Learning Disabilities: Skills Based Curriculum

There are two main approaches to educational intervention for students with learning disabilities: (Winzer, 2008, p. 157)

1.    Generic - refers to techniques such as adapting curriculum and grading                          

                       requirements in the general classroom or providing resource room

                       assistance in areas of academic lag.

2.     Specific - refers to a great deal more program adaptation and direction such as                

                        teaching to sub-skill deficits or meta-cognitive training.

Definitions

Metacognition:  “thinking about thinking” or knowledge of one’s own cognitive processes.

Direct Instruction:  activity-focused, highly scripted teacher instruction that incorporates numerous opportunities for students to respond.

Learning Strategies:  refers to an individual’s approach to task and are either generic or specific. Generic strategies are problem-solving skills that apply across many areas of the curriculum and specific strategies are those used in one situation.

Mnemonic Devices:  rhymes, jingles, or images that order information to aid memory.

Co-operative Learning:  an organizational arrangement where children are placed into small mixed-ability study groups in which participants co-operate with one another to achieve academic goals.

Peer Tutoring:  Students of academic achievement teaching students with learning disabilities.

Behavioral Skills Approach (Winzer, 2008, p. 160)

Based on the idea that the child’s problems are external and result from some gap in instruction.  Teachers provide direct instruction in weak academic areas and focus on the skills needed for academic success.  Direct instruction components include step-by-step procedures that account for student mastery, immediate feedback, practice and gradual fading of direction.  Direct instruction is one of the more effective approaches to learning disabilities.  Steps include:

1.     Review and check previous work.  Re-teach if necessary

2.     Rapidly present new concepts or skills in small steps.

3.     Provide guided practice under close monitoring

4.     Check work for understanding and give corrective feedback and reinforcement.

5.     Provide plenty of independent practice.

6.     Review frequently.

Differential Skills & Strategies Based on Curriculum: Primary, Junior, Secondary

It is important to remember to use a wide variety of learning strategies, regardless of the student's age. Two traditional teaching techniques, known to be effective with learning disabilities, are expanded instruction time and drill (Bennett, Dworet, & Weber, 2008, p. 106). Students with learning disabilities will not only benefit, but will most likely enjoy using a variety of tools and strategies to help them.  Strategy training provides the learner with a set of self instructional steps to teach them how to use metacognitive skills and involves the learner’s use of strategies to acquire, store, retrieve and apply knowledge.  Focus is on teaching information processing, organization, study skills, applications of information and problem solving.  All of these skills involve self-monitoring, practice, testing for effectiveness and coordinating the processes of studying and learning.  Along with the use of metacognitive skills, it is also very wise to remember to appeal to the student’s five senses. Many students, especially with learning disabilities, need to be an active part of the experience to begin the learning process.

Some effective strategies to implement in the classroom are: (Bennett, Dworet, & Weber, 2008, pp. 104-105)

1.     Differentiated Instruction

2.     Empathy and understanding

3.     Positive, frequent feedback

4.     A consistent, systematic approach (structure)

5.     Graphic and visual supports (computers, chalkboard/whiteboard, pictures etc)

6.     Help in sequencing (steps and stages)

7.     Help in dealing with print (input and output)

8.     Awareness of time constraints(due dates, appointments and schedules)

9.     Keeping up and ‘on top’ of things

10.               Making allowances

11.               Simplifying the environment

12.               Hope, optimism, trust and encouragement

Interactive Models

Teachers allow class members to function as instructors for themselves and others.  Two approaches are co-operative learning and peer tutoring. 

Practical Suggestions

Keeping in mind, that most students with learning disabilities are integrated into the mainstream classroom and follow the standard curriculum, it can be a challenge to come up with creative ways to incorporate effective strategies day to day. The following excerpts are from the current Ontario Curriculum.  They demonstrate the same expectation for grades 2, 6, 10 Applied, and 10 Academic. They are very similar, but show how with age the requirements and strategies change. The elements in bold stress some of the various strategies mentioned above. 

