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.”

As defined by IDEA, emotional disturbance includes schizophrenia but does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they have an emotional disturbance. (Wery & Cullinan, 2011, p. 45)

Students who suffer from Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, or EBD, commonly lack impulse control and find it very hard to handle social situations and basic classroom tasks such as following rules, sitting in their seats, and completing assignments.

According to CCBD, the Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders (2016), some of the characteristics and behaviors seen in children who have an emotional disturbance include:

• Hyperactivity (short attention span, impulsiveness);
• Aggression or self-injurious behavior (acting out, fighting);
• Withdrawal (not interacting socially with others, excessive fear or anxiety);
  
• Immaturity (inappropriate crying, temper tantrums, poor coping skills); and
  
• Learning difficulties (academically performing below grade level).
  

Children with the most serious emotional disturbances may exhibit distorted thinking, excessive anxiety, bizarre motor acts, and abnormal mood swings.

According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), approximately 8.3 million children (14.5%) aged 4–17 years have parents who’ve talked with a health care provider or school staff about the child’s emotional or behavioral difficulties. (6) Nearly 2.9 million children have been prescribed medication for these difficulties (Cohen, Pastor, Rueben, & Simpson, 2008).

Although there is no direct cause of emotional disturbance, there have been some contributing factors that have been suggested and researched as follows:

1. Abuse and Neglect

2. Absence of one or more parent

3. Lack of Stability-Stressful Environment

4. Domestic Violence

5. Exposure to Drugs, Alcohol, Adult Content

6. Genetics

Our experiences shape who we are. A child who has been abused feels that they are not worthy of being loved or even liked until they are shown differently.

"Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him." ~Aldous Leonard Huxley (n.d.)

In this video, the parents used their kids to help shoplift. So the experiences these kids have are negative. They have been taught that stealing is ok by their parents. There are many kids that are “taught” negative behaviors by their parents, siblings, friends, television, and/or music which help shape their personalities. Some things are taught directly and some are taught indirectly by watching the behaviors of others around them.

Educators that work with EBD Students must possess certain character traits:

1. Be a Role Model

2. Be Respectful

3. Be Patient

4. Be Responsible

5. Be Accepting

6. Be Forgiving

7. Be in Control of Your Own Emotions

8. Be Understanding and Compassionate

9. Be a Good Listener

10. Be Informed

11. Be Flexible

12. Be Fair and Just

"Kids don't learn from people they don't like"

-Rita Pierson (2013)

will·pow·er

ˈwilˌpou(ə)r/

noun

noun: will power

1. control exerted to do something or restrain impulses (Merriam-Webster, n.d.).

How does one exert control?

How does one control their impulses?

People need to be taught skills in order to implement will.

Skill power and will power must go hand in hand. One can possess skills but do have the will power to accomplish a task so the end result will be that the task does not get done. One can have will power but no skills to accomplish the task so the end result will be that the task does not get done. Same results! Our job as educators is to teach students the skills they need to cope with their behaviors and then we need to build their will power by making them feel safe and accepted and that it is ok to take risks and make mistakes.

“Cheers” Theme Song

Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.

Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.

Wouldn't you like to get away?

Sometimes you want to go

Where everybody knows your name,

and they're always glad you came.

You wanna be where you can see,

our troubles are all the same

You wanna be where everybody knows Your name.

You wanna go where people know,

people are all the same,

You wanna go where everybody knows your name.

(Portnoy & Angelo, 1982)

Just like the lyrics to the theme song from “Cheers”, children want to go to a safe place where everybody knows their name and they’re always glad you came. When students sense that they are not welcome in a place, it will increase their behaviors. As educators we have to remember that they are children and their behaviors are not directed towards us. In order to teach a child how to control their emotions, we must be able to control our own. These students need positive experiences to balance out any negative experiences they may have been exposed to.

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth."

