Unpacking EBD with the Help of Four Friends.

Emotional and Behavior Disorders (EBD) is the term that encompasses all emotional and behavior disorders. The textbook defines Emotional Disorders as " The internalization of difficulties and challenges, which can lead to stress, depression, and anxiety that interfere with life" (G-4). Behavior Disorder is defined as "A condition in which a student consistently violates social and school rules and disrupts the classroom and requires educational action to meet success" (G-2). This category of disorders/disabilities is both specific and broad. The spread of emotional and behavior disorders is broad, yet the manifestation of EBD is specific to an individual student. In this blog post, I want to discuss four friends who collectively have helped me unpack EBD.

The first two friends, Jim and Molly, come from the textbook. They are both eight years old, and have EBD, but they are extremely different. Jim externally deals with his emotions. He is extremely aggressive and angry, which has a large negative impact on his success in school and social situations. He also often feels helpless, hopeless, and scattered. Molly, on the other hand, internalizes her feelings. She is depressed and weepy with low self-esteem and zero self-efficacy. Molly's situation also negatively effects her success both academically and socially. Both Molly and Jim need supports in regards to managing their emotions, but the supports will vary. They have helped me make sense of EBD by showing me the wide range that EBD covers. They also have prompted me to think about the different supports for students with different manifestations of EBD. (Pg. 260)

Our third friend is Miguel from our in-class case study. Sweet Miguel has two main concerning behaviors, the first--and the most concerning-- being his self-injuring behavior, and the second being his frequent urge to negate a statement. I thought the case study was structured in an interesting way by first having the reader read his school situation and persentation of EBD, and then providing insight on his very traumatic past. I feel like my whole perception of Miguel shifted once I knew about his past. The insight also helped me think about the supports and best placement for him. Miguel has helped me unpack EBD by showing how different behaviors can equate to different needs. For example, his self-harm could be mirroring the previous abuse he endured, or it could be his attempt at control, as he has never had control of his outcome. By brainstorming a rationale that could be behind the behavior, the supports become clearer. If he is self-harming for control, maybe he needs more options in the classroom throughout the day. The case study discussion we had in class also brought my focus to the educator, and how it is crucial for educators to lean on other adults for support and help.

Our last friend is a student I have been tutoring for a little more than a year now; we will call him Jay. Jay has not been identified with EBD, but his past experiences are influence his emotions and behavior. I first met Jay at a tutoring program when my assigned tutee did not show up, and I was paired with Jay, whose tutor did not show up. Jay's mom approached me as soon as we were paired, and warned me that he does not fair well with new people, and gets very stressed easily. I later learned some of Jay's past and attended his IEP meeting. Here's his story: His father abandoned his mom and him when Jay was 6 years old. Jay and his mom then lived alone in a very small one bedroom apartment. When Jay was 7, their apartment was invaded and robbed while both Jay and his mom were home. Jay was locked in the bathroom while his mom was held at gun point and was robbed. On top of dealing with this traumatic experience, Jay's mom got pregnant, and they were evicted from their apartment. They since have been moving between different family member's homes and have not been able to live in a consistent place. This causes Jay to become very protective towards people and things he cares about, and have difficulties managing his anger. I included Jay because he does have PTSD and an IEP for ADHD and SLD, but his behavior and emotions can be all over the place. Like Miguel, Jay has endured trauma and situations that have caused him suffering, but he does not have EBD due to the degree of pervasiveness of his situation. I think Jay can be supported in the same way that other students who have EBD are supported. This then makes me think about UDL and how even though a student might not have an IEP or a diagnosis, they can absolutely still be bringing in trauma and/or emotion and behavior things. It would be so helpful if all students were offered the same supports as students with EDB.

I feel like these four friends' stories have been floating in my head for the past two weeks. They all have related stories, and make the operational definition of EBD much more clear to me.