Gr 2 Language: Reading (Ministry of Education, 2006, p. 53)

Comprehension Strategies 1.3 - identify several reading comprehension strategies and use them before, during, and after reading to understand texts (e.g., activate prior knowledge to ask questions or make predictions about the topic or story; use visualization to help clarify the sights and sounds referred to in the text; ask questions to monitor understanding during reading; identify important ideas to remember)

Gr 6 Language: reading (Ministry of Education, 2006, p. 111)

Comprehension Strategies 1.3 - identify a variety of reading comprehension strategies and use them appropriately before, during, and after reading to understand increasingly complex texts (e.g., activate prior knowledge on a topic through brainstorming and developing concept maps; use visualization and comparisons with images from other media to clarify details of characters, scenes, or concepts in a text; make predictions about a text based on knowledge of similar texts; reread or read on to confirm or clarify understanding)

Gr 10 English Applied: READING AND LITERATURE STUDIES (Ministry of Education, 2007, p. 88)

Demonstrating Understanding of Content 1.3 - identify the important ideas and supporting details in both simple and complex texts (e.g., imagine and describe a photograph that captures the main idea in a newspaper article; use a web organizer to record details about a character; describe a favourite team’s success during the past season to a peer after tracking the team’s performance using sports statistics; explain the key ideas in a graphic text to a partner) Teacher prompt: “Which of these details are most helpful for understanding this character? Which are most helpful for imagining what the character looks like?”

Gr 10 English Academic: READING AND LITERATURE STUDIES (Ministry of Education, 2007, p. 73)

Demonstrating Understanding of Content 1.3 - identify the most important ideas and sup- porting details in texts, including increasingly complex texts (e.g., flag key passages that reveal character in a text; highlight or make notes about ideas or details that support the author’s thesis;  prepare a series of tableaux to represent key events in a story; determine what essential information is conveyed by the captions in a graphic text) Teacher prompt: “What details in the essay are most necessary to support the author’s thesis?”

Resources

Bennett, S., Dworet, D., & Weber, K. (2008). Special Education in Ontario Schools (6th ed.). St. Davids, Ontario: Highland Press.

Ministry of Education. (2006). Ontario Ministry of Education. Retrieved June 12, 2012, from The Ontario Curriculum: Grades 1-8: Language: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/language.html

Ministry of Education. (2007). Ontario Ministry of Education. Retrieved June 6, 2012, from The Ontario Curriculum: Grades 9 and 10 English: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/english910currb.pdf

Winzer, M. (2008). Children with Exceptionalities in Canadian Classrooms (8th ed.). Toronto, Ontario: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Intellectual Disabilities and Inclusion

Inclusion

Inclusion is a term which expresses commitment to educate each child, to the maximum extent appropriate, in the school and classroom he or she would otherwise attend. It involves bringing the support services to the child (rather than moving a child to the services) and requires only that the child will benefit from being in the class (rather than having to keep up with the other students). Proponents of inclusion generally favor newer forms of education service delivery.

Full Inclusion

Full inclusion means that all students, regardless of handicapping condition or severity, will be in a regular classroom/program full time. All services must be taken to the child in that setting.

In addition to problems related to definition, it also should be understood that there often is a philosophical or conceptual distinction made between mainstreaming and inclusion.  Those who support the idea of mainstreaming believe that a child with disabilities first belongs in the special education environment and that the child must earn his/her way into the regular education environment.

In contrast, those who support inclusion believe that the child always should begin in the regular environment and be removed only when appropriate services cannot be provided in the regular classroom.

http://www.weac.org/

From Special Education in Ontario Schools Normalization: The Principle of Normalization suggests that people with disabilities should be seen for their similarities with their non-exceptional peers rather than their differences, and be interacted with in a manner consistent with these individuals' strengths, not their weaknesses or diagnostic label. They should be allowed to thrive in the larger society to the maximum possible extent, consistent with their chronological age and adaptive ability. Though this principle is widely accepted today, it wasn't always the case.

Inclusion: Including persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities without reservation in mainstream society is still an issue, in large part because of conflict that seems to arise out of the impatience of the supporters of inclusion, and the guarded hesitancy of the larger society. At the most liberal end of the spectrum are those who argue that all persons should be fully included in society immediately, and most especially in schools.

            It is not that educators reject inclusion, but rather that some prefer a more cautious approach or are concerned that appropriate supports are not provided. Teachers regularly argue that students should be considered on an individual basis, for not all students are ideally suited for immediate inclusion, and that consequences can be potentially disastrous for everyone involved.

