Special Needs Characteristics of Children with

Emotional and
Behavioral Disorders that Affect Inclusion in
Regular Education

A Research Paper
Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate
School and College of Education CEBU
TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Course
SOCIO- CULTURAL
FOUNDATION OF
EDUCATION

LIZA D. GARCIA

August 2017
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The work presented here has been carried out by Liza D. Garcia. The views
expressed in this document are those of the author.

The researcher has used ideas from a number of publications:

 Batzle, C., Weyandt, L., Janusis, G., & Deviett, T. (2010). Potential impact of
ADHD with stimulant medication label on teacher expectations. Journal of
Attention Disorders, 14, 157‐166.
 Buysse, V., & Bailey, D. B. (1994). The relationship between child
characteristics and placement in specialized versus inclusive early childhood
programs. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 14, 419‐435.
 Conn-Powers, M., A. Cross, E. Traub, & L. Hutter-Pishgahi. 2006. The universal
design of early education: Moving forward for all children. Beyond the Journal
—Young Children on the Web.
http://journal.naeyc.org/btj/200609/ConnPowersBTJ.pdf
 Doctoroff, S. 2001. Adapting the physical environment to meet the needs of all
young children for play. Early Childhood Education Journal 29 (2): 105–09.
 Hallaham and Kauffman (2003). Exceptional Learners. Introduction to
Special Education. New York: Ally and Bacon.
 National Council for Special Education (NCSE) (2006a). Implementation
Report: Plan for the Phased Implementation of the EPSEN Act 2004. Trim Co.
Meath: NCSE.
The researcher would also like to extend her heartful thanks to her family for
the support and also to the university who sheltered her for this research, most
especially to the professor. Above all, the researcher would like to thank the God
Almighty for the guidance.
 INTRODUCTION

“No two children are the same”. How often have you said that? Take any
class of children in your school. They may be the same age but are they all alike?
No! How do they differ from one another? Some are tall; others are small. Some
are shy; others are forward. Some learn quickly; others are slow.
Can you think of any other ways children differ from one another?
This is a question certain educator should investigate.
Some children are born with impairments such as eyes that do not see
well; arms and legs that are deformed, or a brain that is not developing in a
typical way. Some children can be left with impairments after childhood illnesses
like measles and cerebral malaria or from accidents such as burns and bad falls.
Often these children are called ‘disabled’ or ‘handicapped’. Some children’s
growth and development is impaired because their environment causes them
harm or does not support their well being. They may not have enough food or a
good diet; they may live in poor housing and are prone to illnesses; they may be
beaten; their parents may have separated; they are refugees or survivors of war.
Sometimes they live on the streets. They may abuse drugs.
Persons with special needs are found in all societies of the world. Within
and outside our different institutions of learning we find learners with special
needs that require unique responses to their education. These categories of
children cannot benefit from the conventional classroom because they require
special education and related services if they are to realize their maximum
potential. These special need children may have learning or attention difficulties,
intellectual retardation, behavioral problems, physical and health related
problems, disordered communication, hearing impaired and visually impaired.

All children, including children with special educational needs, have a right
to an education which is appropriate to their needs. The aims of education for
pupils with special educational needs are the same as apply to all children.
Education should be about enabling all children, in line with their abilities, to live
full and independent lives so that they can contribute to their communities,
cooperate with other people and continue to learn throughout their lives.
Education is about supporting children to develop in all aspects of their lives –
spiritual, moral, cognitive, emotional, imaginative, aesthetic, social and physical.
 This research paper is made for parents to answer key questions they may
have about special education, to define special education both generally and as it
relates to their child, to discuss the different communication or emotional and
behavioral disorder of the child. The word 'parent' in this document should also
be taken to include guardians of children as well as the teacher in school. The
major goal of this course is to prepare future teachers and educators for delivery
and evaluation of Education and Special Education Programme. The course will
enhance better performances of parents, teachers and learners.

Objectives:
Upon reading this research, you will be able to:

 Define special education.

 Evaluate roles of children’s “parents”, such as the teacher and the
parents themselves to assist and guide their children with differing
needs.
 Find out the characteristics of children with emotional and
behavioral disorder.
 Identify barriers of learning.
 Acquire how to deal with children with disability.

