EBD and PIBS

While reading Chapter 6 of the text about emotional/behavioral disorders, I was surprised to read the statistics about how many students potentially have an undiagnosed or un-served emotional/behavioral disorder. It is startling to think that so many kids who are labeled as “problems” or “trouble” may actually have an EBD, and could benefit from special services or interventions, but don’t receive them. While it is understandable that teachers, parents, and administrators don’t want to assume any behavioral challenge is an EBD, I feel that awareness of EBD needs to be raised; if more people are aware of signs to look for in students, more students may be properly identified. Understanding emotional/behavioral disorders also can cut down on teacher biases. Instead of teachers thinking that students just “have no self control” or are just “mean-spirited”, a properly diagnosed EBD can alert the teacher to the underlying cause of the behavior they see. Understanding ways of serving students with EBD is also important, as specific interventions, such as explicit teaching of some social skills, could benefit the student much more than the disciplinary punishments often used in schools.

                Based on previous placements, though working with students with an emotional/behavioral disorder may be challenging at times, these students need the most compassion out of any from teachers. While EBD-related behavior may seem extreme or irrational, it is a part of life for these students, and teachers need to work towards identifying what services the student needs. I believe that students with EBD are still good kids, they just have trouble with some skills most people take for granted, such as empathy, managing emotions, or showing patience. Too many times, I have seen instances of EBD-related behavior lead to students being punished; I have seen students in seemingly endless time-outs, routine afterschool detentions, and sitting out every recess. While I agree that the behavior is inappropriate and needs correction, the behavior should be punished, but not the student. Students need to be taught what is appropriate, as they may not understand on their own, instead of being yelled at or sent to “time out”. 

        Related to discipline, the use of school-wide PBIS seems like a great way to support all students, including those with emotional/behavioral disorders. Clearly setting expectations allows all students to better understand the expected behaviors, and explicit teaching of how to implement those behaviors can help make it possible. Though I hadn’t considered it before, it is ironic that we expect children to automatically understand how to behave without teaching them, and punish them when they do not comply with the rules we did not explain. PBIS helps explain behavioral expectations explicitly, so there is less room for question or confusion over the expectations. Overall, I feel that explaining rules and showing compassion to students with emotional/behavioral disorders, combined with the use of PBIS, could help students with an EBD, and make school a more enjoyable experience for all involved.