Empirical evidence shows that generally children who begin their school lives in inclusive classrooms treat that environment as natural. And most of the time, the inclusion is successful and continues to succeed for all children as they grow. Where success is not universal is in those situations where the inclusion does not start until later grades, and where it is arbitrary.

Intellectual Disabilities- Issues related to inclusion

Pro

 All children should be educated in neighbourhood school within general classrooms.

With support, general education teachers can include all students.

Typical students become more accepting of human differences and show less discomfort interaction with people who have disabilities.

Curriculum can be modified.

Inclusion provides access to social relationships in normalized learning environments.

Typical peers accept students with severe disabilities. Inclusion removes the stigma associated with segregated placements.

Cautions

 Inclusion implies substantive changes in classroom structures, the conceptualization of professional roles and a continuous need for collaboration.

 Intense needs challenge the boundaries of practitioner knowledge and organizational support.

Student may take up an inordinate amount of teacher time

Teachers feel that they have limited resources and are not properly trained.

Teachers require very specialized expertise.

Generally, the more sever the disability, the more negative the attitudes some teachers have towards inclusion.

Not all children are on the same academic level, and those with disabilities may fall behind.

Training often emphasizes early developmental skills usually thought of as too routine or too basic to be part of a regular instructional program.

Children’s educational rights must be at the forefront: students require education that prepares them for adult independence.

For total functioning and future needs, children need access to alternative and specialized curricula and experiences.

Most children with severe disabilities do not know how to conduct themselves socially, and therefore must be monitored for inappropriate social behaviour.

The intellectual gap between students may be too great for interaction to occur.

Children with disabilities do not interact with peers unless they are supported and encouraged to do so.

Winser, M. (2008). Children with Exceptionalities in Canadian Classrooms (8^th e d.).

Toronto, Canada: Pearson Prentice Hall, pp 478-479

                 
Sensory Impairments: Hearing

Educators need to take a child’s hearing loss very seriously, as it is the fastest growing disability in the world and hearing impairments can have such a detrimental effect on speech and language development.

Definitions:


Decibels

The intensity of sound or loudness is measured in decibels (dB), with 0 dB being the faintest sound that people with normal hearing are able to detect.

Degrees of Hearing Loss

Hearing Impairment broadly covers any hearing loss ranging from mild (loss range is 25-40dB) to completely deaf (loss range is 91dB+).

Deaf Persons

With or without a hearing aid, these people are unable to hear and process language effectively.

Hard-of-Hearing persons:

With the use of a hearing aid, these people are generally able to hear enough language in order to process it successfully.

Prevalence:

About 10% of those living in North America have some form of hearing loss; this rate rises to 50% for seniors. Hearing loss is not a common disability at birth: about 1 in 1000 babies are born deaf or is deaf by age three. 5% of school-aged kids have some degree of hearing loss, ranging from mild to profound. About 10 – 20% of these kids require some kind of special education. These percentages are estimates only, as accurate prevalence figures are difficult to obtain for many reasons, including inconsistent data and other research problems.

Etiology:

Outer Ear

Problems such as external otitis (swimmer’s ear), wax build-up, auditory atresia (missing/undeveloped auditory canals), Microtia (misshapen or tiny pinna), foreign objects stuck in the ear, and perforation of the eardrum are all possible causes for outer ear impairment which may cause hearing loss.

Middle Ear

Otitis Media (middle ear infection), is very common in infancy, and early childhood; and, 20-30% of elementary school kids suffer from this type of infection at least once. In addition, Otosclerosis (a hereditary condition, which is rare in childhood), congenital defects, and head trauma can all result in hearing losses. Most of these losses are conductive (sound is reduced or blocked before it gets to inner ear) and do not exceed 65 dB.

Inner Ear

Impairments involving the inner ear are sensorineural problems (sound may get to the inner ear, but cannot properly be received or transmitted) and can cause profound hearing loss. Meningitis, maternal Rubella and hereditary factors can result in these kinds of hearing disabilities in childhood. In addition, prolonged exposure to loud, intense noises can destroy the tiny hair cells in the inner ear, which can cause permanent hearing loss. Many other causes for inner ear problems are not yet known. Premature and low birth weight babies carry and increased risk for hearing impairments, and some birth complications can cause deafness. Apnea at birth can cause hearing problems as well.

