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The pejorative academic and social challenges experienced by students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) are well documented. In an effort to improve student outcomes, schools often employ inclusive models of instruction and support. However, the implementation of inclusive models may result in students with EBD having fewer opportunities to develop essential skills and competencies rather than the provision of special education services that promote school and transition success. This may occur in instances in which stake-holders emphasize student placement in general education without giving equal consideration to the necessary specialized supports and instruction for students with EBD to be meaningfully included. The current chapter urges stake-holders to consider the degree to which inclusive practices for students with EBD also meet FAPE mandates. It is our contention that students with EBD will only benefit from general education settings to the degree to which this placement provides opportunities to develop academic, social, and adaptive skills.

The use of verbal reinforcement has longstanding support in encouraging desired student responses. For students with learning and behavioral disabilities, the use of verbal reinforcement through behavior specific praise (BSP) and feedback are promising practices for improving academic and behavioral outcomes. While these strategies are relatively straightforward to implement, they are often applied inappropriately. Thus, specific guidelines should be followed to ensure that BSP and feedback are used effectively. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of BSP and feedback related specifically to students with learning and behavioral disabilities, provide theoretical and empirical support for these practices, offer research-based recommendations for implementation, and identify common errors to avoid.

Research has documented post-school outcomes for students with emotional and behavioral disabilities and learning disabilities continue to be poor. To improve student outcomes for these populations, research has recommended implementing evidence-based practices and predictors in the classroom. The purpose of this chapter is to identify evidence-based practices and predictors targeted for students with emotional and behavioral disorders and learning disabilities in the area of secondary transition. We identify and briefly describe 12 evidence-based practices and 14 evidence-based predictors for students with emotional and behavioral disorders and learning disabilities. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

How do students with learning disabilities or emotional and behavioral disorders fare in adulthood? Are their rates of employment, graduation from post-secondary schools, living independently similar to their non-disabled peers? What can schools and communities do to teach and support youth and young adults with learning disabilities or emotional and behavioral disorders? This Transition of Youth and Young Adult volume presents eminent scholars discussing critical and timely topics related to the transition of youth and young adults with learning disabilities and emotional and behavioral disorders and provides a comprehensive selection of chapters that address variables, issues, practices, and outcomes related to the broad topic of transition.

This chapter addresses emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) in the larger context of special education. The author suggests that EBD, like special education more generally, has been distracted by issues such as labeling, disproportionality, and inclusion rather than keeping a clear focus on instruction. Revisionist history has led to misunderstanding of what special education is and does. A more promising future for the field depends on focusing on instruction, embracing scientific research, developing checklists and manuals to guide practice that are based on scientific evidence whenever possible, working for sustained student success, and using language more carefully and precisely.

The identification criteria, service provision, and prevalence rates of individuals with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) vary across state jurisdictions in the United States despite being governed by the same general rules. Therefore, it is unlikely that nations with different histories, economic circumstances, and attitudes toward social norms will demonstrate similarity regarding identification and treatment of individuals with EBD. The fields of anthropology, sociology, and psychology provide conceptual frames for understanding how EBD might be considered across cultures. The present chapter reviews a number of these conceptual considerations. Although there is considerable evidence for variability across cultures, there is also evidence for a shared basis that appears to be part of human characteristics, regardless of culture. The chapter concludes by considering special education services in general as a subset of the education systems provided to all citizens in several nations with diverse cultures and economic situation.

Given the complex and chronic nature of emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD), the search for and use of evidence-based practices may be hindered by the way we frame questions of what works. Instead of asking “what works in EBD?” – a question that is framed around an eligibility category and not specific behavioral and academic needs – we argue that the question should be contextualized around the targets of intervention. With the right question in mind – “what works for addressing this problem?” professionals in the field must reach consensus on ways to evaluate the current knowledge base and provide guidelines for future research to answer the question. Interventions that address specific behavioral and academic needs, are simple to implement, explicit in their execution, and predictable in their outcomes are most likely to be useful to teachers and to contribute to an evidence base for EBD.

