Emotionally Disturbed &

Visual and Hearing Impaired

Students
By: Alexander Eichhorn & Donna Catapano

Emotionally Disturbed Students

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) defines Emotional
Disturbance as a condition exhibiting one or more of the following
characteristics over a long period of time and having an adverse affect on a
childs ability to learn:
(A) An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors
(B) An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and
teachers
(C) Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances
(D) A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression
(E) A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school
problems
www.parentcenterhub.org

Characteristics Emotionally
Disturbed Students
Characteristics of Emotionally Disturbed Students Typically Include:

Students with mood disorders (e.g. Bipolar Disorder)

Students with anxiety disorders (e.g. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)
Students with ADHD
Students with conduct disorders (i.e. consistent behavior which violates
socially acceptable norms)

Students with Emotional Disturbance are More Likely to be:

Male
African-American
Economically disadvantaged
Living with a single parent or in a foster care setting

cecp.air.org

Additional Characteristics of
Emotionally Disturbed Students
Emotionally Disturbed Students may Exhibit the Following:

Abnormal mood swings

Bizarre motor actions
Aggression and/or self-injuring behavior
Social withdrawal (i.e. failure to initiate interaction with fellow classmates)
Immaturity
Excessive fear (i.e. phobias)
Hyperactivity (i.e. short attention span)
Below grade level functioning in reading, math, writing, and spelling (by
two or more years)
Distorted thinking
schools.utah.gov

Classroom Manifestations of
Emotionally Disturbed Students
Emotional Disturbance may be Manifested in the Classroom by at
Least one of the Following:
a. Inability to learn which cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory or
other health factors
b. Inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with
peers and teachers (e.g. social isolation)
c. Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances
(e.g. immature or abnormal behavior)
d. A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression (e.g. selfmutilating or aggressive behavior)
e. A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with
personal or school problems (e.g. pervasive phobias)
www.sde.ct.gov

General Classroom Adaptations to

Accommodate Emotionally Disturbed
Students
General Adaptations:

Establish an open and accepting environment

Clearly state class rules and consequences
Reinforce positive behavior
Provide extra opportunities for success
Be tolerant
Teach social skills, self-control, self-monitoring, and conflict resolution
Have alternative activities available
Carefully choose partners for group work
Use behavioral contracts

www.education.com

Content Area Specific Adaptations

for Emotionally Disturbed Students
Content Area Specific Adaptations:
In Social Studies, teachers can appeal to the needs of
emotionally disturbed students by:
Developing lessons that incorporate group work in order to aid in the
formation of positive social interactions amongst an emotionally disturbed
student and his/her fellow peers
Developing lessons that allow for students to express their own ideas
without fear of embarrassment. By doing so, the emotionally disturbed
student will have the opportunity to share opinions and arguments. (**This
can be a risky undertaking for a teacher especially if an emotionally
disturbed student often expresses inappropriate behavior or is constantly
acting immature)
www.education.com

References
Emotional Disturbance. (n.d.). Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice. Retrieved from
http://cecp.air.org/resources/20th/eligchar.asp

Emotional Disturbance. (2010). Center for Parent Information and Resources. Retrieved from
http://www.parentcenterhub.org/repository/emotionaldisturbance/
Emotional Disturbance/Behavior Disorder. (n.d.). State of Utah Office of Education. Retrieved from
http://www.schools.utah.gov/sars/DOCS/resources/05edist.aspx
Guidelines for Identifying and Educating Students with Emotional Disturbance. (2012). Connecticut
State Department of Education. Retrieved from http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/pdf/publications
/edguide/ed_guidelines.pdf

Mastropieri, M.A. & Scruggs, T.E. (2010). Emotional disturbance. Retrieved from
http://www.education.com/reference/article/emotional-disturbance/

Visually & Hearing Impaired

Students
Visual impairment is a term that experts use to describe any kind of
vision loss, whether it is someone who cannot see at all or someone who
has partial vision loss.
To be hearing impaired is to have a hearing loss that prevents a person
from totally receiving sounds through the ear. Deafness, however, may
prevent a person from hearing at all.

Characteristics of Students Who Are Visually

Impaired
Some characteristics of students who are visually impaired include:

Visual issues may negatively affect a childs development depending on

the severity of the impairment. Results of visual impairments include
motor, cognitive, and/or social developmental delays.
No desire to explore interesting objects in the environment: missing
opportunities to gain experience and learn.
Due to a childs visual impairment, he or she may be unable to imitate
positive social behavior or understand nonverbal issues.

Characteristics of Students Who Are

Hearing Impaired
Some characteristics of students who are hearing impaired or deaf include:
lack of attention in an educational setting or in general
works best in small groups
preoccupied with things, not people
reluctant to participate orally
has difficulty following directions

Classroom Manifestations for Visually & Hearing

Impaired Students

Signs a student in your classroom may be visually impaired include:

constant eye rubbing

extreme light sensitivity

squinting or closing one eye
poor focusing or difficulty following subjects
inability to see objects at a distance

Manifestations continued
Signs a student in your classroom may be hearing impaired includes:
Listening to things, such as the television, excessively high

Watching others to imitate what they are doing

Complaining of ear aches, ear pain or head noises

Academic problems

What Accommodations Can Be Made for Visually &

Hearing Impaired Students?
Visually impaired students:

students may sit up front to assist them in seeing the board

use magnifiers

require large print handout materials or audio books for reading

need voice-activated computers or other assistive technology

need someone to assist in taking notes

Accommodations continued
Hearing impaired students:

may wear hearing aids or use FM systems which include a microphone/transmitter

worn by the teacher and a receiver worn by the student

may use captioning for any audio-visual videos used in the classroom

understand speech by watching the speakers mouth movements, facial expressions

and gestures

may need to sit closer to the front of the class in order to read lips or hear more
clearly

may need instructions repeated

References
General information about visual impairments. (2009). Retrieved October 14,
2014 from http://www.kidsource.com/NICHCY/visual.html.
Hearing disorders and deafness. (2014). Retrieved October 14, 2014 from
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/hearingdisordersanddeafness.html.
Hearing impairment. (2004). Retrieved October 14, 2014 from
http://www.tahperd.org/LINKS/links_pdfs/APE%20factsheets/Hearin

g_Impairment.pdf

Hearing impairments. (n.d.). Retrieved October 14, 2014 from

http://ada.ky.gov/hearing_imp_def.htm
Hearing loss in children. (2014). Retrieved October 14, 2014 from
http://ada.ky.gov/hearing_imp_def.htm
Special needs factsheet: hearing impairments. (2013). Retrieved October 14, 2014 from
http://kidshealth.org/parent/classroom/factsheet/hearing-factsheet.html
Special needs factsheet: visual impairments. (2013). Retrieved October 14, 2014 from
http://kidshealth.org/parent/classroom/factsheet/vision-factsheet.html
Visual impairment. (2014). Retrieved October 14, 2014 from
http://kidshealth.org/teen/diseases_conditions/sight/visual_impairment.html