Syndrome

Hearing loss may also be associated with various syndromes, including Treacher-Collins syndrome, Waardenburg’s syndrome and Down syndrome.






Bennett, S., Dworet, D., & Weber, K. (2008). Special Education in Ontario Schools (6th ed.). St.
     Davids, Canada: Highland Press, pp. 191-193.

Winzer, M. (2008). Children With Exceptionalities in Canadian Classrooms (8th ed.). Toronto,
     Canada: Pearson Prentice Hall, pp. 321-333.

Visual Sensory Impairments - Definitions, Prevalence, Etiology

Visual impairment- Genetic term; it ranges from people reading this text who have very mild visual impairment, to those with low vision, and includes those who are totally blind.

Low vision- a person’s corrected vision is lower than normal.

Blindness- an individual has no sight or so little that learning takes place through other senses.

Visual activity- the measure of the smallest image that is distinguishable by the eye.

Visual field- the entire area that can be seen when staring straight ahead, reported in degrees.
        

        Visual impairment is primarily an adult disability, about one-tenth as prevalent in children as in adults. In the general public, rates are 2.6 percent. People with low vision far outnumber totally or functionally blind people, with only 10 to 15 percent of the entire population of persons with visual impairments being totally blind. Although visual impairment is a low-incidence occurrence in the Western World, it is of particularly high prevalence in Third World countries where conditions such as water-borne blindness, vitamin A deficiency and lack of sanitation allow visual impairments to thrive.

        In children, blindness is the least prevalent of all disabilities. 1 in every 10,000 Canadian babies is diagnosed with legal blindness, and 1 in every 1000 children under the age of 18 has severe visual impairments. The majority of children with visual impairments attend general classrooms. Teachers must be aware of this issue and make the required adaptations and accommodations that will assist the students. Among the school aged population, students with low vision comprise between 75 and 80 percent of those who are visually impaired. Some children may be able to read by seeing clearly through one small area, but then have trouble getting around from place to place. Others may be able to see the entire work area, but have difficulty reading it.

        Many people have minor visual losses caused by one of the four common refractive errors: Myopia (being unable to focus images precisely), Hyperopia (too short an eye/too flat a corneal surface), Astigmatism (irregularity in curvature of the cornea) and Presbyopia (eye loses the ability to accommodate near objects). Eye pathologies, such as cataracts, glaucoma, retinoblastoma and retinal detachments, are most common in adults and are the result of damage or disease to one or more eye structures. There are a number of syndromes that are associated with visual impairments; Usher’s Syndrome stresses the link between visual and auditory impairments, and is the leading cause of deaf-blindness. Joubert Syndrome is a rare neurological disorder where individuals show ataxia, slow motor activity, and often abnormal eye movements. Leger Congenital Amaurosis is an inherited retinal degenerative disease.

A Few Facts on Visual Impairments:

-Worldwide, 285 million people are visually impaired due to various causes. 39 million of them are totally blind.

-221 million people are visually impaired because of in corrected refractive errors. Almost all of them could have normal vision restored with eye classes, contacts, or refracted surgery.

-90% of people who are visually impaired live in low and middle income countries.

-51% of all blindness is due to age-related cataracts.

Winser, M. (2008). Children with Exceptionalities in Canadian Classrooms (8th ed.).
Toronto, Canada: Pearson Prentice Hall, pp. 359 – 389.

Speech and Language: Differential Based Curriculum

According to Bravmann (2004), differential education is a method of instruction that concentrates on teaching children based on who they are and what they know.  It is preparation that is made from the curriculum to respond to the characteristic needs of exceptional children.

When considering Speech and Language disorders, we know that efficient speech and language skills are important to a child’s success both in and out of the classroom.  Within the classroom, language is the primary medium through which classroom learning takes place. 

There are a wide variety of teaching procedures used in language.  Generally, educational approaches may be grouped as grammatical (very structured and rely on direct teaching) or naturalistic (a more natural environment that focuses on functional and conversational skills)(Bennett & Weber, 2008).

Some students with speech and language disorders rely on Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) (Ministry of Education, 2012). Individuals who rely on Augmentative (supplement speech) and Alternative (replace speech) use a variety of combinations of receptive and expressive language, cognition, and physical capabilities to communicate(Ministry of Education, 2012).    By using a student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP) and other school board reports, the teacher can integrate purposeful communication strategies throughout the school day.

