Characteristics of Students with Behavior and Learning Problems

Chapter 4

Etiologies of BD/LD/MMR

Biology: influences the neural, chemical, and functional aspects of the body. Accounts for traits and conditions

which are hereditary. Are transmitted to the child from the

mother and the father. Examples of hereditary:

schizophrenia, depression, and temperament.

Biological Influences

Birth Prenatal: maternal drug/alcohol

use, disease, maternal poor nutrition

Perinatal: brain damage from anoxia

Postnatal: brain damage from accident or shaken severely, lead poisoning,and encephalitis

Etiologies of BD/LD/MMR

Environmental Influences Culture Home: parenting styles School: behavioral learning Peers: social learning

Classification Systems

Educational Classification based on

IDEA categories Educational performance

must be adversely impacted

Definitions at federal level: states adapt

Psychiatric Classification based on

DSM-IV Medical and Mental

Health Professionals make diagnosis

DSM-IV diagnosis does not = qualification for special education in all cases

ADHD

DSM-IV diagnosis Prevalence = approx. 5% Different categories

Inattentive Hyperactive/Impulsive Combined: inattentive and

hyperactive

ADHD

Etiology Minimal Brain

Dysfunction (MBD) historically

Current hypotheses: chemical imbalance genetic predisposition neurotransmitter

difficulties No definitive cause:

continued debate

Assessment diagnosed by a doctor,

psychiatrist may use:

behavioral checklists parent & teacher

reports observation

Disturbance: IDEA Emotional (i) a condition exhibiting one or more of the following

characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree, which adversely affects educational performance an inability to learn which cannot be explained by other

factors an inability to build or maintain interpersonal relations inappropriate types of feelings under normal

circumstances general pervasive mood or unhappiness or depression tendency to develop physical symptoms related to

personal or school problems (ii) Does not include children who are schizophrenic or

socially maladjusted, unless also SED

Internalizing Disorders

Anxiety - Withdrawal generalized anxiety phobias OCD panic attacks anorexia, bulimia depression

Internalizing Behavior

Psychotic behavior hallucinations delusions

schizophrenia schizotypal (personality disorder)

External Disorders

Undersocialized Aggressive CD CD Attention Problems -

Immaturity Motor Excess

• unaware of behavioral expectations

Socialized Aggressive CD Socialized

delinquency• gang involvement

• truancy

• “looks up to other rule violators

• aware of behavioral expectations; covert attempts

Autism: IDEA Definition: a developmental disability significantly

affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age 3 that adversely affects educational performance . Other characteristics associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or changes in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences. The term does not apply if a child’s educational performance is adversely affected primarily because the child has a serious emotional disturbance.

Autism: DSM-IV Under: Pervasive Developmental

Disorder with Rett Syndrome, Asperger Syndrome

Characteristics Range = mild to severe Communication impairments Relational impairments Lack of fear Perseveration Self-stimulation & SIB

Autism

Etiology Historically = product

of a cold, uncaring, “refrigerator mother”

Currently = attributed to a neurological dysfunction or difference present at birth

Assessment IQ assessed: 60%

below 50, 20% = 50-70, 20% above 70

Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS)

Learning Disabilities: IDEA Specific Learning Disabilities means a disorder in one

or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations. The term includes such conditions as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. The term does not apply to children who have learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of mental retardation, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.

Characteristics of SLD

Average or above average intelligence Discrepancies in their ability to perform skills -

inconsistent Difficulty learning to read and write Seem less mature than peers Difficulty speaking, fumbles with words Works slowly on papers, often performs many

errors

Characteristics of SLD Cont. Difficulty taking notes Poor handwriting Poor organization of schoolwork Poor short/long term memory Do not achieve to the expectations of parents and

teachers Can hear, but not understand what they hear

(auditory perceptual problems) Can see, but not make sense of what they see

(visual perceptual problems Understands more, than they write or express

Seven Specific Areas of SLD Oral Expression Listening Comprehension Written Expression Basic Reading Skills Reading Comprehension Mathematics Calculation Mathematics Reasoning

Assessment for LD IQ tests: WISC III, Stanford-Binet IV, Kaufman

Assessment Battery (p.68) Achievement tests: Wechsler Individual

Achievement Test (WIAT), Woodcock Johnson Psychoeducational Battery

Processing deficit: teacher report, TAPS, TVPS In GA. For eligibility must have:

processing deficit; adverse ed. impact average IQ (generally 80 or above) severe discrepancy between IQ and Achievement

(a difference of 20 or more points)

Mental Retardation Definition by IDEA: Mental retardation means a

significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period that adversely affects a child’s educational performance Significantly subaverage intellectual functioning is

defined as 2 standard deviations below the mean of an individualized IQ test. For example, the Mean of the WISC-III = 100 and a SD=15 points. A score of less than 70 is 2 SD.

MMR Characteristics Significantly subaverage IQ Adaptive deficits

communication, home living, self-care,work, leisure

Lack of mediational strategies Poor short and long term memory Lack of generalization of skills Poor communication skills Poor attention skills Lacks external locus of control & fear of failure

Traumatic Brain Injury

Defined as: an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgement; problem solving; sensory,perceptual, and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech. The term does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or brain injuries induced by birth trauma.

Traumatic Brain Injury Two types

closed head injury = no puncture to the skull (eg. shaken baby syndrome)

open head injury = puncture to the skull (eg. gunshot)

Characteristics loss of consciousness fine and gross motor problems memory deficits

Etiology = 1st accidents, 2nd sports, 3rd violence/abuse most common in males before age 10 or between

15-24 yrs.