Categories: EBD is not one simple issue; rather, it is an umbrella term for many different things. Sometimes it is also referred to as "emotional disturbances". which is the way IDEA defines it. There are many different ways to categorize EBDs, but one of the more acceptable is the method utilized by the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, aka DSM-5, published by the American Psychiatric Association (aka APA), which outlines the more common ones into the following categories:
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Another way to categorize EBDs is whether the behaviors are internalized or externalized. Some examples of what this looks like:
Reflection: the big takeaway we got from this information is that no two children have the same issues. And while we're just focusing on students with EBD, we've still got lots of different problems that each of them may have (schizophrenia, phobias, shyness, etc. I even recall when I had a phobia of spiders, after having read the Lord of the Rings and read the vivid details about Shelob, the giant spider monstrosity as old as the hills themselves...I was afraid of spiders for months! While I've since grown out of it, for a couple weeks, anything resembling a creepy 8-legged arachnid that I spied was either pummeled into oblivion, or escaped with the speed of a roadrunner!
Most of us will never fully understand what these kids are going through, but having some compassion and (if possible) empathy makes a big difference to them, trust us.
Most of us will never fully understand what these kids are going through, but having some compassion and (if possible) empathy makes a big difference to them, trust us.