Since each individual with a communication disorder differs significantly in their learning styles, interest, and readiness to learn, it is very important to accommodate each student with instruction that will best suit their needs. 

As per Winzer (2008), the teacher may use differential instruction in a number of ways:

1)                  Content of learning (what the students are going to learn)

2)                  Process of learning (types of activities and tasks)

3)                  Products of learning (ways in which the students demonstrate learning)

4)                  Affect/Environment (context and environment in which students learn)

According to Winzer (2008) and Bennett & Weber (2008) some strategies to use in the classroom for communication disorders include:

·         Keep language simple.

·         Provide visual support if necessary and encourage students to draw.

·         Encourage students to use words not actions.

·         Provide students with additional time to collect thoughts and ideas before they express themselves.

·         Take the time to listen to the students, build trust, and understand their needs.

·         Initiate discussions with parents to learn more about students' circumstances and needs.

·         Imitation: Modeling.  The teacher may say “show me,” or ‘”you say this now.”

·         Expansion:  A restatement of what the child has just said, with information added. The child may say “car go,” and the teacher expands on it to “yes the car goes.”

·         Paraphrasing:  Repeat a statement or question to elicit a reply.  Responding, for example, to “want ball” with “you want the ball.”

·         Praise:  A statement describing a child’s prior verbal or non-verbal communication as correct, acceptable, or good.  For example, “I like how you did that” or “That’s right!”

·         Directives:  Comprehension check.  After giving a direction, have the child repeat it to show comprehension.

Learning to communicate and understand the communication of others is one of the biggest challenges young children face. It is little surprise that delays and disorders in speech and language are the most common and varied disabilities that teachers will encounter. Teachers, E.A.'s, and other supportive staff who use the proper tools and strategies, will give students with communication disorders a sense of accomplishment and promote confidence.  This will translate into increased academic success. 

Bennett,S., Dworet, D. & Weber, K. (2008). Special Education in Ontario Schools (6th ed.).  St.

      Davids, Canada: Highland Press, pp 218

Bravmann, S. (2004). Two, four six, eight, let’s all differentiate:  differential education yesterday,

       today, and tomorrow. Johns Hopkins University School of Education.  Retrieved  June 14, 2012

       from http://education.jhu.edu/newhorizons/strategies/topics/Differentiated%20Instruction/differentiate/index.htmliate/index.html.

Ministry of Education. Caring and Safe Schools in Ontario,  Retrieved May11, 2012,  from

                www.gov.on.ca/general/elemsec/speced/caring_safe_school.pdf.

Winzer, M. (2008).  Children With Exceptionalities in Canadian Classrooms (8th ed.).  Toronto,

         Canada:  Pearson Prentice Hall, pp 120-126.

Behavioural Exceptionalities

Sunday, 10 June 2012

Behavioural Disorders---What are they???

                 Children and youth with behavioural disorders exhibit a spectrum of behaviours ranging from disruptive and contancerous outbursts to severe withdrawal from social interaction.  Dozens of different characteristics have been attributed to these children and youth.  There is no such thing as a typical child with a behaviour disorder; the only commonality is that the excesses are chronic and extend far beyond the norm.  Given the varied behaviours and uniqueness of every affected individual, definitions, terminology and classifications are very confused. 
               All behavioural disorders are abnormal in the sense that the word means "away from the norm", and behavioural disorders are deviations from average or standard behaviour.  It is hard to draw the line between serious behavioural disorders and problematic behaviour that is fairly common in childhood.  All children exhibit varying behaviours, and deviant and unusual behaviours may exist in the repertoires of those