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) are one of the most underserved populations in today's schools (Kauffman, Mock, & Simpson, 2011). Many of these students also have additional disabilities in conjunction with an EBD identification, such as Learning Disabilities (LD), Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), among other psychiatric disorders (Henley, Ramsey, & Algozzine, 2009; Kauffman, 2005). Because the identification of EBD examines behaviors that tend to be more subjective in nature than other disabilities and because these pervasive behaviors are manifested in a variety of forms, EBD is one of the most misidentified disability categories (Skiba, Poloni-Staudinger, Gallini, Simmons, & Feggins-Azziz, 2006). For students with EBD, the behavior(s) they exhibit contribute to learning difficulties in multiple academic and functional areas. This chapter provides in-depth information on the common characteristics and behavioral dimensions of this population. Additionally, the in-school performance and long-term outcomes of students with EBD are discussed.

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders are at great risk for long-term negative outcomes. Researchers and practitioners alike acknowledge the need for evidence-based, preventive, and early intervention strategies. Accordingly, in this chapter an expanded view of prevention is presented as a series of data driven decisions to guide provision of supports that lessen the impact of emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD). Universal screening, use of a multitiered framework, delivery of increasingly intensive support prior to chronic and persistent patterns of behavior, and continuity of service across school, home, and community settings are discussed. Specific techniques for data decision-making, use of a school-based team approach, and recommendations for future research are also provided.

Federal and state laws exert an important influence on the education of students with emotional and behavioral disorders. The most important of these laws is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. States and school districts must adhere to the requirements of IDEA when educating students with disabilities in special education programs. In addition to IDEA, other federal and state laws also affect special education programs for students with EBD. Two other important areas are laws that address (a) supervisory responsibilities of teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disorders and (b) issues of bullying in schools. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and to examine the ways that this and other important laws affect the education of students with EBD and their teachers.

Little research has been conducted regarding the disproportionate representation of minority learners in programs for students with Emotional/Behavioral Disorders (E/BD). To date, the majority of the disproportionality literature examines multiple eligibility categories, most frequently the high incidence disabilities of Mild Intellectual Disabilities, E/BD, and Learning Disabilities. This chapter narrows analytical attention to a single category to add specificity and depth to disproportionality knowledge through a review of the E/BD literature between 2000 and 2010. Of the 16 studies reviewed, we found 11 socio-demographic, quantitative studies that analyzed E/BD special education placement patterns or office discipline referrals for students with E/BD. Two quantitative studies explored ecological conceptualizations of behavioral problems to understand interactions between institutions' special education eligibility processes, and socio-cultural and spatial contexts of schools. Finally, we located three studies that targeted families' perceptions of student behavior, and professionals' biases related to disproportionality. We conclude with reflections about what the current literature suggests as necessary for the next generation of research on this important topic.

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) receive educational and related services within a continuum of placement options per the Individual with Disabilities Education Act. The continuum of placement options ranges from fully included general education type classrooms to more restrictive environments such as alternative education settings, residential facilities, and schools within secure juvenile justice facilities. A specific placement option is based on the individualized academic and social needs of the student and includes the least restrictive environment to meet those needs. After the IFSP or IEP team develops a student's IFSP or IEP, then the team makes a placement decision. Multiple factors influence initial placement decisions including an overall reluctance to identify students with E/BD, false positives and negatives, co-morbidity, and disproportionality. Other factors may influence a temporary or long-term change in placement such as inappropriate student behavior and/or academic failure. No matter the placement, the educational services provided within each should be evidence-based, implemented with fidelity, be individualized, and be socially valid.

Assessment and identification of children with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) is complex and involves multiple techniques, levels, and participants. While federal law sets the general parameters for identification in school settings, these criteria are vague and may lead to inconsistencies in selection and interpretation of assessment measures. Assessment practice across school settings is greatly influenced by clinical guidelines such as the DSM-IV, which more specifically defines emotional and behavioral disorders and highlights the issue of co-morbidity. Before a student is assessed for special education eligibility under the IDEIA category of emotional disturbance, screening techniques and pre-referral interventions are needed. Positive Behavioral Supports and Response to Intervention models provide empirically supported frameworks for establishing the need for formal psychological assessment. Collaboration among members of the multidisciplinary team, including parents, helps to ensure that identification and intervention efforts have ecological validity. Tests and techniques vary considerably, but developmental histories, interviews, observations across settings, and behavioral checklists and rating scales are recommended, along with cognitive and achievement testing. While problems exist in the reliability and validity of projective techniques, they continue to be used in school-based assessment for EBD. Multitrait, multisetting, and multimethod approaches are essential for culturally fair assessment and reduction of bias in identification and placement.