-Mike Tyson (n.d)

Do you yell? Do you criticize? Do you overreact? Do you ridicule?

Or…do you inquire and invite discussion in order to solve problems? Do you make space for big emotions?

As we strive to have strong positive relationships with our students, it’s important to remember to Respond rather than React.

Why would we want to make things worse?

De-escalate, De-escalate, De-escalate!!!

The truth is, we often react in situations without thinking. Reactions are sometimes natural gut feelings but it’s not the most appropriate way to act. Responding, on the other hand, is processing a situation, and deciding the best course of action based on values such as reason, compassion, cooperation, and resolution.

The 3 P's of Responding:

1. Pause

2. Process

3. Patience

"Self-Control is the very essence of Character."

-Orison Swett Marden

"Punishment doesn’t work when most everything in someone’s life is already punishing.”

-Jeff Sprague

Can a reward be considered a reward if a student doesn't want it?

Can a consequence be considered a consequence if the student doesn't care?

"The trouble is that when we punish a person for behaving badly, we leave it up to him to discover how to behave well, and he can then get credit for behaving well." (Skinner,1971)

In order to create an effective reward system, we need student input as to what THEY consider rewarding. Often times we make decisions on what is rewarding to a child.

In order for rewards or consequences to be effective, they must follow these steps:

1. Be individualized

2. Be consistent

3. Be relevant

Discipline and Punishment are not the same!

“Discipline is used to teach and guide.

Punishment is used for the purposes of controlling and retribution.

Young children do not commit crimes. Their mistakes call for a corrective disciplinary response; not punishment” (Godfrey, 2014).

A very powerful reason why punishment continues to be used-it works for about 95% of students attending public schools (Maag, 1999). Despite the fact that students' behaviors have recently become increasingly violent and challenging for teachers to manage (e.g., General Accounting Office, 1997), most students attending public schools nevertheless behave fairly well. Consequently, mild forms of punishments, such as the use of verbal reprimands, fines, or occasional removals from the classroom, typically control most students' behaviors.

However, these types of consequences are ineffective for about 5% of students who display the most challenging behaviors (i.e., those that do not respond to traditional forms of punishment). The paradigm paralysis mentality proceeds in the following manner: Because mild forms of punishment work for most students, then the solution for teachers with the 5% of students with the most challenging behaviors is to simply punish them severely and more often (Maag, 2001, p. 177).

That 5% that do not respond to traditional forms of punishment are your EBD students.

Even though both guinea pigs in the pictures above are in a cage, one of them feels like a prisoner while the other one feels free. This is the difference between punishment and discipline. Punishment is restricting and has negative effects whereas discipline leaves room for discussion and growth with some guides in place to ensure safety and flexibility.

In order for change to occur, everyone has to buy-in to the concept and collaboration is imperative.

PBIS: Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports

The ABCs of PBIS:

1. Teach...don't Preach

2. Model

3. Reward

4 Reinforce

5. Repeat

Data Collection: data is an important element in PBIS. We should use data to help drive intervention and instruction. However, data must be meaningful and serve a purpose. Even more importantly, it needs to be meaningful to the students otherwise you are spinning your wheels in the wrong direction.

Character Building is the foundation of creating a socially responsive classroom. Character traits and social norms should be embedded into the environment and become the driving force of the curricular model.

In most cases, social skills are taught using a very splintered approach and so it's hard for students to make connections and even care about what is being taught.

Have you ever heard the saying: "It takes a whole village to raise a child?"

The meaning behind this saying is that there is a community involved and a huge support system that is going to guide and nurture this child to help build character.

We have to become that village. That means everywhere the student goes and no matter who they talk to, everything they are being taught is constantly and consistently being reinforced.

So how can we create a culture of social growth? By:

1. Instilling Character

2. Developing Social Norms

3. Creating Social Learning Targets

4. Collaboration

5. Consistency

Students with EBD need social skills training and are also usually one or more grade levels behind. Our job is to teach these students how to cope with their emotions and behavior and to try to close that academic gap as much as possible or at least keep it from widening.

