It means the child/person has emotional problems. There could be mood swings, and the person could have behavioral problems. The person could have depression, borderline personality disorder, or any of the other personality disorders. Sometimes people are labeled “emotionally disturbed” but it is not that the person is actually “disturbed” in the sense of completely off reality, the child/person could be a victim of abuse and acts out because she/he is not able to handle the emotional trauma they are facing or going through. So a conclusion is made that the child is “emotionally disturbed.”
Emotional Disturbance is an eligibility category under state and federal special education law. It’s just a list of criteria by which the student is made eligible. It usually means that some kind of emotional problems get in the way of the student learning, and that the student needs specially designed instruction as a result.
Emotional Disturbance is not a diagnosis, but the student who qualifies under this category typically has a diagnosis that comes from a psychiatrist, psychologist, or social worker, for example. You would expect to find that in a report in the student’s file. In some cases, we would want to get annual updates on that report.
I can’t give you the specific criteria for your state, since it varies from place to place. One of the biggest controversies is whether kids whose only diagnosis is Oppositional Defiant Disorder or Conduct Disorder can be made eligible under this category. In some states, such students may be excluded under a “social maladjustment” clause. There are many real and imagined loopholes in these laws, and implementation is far from consistent.
One would normally expect that such students would have some kind of counseling as part of their Individualized Educational Program. In my state, they might also have monthly psychiatric appointments through the school to monitor psychiatric medication, but we’re pretty much the only one that does that!
Here are the official criteria for placement in special education as a child with emotional disturbance. Usually the IEP team members discuss the criteria and then make a decision as to whether or not this is an appropriate label.
1. An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory or health factors;
2. An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers;
3. Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances;
4. A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression; and,
5. A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or social problems.
The characteristic(s) must have existed to a marked degree and over an extended period of time.
Prior to this meeting, psychological testing needs to be done to make sure that learning disabilities are not causing the problem. A Functional Behavior Assessment must also be performed as well as an in depth social history. The test battery will also include speech and language testing to make sure there is not an underlying language disorder.
The disorders that I have seen accompanying SED (severly emotionally disturbed) are conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, the defunct explosive disorder, or antisocial personality disorder. Usually to carry the SED the child is disruptive. These disorders are diagnosed by a clinician. The SED is an education classification
The above poster has the criteria correct. A full psych evaluation and battery of testing can be done by the school and can result in such a label if they have a competent psychologist on staff.
I have worked in a special ed ED class, and the disorders have varied. Severe ADHD, ADD/anxiety/depression, bi-polar, depression, aspergers/anxiety, schitzophrenia. Depression is present most of the time.
Once in a while we’d get a kid who after a few weeks proved not to be ED, but Oppositional Defiant, but these were all transfer students from other districts who had been labeled incorrectly.
Many, but not all, kids labeled ED have had serious trauma or abuse. They often come from very difficult home lives as well, though this is not always the case.
basically a student classified as ED can be:
acting out/have behavior problems
or
be seriously introverted/have anxiety/be withdrawn
or
have a medically diagnosed condition such as depression, oppositional defiant disorder, etc..that also inpacts their education
or juust have difficulty coping with the demands of mainstream education.
The important thing to remember is that just because a student is classified ED does not mean the student acts out/is violent
thats when like someone dies and you have feelings for them so your feel like sad.