Today's classroom differs greatly from the classroom a decade ago. This is due, in part, to the changing demographics of students across the United States where diversity is now the norm. As children enter the educational system with diverse backgrounds, they are exposed to new experiences that facilitate changes in interests, behaviors, and learning styles. One way to address diversity in the classrooms is to focus on the model of differentiated instruction (DI). The purpose of this chapter is to discuss DI and its relationship to Universal Design for Learning (UDL), provide information why DI is a valuable model for students with EBD, and review DI modifications and adaptations that serve as academic and behavior change elements in the classroom. At the core of both of these models lies the need for flexibility and adaptations to the learning environment and materials to meet the needs of all students. Furthermore, there is a heavy emphasis from both of these constructs to allow all students access to the general education environment – not just physical but the educational benefits. To best address the social, emotional, behavioral, and academic needs of students with EBD, educators must differentiate their instruction.

We review the concept of response to intervention (RtI) as it is being applied to emotional and behavioral disorders (EDB) in the early part of the 21st century, examining how it differs from and incorporates features of other approaches to addressing those problems, including pre-referral interventions, applied behavior analysis, functional behavioral assessment, curriculum-based measurement, positive behavioral interventions and supports, and special education. After discussing alternative concepts about how RtI might be applied to students with EBD, we note that our search of the literature revealed very few studies examining the application of RtI with students having EBD. We found both substantive and methodological problems in the studies we reviewed. For example, researchers did not describe adequately how students were selected for tiers, what dependent measures were chosen and why, what independent variables were manipulated, what criteria led to moving a child to a different tier, and how RtI addressed (or failed to address) the need for special education services. We conclude that, although some of the components of RtI have solid evidentiary bases, little evidence supports common claims of the benefits of RtI, especially as applied to students with EBD.

There is a large body of literature suggesting that students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) lack appropriate social skills, including deficits in building and maintaining interpersonal relationships, prosocial behaviors (e.g., sharing, helping, cooperation), and self-management strategies. While the literature shows small to modest effects of social skills training, these results can in part be contributed to how instruction is delivered. Best practice in social skills instruction includes screening when selecting students for intervention, identifying targeted skills and competing problem behaviors, conducting a functional assessment, and evaluating the effects of intervention. Current issues and perspectives related to social skills training for students with EBD are addressed.

Students with emotional and behavioral challenges are significantly impacted by mental health issues. Teachers and other school staff need mental health knowledge to work more effectively with these students. Collaboration with mental health professionals and sharing of information is essential.

Currently there is a lack of evidence existing on technology specifically to support students with emotional-behavior disorder (EBD) in schools (Fitzpatrick & Knowlton, 2009). However, assistive technology (AT) considerations for all students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) must still occur. Evidence exists that technology can compensate for students with other identified disabilities and while the specific research of students with EBD is lacking, students with disabilities, in general, appear to benefit from the support of technology. This chapter discusses how technology supports access to the general education curriculum for student with EBD in the academic areas of reading, writing, and math as well as supports self-management. Resources for free AT are also highlighted.

The 1990 reauthorization of PL 94-142, the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), emphasized the need for applied research in schools to prevent the development of emotional disturbance. Prevention research then led to mandates in IDEA 1997 that schools must develop positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) for children and youth whose behavior impeded their educational performance. This chapter describes how the ensuing research and implementation regarding each of the three-tiers of PBIS have influenced the educational outcomes of students with EBD. Recommendations for school staff using the three-tiered PBUS model are provided so that students with EBD can benefit from implementation of PBIS structures and supports.

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) are known to experience academic deficits across core subject areas such as reading and mathematics. Until recently, less attention had been paid to the academic deficits of students with EBD. This was due, in part, to a common belief that academic deficits could not be addressed until problem behaviors were under control. However, within the past decade, we have seen an increase in studies investigating and documenting the academic characteristics of students with EBD and instructional practices that improve the academics of this population. This chapter discusses the general academic characteristics of students with EBD, how teachers can address the academic needs of students with EBD through specific instructional techniques (e.g., Direct Instruction, Strategy Instruction), and future directions and implications for practice.

Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (E/BD) have been consistently experiencing dismal outcomes. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a brief overview of outcomes for this population, examine school-based instructional and behavioral strategies, and discuss transition related practices intended to improve present and future outcomes. It is recommended that while transition-specific practices are essential in maximizing the potential for success in post-school environments, it is also necessary to ensure that students with E/BD are engaged in school through evidence-based practices in early intervention/prevention, instructional, and behavioral interventions.