In order for students to learn and implement skills, they must be fully immersed in it and a system must be in place to allow them to be taught, retaught, modeled, corrected, and practice, and assess. When a student is being taught an academic skill, the teacher will teach the lesson, bring in many different forms of media to enhance and reinforce the lesson such as videos, anchor charts, graphic organizers, etc... The teacher will focus on instruction for a week or longer, the students will get a chance to practice it, there will be some form of assessment to test mastery, and then the lesson will be retaught if necessary. If a student still has difficulty grasping the concept, we will put an intervention plan into place for the student. Then we spiral those concepts throughout the year so that they do not forget them. The same process should be followed when teaching social skills as well.

I know that teaching is a very difficult job and it is even more difficult when you are put in a classroom with varied academic skill levels that is compounded by emotional and behavioral issues. The good news is I have a plan of action that can hopefully make your job just a tad bit easier. I call this method Social Academics.

Studies have shown that student behaviors decrease when they are actively engaged in learning that is of high interest to them. The goal is to make learning not feel like learning. Through social academics, students are taught social skills and academic skills simultaneously. Here are the steps:

1. Create your social norms for the classroom with your students and post them

2. Post Learning Targets on the board stated as an "I can" statement

a. Example: I can keep my hands to myself.

3. Choose a character trait to focus on that week and include in Learning Target

a. Example: I can show respect.

4. Read, Read, Read: Choose literature that supports the social skill you are focusing on

5. Write, write, write: have students keep journals

6. Focus, focus, focus: choose one skill to focus on till you see mastery

7. Project-based learning: choose long-term projects over shorter term lessons

8. Make lesson relevant: focus on community service and real world issues

9. Take them back to the basics

Most of our students lack very basic skills such as being able to write a story or read a passage with fluency. So when it’s time to work, they start exhibiting avoidance behaviors because work has always been a challenge or they are embarrassed that they cannot read or write and don't want anyone to know it. So instead of attempting to read or write, they will throw a chair across the room which then gets them "out of" having to do any work.

Take them Back to the Basics!

1. Scaffold: sentence stems, story stems, writing prompts, dictation

2. Accommodations: graphic organizers, notes, frequently misspelled lists

3. Weaning: start out easy and slowly increase the difficulty

When students feel successful, they perform more.

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire."

-William Butler Yeats

The students should be included in their educational and behavioral plan. As adults we tend to make plans FOR them instead of WITH them.

1. Talk to students about their BIP and IEP goals.

2. Help them set their own goals

3. Help them track their own progress

The more ownership they take in their own goals, the more they will strive to meet those goals.

Get Student Feedback!

In order for any of this work, there needs to be an established culture of learning school-wide. Norms and character traits should be posted around the school. All classrooms should have identical elements: learning targets, norms, character traits, etc... There also needs to be an Action Response Team. The Action Response Team (ART) is a team that consists of teachers, paras, and admin; not just admin. Again, just like I previously stated, don't do things to them, do things with them. This stands for staff as well. The job of this team is to deal with issues that arise and come up with a plan to resolve them, get everyone involved, and to keep up the school culture. Once the school culture has been established, it must be maintained and preserved thru training and workshops.

1. Substitute Orientation

2. New Teacher/Para Orientation

The team should meet at least once a month and be open to everyone. A network of communication should be implemented so that staff members can share issues with the team. The main purpose the team is to make everyone feel involved, supported, and to have a forum for dealing with issues that are relevant to your campus by conducting action research. This is the Action Research Process:

1. Area of Concern/Need (Staff says this is going on in my classroom)

2. Collect Data (videos, behavior logs, point sheets, observations, etc...)

3. Organize the Data

4. Analyze the Data

5. Take Action (Calhoun, 1994)

ElevatED Solutions

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