Emotional Impairment- Katy Scott

Emotional Impairment	Emotional disturbance
Characteristics: What characteristics are common and which are less common? Are some characteristics more prevalent at different ages?	A child is considered to have an emotional impairment if he/she shows one or more of the following characteristics as described in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA):      -An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.      -An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.      -Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.      -A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.      -A tendency to develop physical symptoms of fears associated with personal or school problems. Other characteristics that are seen in children who may have an emotional impairment also include:      -Hyperactivity,      -Aggression      -Withdrawal      -Immaturity      -Learning difficulties      -Anxiety      -Abnormal mood swings Any of these characteristics, as well as more than one, can be seen in a child of any age.  One specific piece of IDEA though, is that these behaviors are experiences for a “long period of time” which is not specified in the document itself, but is also seen as several months.  This language is used so as to not label a child who is temporarily acting with EI characteristics.
Misconceptions:	One misconception about emotional impairments in children is that it is they are limited to being expressed only as aggression and frustration.  Withdrawal (as stated above) is also a very common characteristic in EI children.  Many professionals are quick to pick out the student who is overly aggressive and lashes out, but few would pick out the student who shows signs of withdrawal. Another misconception about emotional impairments is exactly what disorders are actually considered emotional disturbances.  Disorders that are included under the emotional disturbance umbrella are the following:      -Anxiety Disorder      -Bipolar Disorder      -Conduct Disorder      -Eating Disorders      -OCD      -Psychotic Disorders      -Schizophrenia      -ADD/ADHD Because all these different disorders are examples of emotional impairments most of the time one will not be able to help an EI child at school if he/she does not know any specifics about said child.  You cannot categorize students with emotional impairments under the same name because there are so many different conditions that need to be catered to in different ways. One other misconception with emotional disturbances comes with the diagnosis of the disorders it covers.  As stated within the characteristic portion of this fact sheet, the IDEA documents tries to avoid premature diagnosis of EIs by stating that a child has to exert one or more of the characteristics stated “over a long period of time.”  By using this language the government is trying avoid diagnosing children with an EI that may just be showing signs of a disorder temporarily.  Although it is not specified in the document exactly how long that “long period of time” should be, it can be assumed that if a child is exerting any of the characters for several months that he/she should be considered for EI.
Resources:	There are many different resources for learning more about emotional impairment.  Here are just a few:      -New government’s IDEA Website (this website within itself has links to many different articles and books about EIs):                http://idea.ed.gov/      -National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities                http://nichcy.org/       -Emotional and Behavioral Problems: A Handbook Understanding and Handling Students, by: Paul Zionts, Laura Zionts, and Richard L. Simpson (book)
Curricular Modifications:	In my classroom the only emotional disturbance we have seen is ADHD.  I have one little boy in my 1st grade class who, even though he takes medicine, still has a hard time sitting still and focusing on his work.  I have not really had to modify the specific curriculum for this boy (the material is not the problem for him), but I do have a specific “rule” just for him set in place.  If there is a time during class where is he starting to become off focus or fidgety at his desk/on carpet, I allow him to just stand up and walk to the back of the room.  He goes back there and just stands and collects himself for a minute or two and then comes right back to what we are doing as a class.  This is a strategy I tried one day and saw that it actually helped him focus back in on his task.  After I tried it with him once, I took him aside and ask if it helped and we talked about letting him do that whenever he needs to focus.  He understands that it does not mean he is in trouble or that he is going to get in trouble.  He knows and understands when his attention is somewhere else and when we needs to fix himself and if walking and standing in the back of the room for a couple minutes helps him, then I continue to let him do that.