Review of Related Literature

Increasing numbers of young children with special needs are being cared
for in early childhood settings in their community. Although early childhood
professionals approach inclusion with open minds and hearts, many may still be
anxious about their ability to respond fully to the needs of children with
disabilities.
You may wonder how well your preschool or kindergarten is prepared to
include a child with special needs. Welcoming a young child with special needs
into your classroom can raise many concerns or relatively few, depending on the
child’s abilities. A teacher’s job is not easy. You may have big classes of 40 and
more pupils – all of them individuals! Having children with disabilities or from
disadvantaged backgrounds in your class often means more work but it need not
be so. You can manage differences among the children if you can recognize
children’s strengths and weaknesses and plan your lessons accordingly, you
know how children’s learning can be affected by disabilities and deprivation and
you use teaching strategies for overcoming these difficulties, you have
confidence in your own abilities as a teacher to plan lessons for individuals and
adapt the curriculum to suit the needs of all children, you get help and support
from colleagues, parents and other professionals, such as community and health
workers, and if you believe that all children have the right to education and that
all can learn.

In school, children have to learn many different things. Some children

seem to learn quickly; others are slower. In certain subjects, a child may do better
than others. For example, some pupils can be good at reading but poorer at
maths. Often we do not know why this happens. Various explanations are given.
Children who have physical, sensory or intellectual impairments can
experience many difficulties in learning and participating in community life. For
example, a child may have lost a limb as the result of accident; have wasted legs
following polio or been born with deformed limbs because of cerebral palsy.
Often they are called ‘disabled’ in that they are unable to walk or to climb stairs.
But more importantly this disability often holds the child back in various ways
(McConkey, 18).
Individualized accommodations might be necessary as you consider the
supports each child needs for learning and how to respond to a family’s wishes
and concerns. Some basic principles exist and can help you think about your
program’s overall inclusion readiness. Coming together as a community to create
a truly inclusive system of early childhood care and education requires
commitment and a willingness to strive to be ready to teach and support every
child in the community.
Inclusive environments are designed to provide an educational setting in
which all children can be as involved and independent as possible (Winter 1999).
Many times there are unidentified or unknown barriers to full participation that
cause children with special needs to become isolated, frustrated, and less
independent than their peers. This article provides information preschool and
kindergarten educators can use to identify possible barriers and overcome them
so all children can participate and learn.
For children with disabilities a regular classroom can be a challenging
environment. In order to function adequately and make optimal use of their
learning abilities and potential, they generally require educational support
specifically tailored to their needs. This specialized support can be offered in a
variety of settings ranging in restrictiveness, i.e. from a regular classroom to
placement in a special school. During the past decades, a considerable body of
research has emerged in the field of special education focusing on topics such as
the characteristics of children with disabilities in special education, the special
educational services used by this population, and the potential benefits of special
educational placement and services with regard to behavioral and academic
progress and development.
However, despite this high research interest, several issues remain under
explored when it comes to children with an emotional or behavioral disorder
(EBD) as their primary disability. For one, there is a need for a better
understanding of factors that determine the restrictiveness of special educational
placement of this population. Also, relatively little is known about the behavioral
and academic progress of children with EBD in special education, and the
possible differential influence of educational setting on progress outcomes.
Further, more insight in factors that relate to academic and behavioral
functioning of this population in special education is needed (Scholte, 2008).
Such information is important to extend knowledge of learning environments that
best fit the special needs of children with EBD, and is relevant for improvement of
interventions and pedagogical strategies that aim to support the cognitive and
social‐emotional development of these children.
In view of the idea of inclusive education, professionals who make
decisions about special educational services and placement have to consider the
least restrictive environment (LRE) for a child with a disability. The LRE is the
school environment where children with disabilities can be educated with
typically developing peers of the same age to the maximum extent appropriate
(McLeskey, Landers, Williamson, & Hoppey, 2012). It is suggested that full
inclusion is the most ideal situation, which means that children are educated in a
regular education classroom for the majority of the school day (Stephens &
Lakin, 1995).
Special education in the Netherlands aimed at providing support and
facilities for children with a wide range of disabilities in a variety of segregated
settings with their own area of expertise for almost half a century. Eventually, this
resulted in 15 different types of special schools for children with mild to severe
special educational needs (Meijer, 1994).

