Module 4 - Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

How We Might Make Special Education for Students with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders Less Stigmatizing.

In this article the authors suggest four ways in order to make special eduction less stigmatizing particularly for those with emotional or behavioral disorders. In the United States there are many negative views on education, special education, educational disabilities, and emotional/behavioral disabilities. The stigma of being labeled “special education” or having a “disability” is a real fear of most parents and is what keeps many students from receiving the much needed services that special education could provide for them.  “The term emotional or behavioral disorder (EBD) means a disability characterized by behavioral or emotional responses in school so different from appropriate age, cultural, or ethnic norms that they adversely affect educational performance.” This quote is quoted within the article and comes from  Forness and Knitter (1992) (p.13). 

Proposed in this article are the following four suggestions as to how special education can be come less destructive of student’s identities in particular for those with EBD. The first suggestion is “Talk about Differences in Plain Language”. This portion of the article speaks of how we become label obsessed and how we are always in search of finding labels to carry less of a stigma. In reality it’s not the label that is the issue, it is the misunderstanding of what the label and the words that go along with the label mean. We are often trying to “rebrand” and that often just create more of a mess. The article uses the example of a medical disease. If we all of a sudden start calling cancer something else to make it seem better, people will eventually figure out that our new word still means the dreadful disease of cancer. Therefore we need to further educate people on the meanings of the words that go along with disabilities rather than constantly trying to change the names of the disabilities. The next suggestion is to “Accept the Reality of What EBD Means for Education”.  Here the article talks about how education should not be a one size fits all approach and that regular education classrooms need to look different based upon student needs and similarly special education classrooms need to be different based upon student needs. Meeting every students needs will not mean that every student needs the same education given in the same manner. Just like not all sicknesses can be treated with the same antibiotic. In order to reduce the stigmas of EBD we need to embrace the differences that go along with these students and what those differences mean for their education. The third suggestion is “Emphasize Benefits and the Skills Needed to Provide Them”.  This section speaks of how we need to celebrate the positive impacts that special education makes on students lives and not focus on what is not being achieved by special education. Our biggest thrills as teachers need to come from what our students DID accomplish over the school year and not focus in on the skills that they are still lacking. We need to celebrate progress! Finally, the fourth suggestion is “Try to Make Special Education for Students with EBD What it Should Be”. The educational system is a system that will always need improvement and this is much the same in the field of special education. Special education for students with EBD needs improvements in their practice. This realm of special education needs to be focusing on the evidence based practices that will help to reach success for students with EBD. 

I personally found this article very interesting and very practical to all areas of special education, not just working with students with emotional or behavioral disabilities. I think that as special educators it is very important for us to understand that meanings and vocabulary that go along with our profession. We need to help educate those around us on our special education vocabulary so that we can start to eradicate the stigmas that go along with special education. I also think that it is highly important for us to find those evidence based strategies that will help us in working with the specific population that we do and use them! We need to continually educate ourselves as educators in order to help our students! 

Overall the negative stigma that goes along with disabilities and special education is one that makes me very sad. I know that the negative thoughts and ideas are not something that will disappear over night but I do feel that if well all worked just a little harder to educate others  maybe people wouldn’t be so quick to misjudge those with disabilities. 

Kauffman, J. M., & Badar, J. (2013). How we might make special education for students with emotional or       

          behavioral disorders less stigmatizing. Behavioral Disorders, 39, 16-24.