Sarah McGhehey

SPED 630
Characteristics of Behavioral & Emotional Disabilities
Course Reflection

Characteristics of Behavior and Emotional Disabilities is the exploration of the history,

legislation, influences, characteristics, interventions, and development of behavior plans for
various types of disabilities in this category. We were able to dive deep into some disabilities that
were merely skimmed upon in my undergraduate program. Because of the knowledge gained in
this course, I am now able to identify and provide interventions for students with emotional and
behavior disabilities.

The course was set up in a very collaborative manner, using google application and
teamwork to complete every weekly assignment. I really enjoyed the cooperation element of this
course and the learning that take place for my peers. I was able to take strategies, information,
and ideas from my peers in my group as well as peers outside my group. This allowed me to gain
a variety of perspectives and contemplate my personal perspective and work.

By starting with the history of emotional and behavioral disabilities, we explored the
progress that our nation has made in helping and intervening in specific cases and disabilities.
During this historical background, we also discovered the legislation of the past and present that
protects individuals with disabilities. The two main acts we researched were the Individuals with
Disabilities Act (IDEA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), along with the
progression of other acts that lead to IDEA and ADA.

After developing an understanding of the historical background of emotional and

behavioral disabilities, we investigated the influential factors of these types of disabilities. These
included those biological, family, school-related, and cultural influences that affect emotional
and behavioral disabilities. Biological factors can be aspects of the mothers pregnancy such as
drugs and alcohol or genetic factors. Family factors that affect these disabilities range from
foster/adoptive families to single parent families to the families history. School related factors
include the inconsistency in the management of behaviors to social aspects and teacher
reinforcement, both positive and negative. Finally cultural influences can be conflicting cultural
values to social class to poverty. Everything in a students life can influence emotional and
behavioral disabilities positively or negatively, and the worst cases are seen with many negative
influential factors.

With the examination of historical, influential, and other factors of emotional and
behavioral disabilities, we explored a variety of disabilities that fit within this category. Some
include attention and activity disorders, conduct disorders, anxiety disorders, depression and
suicidal behaviors, and schizophrenia and other severe disorders. We discovered many different
types of disabilities and disorders within each of these categories, along with the causes, causes,
and interventions that are used for each individual disorder. This information is highly useful, as
I have seen many of these disorders in my classroom during my short teaching career.

Having in-depth knowledge of these disabilities and the different interventions available
will have an enormous impact on my actions when my classroom contains a student with an
emotional or behavioral disability. Through reflections with my peers, I also heard many stories
from veteran educators of the disabilities that have passed through their classrooms and the
interventions they employed. These stories and the background knowledge I have gained have
prepared me for the variety of students that will experience my classroom year after year.