Disability category distinguished in Dutch special education is that of

children with developmental, behavioral, or emotional disorders (Cluster 4).
Internationally comparable categories are children with emotional and behavioral
disorders (EBD) or children with serious emotional disturbance (SED) (Stephens
& Lakin, 1995). In order to increase the correspondence with terminology used in
international journals we maintained the term EBD consistently throughout the
chapters of this thesis to refer to the Cluster 4 population. To be eligible for
special education in the Netherlands, children have to meet specific criteria
designed by the Dutch government. If they do, they are entitled to special
educational support within the cluster that serves their specific disability. The
Dutch admission criteria for Cluster 4 are as follows: (a) a developmental,
behavioral, and/or emotional disorder according to the Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders – Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM‐IV‐TR;
American Psychiatric Association (APA), 2000) accompanied by (b) serious
impairments preventing attendance of regular education, deficiencies which (c)
the continuum of regular educational care cannot handle without additional help.
In addition, the defining characteristics of the diagnosed disorders including the
impairments should not be limited to the school environment alone, but must
also be present at home and/or during leisure activities (Ministerie van OCW
[Ministry of Education], 2006). These criteria suggest that the Cluster 4 disability
category accommodates a considerably heterogeneous population of children
with a variety of disorders, educational needs and abilities.
The Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act
was passed into law in July 2004. Special educational needs are defined in this
act as a restriction in the capacity of the person to participate in and benefit from
education on account of an enduring physical, sensory, mental health or learning
disability, or any other condition which results in a person learning differently
from a person without that condition.

The EPSEN Act recognises that special educational needs may arise from
four different areas of disability: physical, sensory, mental health, learning
disability or from any other condition that results in the child learning differently
from a child without that condition. It is also important to understand that a child
can have a disability but not have any special educational needs arising from that
disability which require additional supports in school.

It is important to remember that inclusive education is not just about the

particular school or class a child attends. It is also about what goes on in that
school or class. Inclusive education means encouraging each child to take part in
the everyday activity of the school, and helping every child to achieve the most
from school. Inclusive education means ensuring that the system adjusts to meet
children’s needs, rather than expecting children to ‘fit’ into the system.
The DES provides for three main types of education provision which are
available to primary and post-primary pupils with special educational needs.
These are:
A mainstream class wherein mainstream primary or post-primary school
where the class or subject teacher has primary responsibility for the progress of
all pupils in the class, including pupils with special educational needs. Additional
teaching support from a learning support or resource teacher may be provided,
where appropriate, a special class in a mainstream primary or post-primary
school with a lower pupil-teacher ratio specified according to category of
disability. This means that classes have small numbers of pupils, for example, a
special class for children with autistic spectrum disorder has one teacher for
every six pupils.
Finally,a special school with a lower pupil-teacher ratio specified according
to category of disability. This means that classes have small numbers of pupils,
for example a special school for children with moderate general learning
disability has one teacher for every eight pupils.
 Beneficial aspects of inclusive education mentioned by advocates appear
to relate primarily to the social dimension of being in the presence of, and
interaction with, typically developing peers. Examples of such positive effects are
improved social and communicative functioning, strengthened self concept,. On
the other hand, arguments put forward for more restrictive environments include
the provision of intensive individual attention and specialized support, and a
lower likelihood of social exclusion (Stoutjesdijk, 11).

Parents are often very concerned about whether it is best for their child
with special educational needs to attend a mainstream school or a special school
or class. In making this decision, it is helpful to think about which setting is most
suited to your child’s individual needs and the quality of education that can be
provided for your child within that setting.
A range of factors should be taken into account such as, your child’s
needs, your child’s best interests, your own preference, the needs of other
children in the school setting.
When applying to enrol your child, it is important that you give schools
relevant information about your child’s special educational needs. This enables
the school to prepare, in advance, for your child’s arrival in the school (Griffin,
46).

