Emotional and behavioral disabilities overview

Emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) is a broad category which is used commonly in educational settings, to group a range of more specific perceived difficulties of children and adolescents. Both general definitions as well as concrete diagnosis of EBD may be controversial as the observed behavior may depend on many factors.

In the US, having EBD in a child means that they exhibit one or more of the following characteristics to a marked degree for a long duration of time that adversely affects their education:

1. Difficulty to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.
2. Difficulty to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.
3. Inappropriate types of behavior (acting out against self or others) or feelings (express's the need to harm self or others, low self-worth, etc.) under normal circumstances.
4. A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
5. A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.

Taken and adapted from  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_disability


By themselves, EBDs have little effect on a child's intrinsic intellectual ability. However, the issues caused by EBD may distract or prevent a child from receiving meaningful learning opportunities, delaying their development and endangering their odds for academic or life success. EBD is also often found co-morbid with developmental or intellectual disabilities.


The specific EBDs covered in this blog are:

- OCD / OCPD
- Depressive and/or maniac disorders
- Alcohol related disorders and defects / FAS / FASD 
- Schizophrenia
- Generalized anixety disorder