who are developing normally.  Children who have behavioural challenges sometimes behave quite normally.  Distinctions between normal and disturbed behaviour are generally in the amount and/or degree rather than kind.  Children with behavioural disorders perform certain behaviours too often or intensely, or not often or intensely enough, but specifing this amount and degree is difficult.
              The field of behavioural disabilities has seen evolving terminology over the years.  At the onset, a variety of descriptors, largely arising from a psychiatric base, were used:  neurotic, psychotic, obsessive, and emotionally distrubed.  Current educators prefer to dispense with psychiatric terms, but still disagree over what constitutes a severe behaviour disorder, whether the use of term is even justifiable, and whether to call these children emotionally disturbed, behaviourally disordered, socially maladjusted, deviant, psychologically impaired, educationally handicapped, character disordered, children in conflict, delinquent, or some other descriptor.  Given the varied terminology, it is not surprising that numerous ways to define behavioural disorders have emerged over the years, but a universally accepted definition remains extremely problematic.
               To make diagnosis even more challenging, there is no single symptom that is common to all pupils who are behaviourally disordered or even to a subgroup of these children, because there is no such thing as a typical student who is behaviourally disordered.  Some (but not all) children are versitile in their antisocial behaviour, and likely to display a wide variety of inappropriate behaviours or more than one type of problem or disorder.  A child with a conduct disorder may also be depressed, and that child's behaviour may vacillate to such a degree as to show both internalizing and externalizing problems.  Some children who show versatile antisocial behaviour are, generally likely to have the more severe problems, and their prognosis is usually poorer compared to those who exhibit only one type of antisocial behaviour.
               Behavioural disorders cannot be measured quatitively.  We have no instruments analogous to the I.Q. test to determine a mental health quotient.   Behavioural problems also change as children get older.  A child who frequently disobeyed  their parents, might, as a teenager, engage in vandalism and delinquency.  Identification can also occur at any age and is usually made by parents or teachers whose expectations and tolerance levels differ by the individual doing the identifying.  Teachers place different demands on students depending upon their own behavioural standards and the degree to which they are accepting of specific maladaptive behaviours.
              

Once diagnosed, most children with behavioural disabilities are considered to struggle with one or more of the following:

- conduct disorders
-anxiety and withdrawal
-socialized aggression
-ADHD
-childhood psychosis

The two most common are aggressive behaviour (acting out) and social withdrawal.  It is important to remember that no child is the same.
 

Prevelance

                  Based on media reports, it would seem that the incidence of behavioural disorders has increased dramatically during the last few decades.  Teachers, on the other hand, found behaviour was neither increasing or decreasing.  Although mounting numbers are being identified as behaviourally disordered, accurate figures are not available chiefly because of the lack of a clear and precise definitional construct. 
                  In Canada, a national study by the Canadian Institute of Child Health (2000) reported that the rates of behaviioural and emotional problems for children aged 4 to 11 is "disturbingly high", with 1 in 10 children exhibiting behaviour consistent with hyperactivity problems, conduct disorder, or an emotional disorder.  Boys (6-16%) do get diagnosed for behavioural disorders more often than girls (2-9%).  One has to wonder if

this has anything to do with the expectations of students behaviour in school settings.  Considering that boys often function differently than girls and at different rates, could some of their diagnosis' be due to their different learning styles?  Certainly, too, different behavioural problems are more prevelant in boys (such as aggression), while others are more prevalent in girls (anxiety).  All the same, all behavioural disabilities can effect

both genders.  As well, the prevalence of behavioural disorders are consistantly low in the beginning grades, peak in middle school and tend to fall off in highschool.  This does not mean that the issues will go away with time.  Intervention, as early as possible, is essential in helping these children manage their behaviour and not lose their social, emotional and psychological skills.  In order to grow into strong, confident adults, they will need these skills for a strong self-esteem and self-image.
                Behavioural disorders often are bi-products of other learning disorders too.  A child suffering from physical, social, emotional or learning challenges is often frustrated or anxious, thus, reflecting poor behavioural symptoms.  Behavioural problems can be the result of trama or stresses at home or with peers, coming out only in highly stressful situations like the classroom or anywhere the child lacks confidence.  Because there are so many different origins and causes and so many types of diagnosis, behavioural disabilities are challenging to identify and treat. Yet it is still very important to address these issues because of how many children are affected and the impact it can have on their success.  

