Emotional, Behavioral, and Physical Disabilities

Students with emotional or behavioral problems tend to have trouble with discipline and adversity in and out of the classroom. This can lead these students to become antisocial and become withdrawn from the classroom instruction. Students with physical disabilities can display many of these same characteristics that those with emotional and behavioral problems display but may act out due to ill will about their physical disability rather than an inability to control their emotions or behavior. While the cause may differ for these individuals the manner in which they need to be handled with is very similar (NICHCY, 2010). A teacher that has a student with emotional or behavioral problems needs to be aware of what may cause the individual to become irritated. Knowing what may trigger an outburst can help the teacher be prepared in how they respond to different situations. Another key factor in dealing with these students is being able to reel the student back in and help them refocus on what is taking place within the classroom and move past what triggered the outburst to begin with.

I have spent numerous hours this year in three different classrooms and all are a different grade level as well. In each of these classrooms there is at least one individual that suffers from emotional or behavioral problems. All three teachers approach the problem in different ways but all seem to be able to get the student back on track relatively quickly. In one class the teacher will point of what the student is doing wrong and then ask the student if they think that their actions are appropriate. In most cases this student will attempt to deflect blame onto others sitting near them. The teacher will then tell the other students not to pay him any attention and not allow them to get pulled into his distractions. The student will typically respond by huffing, mumbling under their breath, or by verbally complaining about the teacher to the teacher. In most cases this will end by the teacher telling the student to pull it together and let us move on. In extreme cases where the student is unable to regain their focus the teacher will allow the student to dismiss himself and go the bathroom in order to regain their composer. During this cooling down period the teacher will address the class by explaining why it is important not to engage this student when they become disruptive.

In doing so they are not only encouraging this individual to be more disruptive but more people will be blamed by the student if they get in trouble. It is a fine line between trying to keep these students engaged within the classroom setting and trying to isolate them from other student interactions. Students with emotional or behavioral problems may not be able to identify or rationalize why they are disruptive and why they react in the manner in which they do. Students that have physical disabilities may react in similar ways but they usually do so out of frustration from their own short comings or inabilities to do what other students are able to do. In one classroom a student in legally blind and has to use a magnifier in order to see her work properly. Daily the teacher has to tell her to use her magnifier and this student has had this item for several years now. The reason for her unwillingness to use the magnifier is due to the fact that she understands that this is what make her seems different from the other students. However she does not become overly disruptive in a verbal manner she does tend to become irritated and will rush through her work as a way of showing defiance.

She is an above average student and is able to work on all assignments that are given to the class. In a case where the student becomes irritated the teacher will watch to see if the student is rushing through her work. If she is the teacher will go over to her and turn her paper upside down and say take a minute. During this time the teacher will not speak to the student and will make her sit there and attempt to refocus before she is allowed to continue her assignment. Once a minute has past the teacher will ask her to go back over what she has completed before working on any additional problems. This action allows the student to see what errors she has made and make her be accountable for the time in which she became defiant. The student typically apologizes and will rework the problems she rushed through. The teacher will point out to her what make you different also make you special. In order to help improve these situations it is important that the teacher displays an interest in these students wellbeing and education process.

Rewarding or complementing good results or behavior is a way to show the student that you know that they can behave in an appropriate manner and also stops them from thinking that the only time you interact with them is in a negative or punishing timeframe (Vaxa, n.d.). If a student only is being addressed by the teacher during a negative action the student will become more withdrawn from the teacher and the outbursts can increase due to a lack of respect for their teacher. While student that have emotional and behavioral problems may tend to have outbursts that can be unprovoked understanding what may trigger it and also how to negate the situation and be able to regain the student attention and focus in very imperative to the student’s success in the classroom (Naset, n.d.). Students with physical disabilities can become disruptive and have outbursts due to how they view themselves in comparison with other students. Being able to encourage these students not to dwell on their differences and focus on what they excel at. Positive reinforcement and encouraging other students to help improve problematic situations within the classroom is paramount in minimizing disruptions and obtaining a more fluid classroom setting.

References

National Association Special Education Teachers (n.d.). Addressing Student Problem Behavior. Retrieved December 21, 2012 from http://cecp.air.org/fba/problembehavior/text.htm National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (2010). Emotional Disturbance. Retrieved December 21, 2012 from http://nichcy.org/disability/specific/emotionaldisturbance Vaxa (n.d.). Emotional Behavioral Disorder. Retrieved December 21, 2012 from http://www.vaxa.com/emotional-behavior-disorder.cfm