The purpose of the present chapter is to provide an overview of issues facing families of children and youths with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). We argue that although much is written about families of individuals with disabilities, comparatively little is known about families with children in this category. We suggest that the diversity of family contribution to the individual's EBD makes studying families of this population as a unitary group quite difficult. Despite the difficulty in adequately capturing families of individuals with EBD as a single unit, we describe what is known about (a) parental satisfaction with services for children with EBD, (b) issues affecting parental and family involvement in special education programming and decision-making, (c) the impact of a child with EBD upon siblings, and (d) interventions for EBD that involve families. We conclude by pointing to areas of need for additional research and noting that while educators are in a unique position to assist families of children with EBD, they are restrained by lack of adequate training, competing policy agenda, and constraints on the resources necessary to add this responsibility to the role of classroom teachers.

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) present unique challenges to the families and educators supporting them. Even though families and educators report that behavioral issues can be identified by age 3 (Walker, Ramsey, & Gresham, 2004), the commonly used wait-and-see approach to intervening results in children with E/BD not receiving services until after the age of 10 (Park & Scott, 2009). By this time, behaviors have become chronic (Lewis, Jones, Horner, & Sugai, 2010) and educators primarily focus interventions on the child's social skills and behavioral deficits while there is a lack of focus on the student's academic needs (Lane, 2007). The purpose of this chapter is to review trends in E/BD research and practice that specifically focus on social emotional and academic interventions. While there is a strong history and direction for behavioral interventions for students with E/BD, researchers have only begun to investigate the academic learning needs of this population of students. The documented deficits in reading, writing, and mathematics for students with E/BD make it clear that further research is needed in these areas. The use of strategies including self-mediated, group/peer-mediated interventions, and explicit instruction may be effective teaching strategies across content areas. Initial studies show not only improved academic outcomes but also increases in positive behavior. The need for teachers and researchers to focus on the whole child, both the social emotional needs and the academic deficits, is imperative in order to improve the lives of children with E/BD.

There is a clear national trend toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms. This trend poses particularly vexing challenges for delivering appropriate programs for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). This chapter describes the complexity of determining appropriate inclusive placements for students with EBD within the historical, legal, and philosophical context of inclusion and related to what we know about these students and how we can improve outcomes. Recommended practices for maximally appropriate placements include a comprehensive approach that integrates academic and behavioral interventions, and robust professional development in research-validated instructional practices for teachers. Shifting roles and shared responsibility of the professionals who are now working with students with EBD must be considered. Finally, issues currently being addressed that will shape the future direction of service delivery for students with EBD are discussed including the need for systematically and objectively manipulating key variables, including educational placement, to impact student achievement across settings.

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) who display aggression necessitate effective interventions for reducing highly disruptive behavior, while keeping learning environments safe and secure for all students and staff. In this chapter, we describe the merits of cognitive-behavioral interventions (CBIs) in school settings to reduce student aggression and other destructive and maladaptive behavior and to promote student success and lifelong learning. To that end, we first explore three theoretical frameworks for aggression: the general aggression model, social learning theory, and social information processing, each of which examines the role of environment, cognition, and behavior as foundational to the occurrence of aggression. Synthesizing these theories assists in the development and implementation of CBIs in classroom settings. We then describe the CBI approach to teaching students cognitive and behavioral strategies to reduce problematic behaviors and increase the use of more pro-social alternatives, and ultimately generalize learned skills to a variety of social situations. A brief history of CBIs is explored, followed by a discussion of several meta-analyses establishing CBI's effectiveness in decreasing aggression across a variety of venues and populations. We then focus on social problem solving as an example of a cognitive-behavioral approach and describe the Tools for Getting Along curriculum as an example of a school-based CBI. At the end of the chapter, we explain some limitations of CBIs in schools and delineate future research needs.

All societies carry out sorting and classificatory actions, the way they view deviance changes over time for a variety of reasons that are sometimes unrelated to the behavior or its consequences (Moynihan, 1993). Also, some behaviors that were considered to be illnesses or crimes at one time have been redefined in ways that remove them from the medical, psychological, or legal professions' guidelines for interpreting them as deviant behaviors. Homosexuality is one example of such a reclassification (Bowker & Star, 1999).