Definition of Terms
 Special education
This is a type of education that is specially designed to meet the
uncommon needs of exceptional students.

 Inclusion
Children who are perceived ‘different’ because of their impairment, ethnic
background, language, poverty, etc. are often excluded from or marginalised in
society and local communities. Their inclusion means changing the attitudes and
practices of individuals, organisations and associations so that they can fully and
equally participate in and contribute to the life of their community and culture. An
inclusive society is one in which difference is respected and valued, and where
discrimination and prejudice is actively combated in policies and practices.

 Inclusive education
This refers to schools, centers of learning and educational systems that are
open to ALL children. For this to happen, teachers, schools and systems may
need to change so that they can better accommodate the diversity of needs that
pupils have and that they are included in all aspects of school-life. It also means a
process of indentifying any barriers within and around the school that hinder
learning, and reducing or removing these barriers.

 General learning disability

It can be at the level of mild, moderate, severe or profound.

 Specific learning disability

A child has difficulty in a specific area of learning such as reading, writing,
spelling and arithmetical notation.

Significance of the Study

 Teachers
Teachers will be provided with key facts about various impairments and
deprivations and how to overcome the most common learning difficulties that
result from them.

 Parents
They will be able to understand their child and support their special needs.

 Learners
Through this research, learners will be able develop respect towards the
disabled children and will have self- realization.

 School
The school will be more meticulous and observant on making programs
that would include children with special needs.
 THE RESEARCH DESIGN

Research Method
A historical method and fact- finding method of research is being utilized
by the researcher.

Research Subjects
The subjects of research are the children with differing needs, the teacher
and the parents.

Research Instruments
The instruments used in this research paper were books and the internet.
 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS
AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter reveals the summary, findings, conclusions, and

recommendations based on the data being gathered, interpreted, and analyzed
upon a thorough conduct of research.

Summary of Findings
Base on the data gathered, analyzed and interpreted, the researcher found
out that special children must not be out casted in the society. These children
have still place that is special where they could continue learning and show their
talents.
As you read back over the list of consequences; you will see that it is not
the impairment that should concern teachers or how it was caused, but rather it is
reducing the consequences that the impairment brings to the child’s life and the
barriers that it presents to children’s learning.

Conclusions
In accordance with the findings obtained, the researcher concluded that
every child is an individual. Parents also have an important role to play in
everyday school life. It is not the impairment that holds the person but the way in
which society treats the person and the teachers and schools need to adapt their
ways of working to meet the children’s needs.

Recommendations
On the basis of the presented findings and conclusions, the following
recommendations were formulated by the researchers:
1. Identify first the conditions and needs of the learners.
2. The education environment should aim at promoting a healthy
emotional and behavioral development.
3. An important aspect that schools and educators should focus on when
they provide support and design intervention models is the influence of
the classroom context, specifically the possibility of coercive
interaction patterns between children displaying disruptive behavior.

4. Every school should be provided with an additional allocation of

learning support hours.
5. Parents should give schools relevant information about their child’s
special educational needs in order to assist the school to meet their
particular needs.
 REFERENCES

 Batzle, C., Weyandt, L., Janusis, G., & Deviett, T. (2010). Potential impact of
ADHD with stimulant medication label on teacher expectations. Journal of
Attention Disorders, 14, 157‐166.

 Buysse, V., & Bailey, D. B. (1994). The relationship between child

characteristics and placement in specialized versus inclusive early
childhood programs. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 14, 419‐
435.

 Conn-Powers, M., A. Cross, E. Traub, & L. Hutter-Pishgahi. 2006. The universal

design of early education: Moving forward for all children. Beyond the
Journal—Young Children on the Web
http://journal.naeyc.org/btj/200609/ConnPowersBTJ.pdf

 Doctoroff, S. 2001. Adapting the physical environment to meet the needs of all
young children for play. Early Childhood Education Journal 29 (2): 105–09.

 Hallaham and Kauffman (2003). Exceptional Learners. Introduction to

Special Education. New York: Ally and Bacon.

 National Council for Special Education (NCSE) (2006a). Implementation

Report: Plan for the Phased Implementation of the EPSEN Act 2004. Trim
Co. Meath: NCSE.