Etiology

  

                   Despite the vast amount of research, nobody fully understands the causes of any type of psychopathy and there is no evidence linking any behavioural disorders to any specific cause.  Behavioural disorders occur among the rich, poor, gifted, intellectually disabled, and members of all racial and ethnic groups.  Because social and cultural expectations differ, there are varying reactions to certain behaviours.  Deviance is

defined by social groups that recognize some behaviours as infractions of the rules and label as deviant persons who do not conform to these socially defined rules.  This explains, at least in part why a disapropriate number of students from culturally and linguistically different groups are labelled as behaviourally disordered. 
Here are some possible causes for behavioural disorders:

 

 

Definitions 

The most widely used classification system was formed by Quay and his collegues; they came up with 5 major types of behavioural disorders:

1) Conduct Disorder
2) Anxiety & Withdrawal
3) Socialized Aggression
4) Attention Disorders & Motor Excess (ADHD)
5) Psychotic Behaviour

Conduct Disorder

-most common
-overt, aggressive, disruptive behaviour or covert antisocial acts that are breaking the social rules and as a result violate social norms and the rights of others
-volatile, unpredictable, hyperactive and disputive behaviour
-engage in attention-getting, limit-testing defiance, challenges, disrespectful, verbally abusive, blatant rule violations, threats and intimidation
-non-compliance, failing to follow ADULT rules and because they have failed to develop reliable internal controls, they often seem to not know right from wrong
-characterized behaviours are not age-appropriate

Subcatagories are Aggressive Behaviour and ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorders).

Aggressive Behaviour  involves verbal, non-verbal and physical behaviour that injure others directly or indirectly and/or results in extraneous gains

for the aggressor (Zirpoli and Mellory, 1997, pg 339)

ODD is characterized by consistantly negavitistic, hostile and defiant behaviour, particularly towards adults.  These children frequently argue, show resentment, are touchy, spiteful, angry and vindictive and throw many temper-tantrums.   This form of conduct disorder often develops into a worse condition later.

Anxiety and Withdrawal

Currently there are 14 catagories of anxiety disorders, the most common being obsessive compulsive disorder, separation anxiety disorder, post-tramatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and social phobia.

Anxiety is a fear of future reference, characterized by worry, tension, uneasiness, and fears of what could happen, esspecially around new situations and people.  It is abnormal when it occurs in situations that most people can handle with little difficulty.

"Generalized Anxiety" is present all the time and may include phobias (fears of specific things).  These children suffer from nausea, abdominal pain and often express their fears by crying, sadness and depression.  This disorder is more common in girls than boys, but school phobia.

-affects 2% from age 5-15years equally.

Obsessive-compulsive disorders are recurrent obsessions and /or compulsions that interfere with daily life and cause distress.  Obsessions are persistant ideas that are experienced as intrusive or inappropriate.  Compulsions are repeated behaviours or acts to reduce stress and anxiety, but not for pleasure or gratification.  Disorders can result in disgust, discomfort and guilt.  These children are often withdrawn, secretive,

apathetic, day-dream and fanatsize instead of socializing.  They may experience depression, lose interest in activities, feel worthless and guilty, and have difficulty thinking, concentrating and making decisions.

Socialized Aggression

Children and youth with discipline problems at school, seem to have the same issues outside of school.
These issues are more social, than emotional or behavioural.  Children socializing in delinquent peer groups who reinforce poor behaviour in a positive way, are encouraged to fall into the pattern of repeated offences.  Violence, non-compliance, bullying, intimidation, gang vandalism, stealing, fighting, truancy and sexual assault are encouraged in these social groups.  Often this behaviour gets worse and more serious over time.

 

Attention Disorders

-a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity/impulsivity that is more frequent and severe than is typically the norm
-inattention, impulsivity, hyperactivity
-difficulty concentrating, tuning in and actively participating
-bounce from one activity to the next, active, easily distracted by visual and auditory stimuli
-difficulty taking turns, interupts and cannot sit still
-high intelligence or at least average

-ADHD is the most common form of attention disorder.

Psychological Disorders

Austism, Aspergers, childhood disintegrative disorders, Retts, childhood psychosis, schizophenia, developmental disorders and combinations of these are psychologic disorders.  They are physiological conditions that can cause unusual behaviour as a result.  
  

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It remains important, in fact imperative that as educators, we remember the child in all of this.  No matter what the origin or prognosis of their behavioural disability is, this is a child who is suffering and needs our help.  The more positive environment we can create for them, the greater the chance to giving that child the opportunity they deserve to succeed in life.  

 

Test Yourself...

http://psychcentral.com/addquiz.htm
http://psychcentral.com/cgi-bin/addquiz.cgiText Yourself for ADHD

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