Roger Pierangelo - Classroom Management for Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: A Step-By-Step Guide for Educators

This book is dedicated to my wife, Jackie, and my two children, Jacqueline and Scott, who provide me with the love and purpose for undertaking projects that I hope will enhance the lives of others. My life has been blessed by their loving presence. I also dedicate this book to my parents, who provided me with the secure and loving foundation from which to grow; my sister, Carol, who makes me smile and laugh; and my brother-in-law, George, who has always been a positive guiding light in my professional journey.

R. P.

This book is dedicated to my wife, Anita, and two children, Collin and Brittany, who give me the greatest life imaginable. The long hours and many years it took to finish this book would never have been possible without the support of my loving wife. Her constant encouragement, understanding, and love provide me with the strength I need to accomplish my goals. I thank her with all my heart. I also dedicate this book to my parents, who have given me support and guidance throughout my life. Their words of encouragement and guidance have made my professional journey a rewarding and successful experience.

G. G.

Copyright 2008 by Corwin Press

All rights reserved. When forms and sample documents are included, their use is authorized only by educators, local school sites, and/or noncommercial or nonprofit entities that have purchased the book. Except for that usage, no part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Pierangelo, Roger.

Classroom management for students with emotional and behavioral disorders: a step-by-step guide for educators/Roger Pierangelo and George Giuliani.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4129-5426-6 (cloth)

ISBN 978-1-4129-1787-2 (pbk.)

1. Mentally ill childrenEducationUnited States. 2. Behavior disorders in childrenUnited States. 3. Classroom managementUnited States. I. Giuliani, George A., 1938- II. Title.

LC4181.P54 2008

371.94dc22 2008001266

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

08 09 10 11 12 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

W ho are students with emotional and behavioral disorders? In general, these children and adolescents experience great difficulties in relating appropriately to peers, siblings, parents, and teachers (Jensen, 2005). They also have difficulty responding to academic and social tasks that are essential parts of their schooling. Sometimes they may exhibit too much behavior, or they may be deficient in important academic and social behaviors. In other cases, individuals with emotional or behavioral disorders may not have learned the essential skills necessary for successful participation in school settings (Hardman, Drew, & Egan, 2005).

In defining behavioral disorders or emotional disturbance, no single measure of social or emotional functioning is sufficiently reliable and valid to serve in the way that intelligence tests and other measures do in defining mental retardation and achievement tests in, partially, defining learning disabilities (Rosenberg, Mueser, Jankowski, Salyers, & Acker, 2004). Further, much of the controversy revolves around the ambiguity of the terms used as diagnostic markers and concern that this ambiguity excludes children who require services. For example, phrases such as inappropriate types of behavior or satisfactory interpersonal relationships are difficult to translate into clear-cut measures of performance. There is also much concern over the exclusion of children identified as socially maladjusted. The term is considered difficult to define, particularly in view of the possible overlap with behaviors (such as aggression, poor peer relationships) that would qualify a child for special education services.

According to Hunt and Marshall (2005),

the definition of emotional disturbance, like most definitions in special education, is the source of much debate and discussion, and the term emotional disturbance is being challenged at the federal level. A number of professionals are urging that the term emotional or behavioral disorder be used instead and are also proposing several changes to the definition. Some states have adopted the term behavior disordered because of its more direct relationship to assessment and identification procedures.

Classroom Management for Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders is intended to provide educators with a step-by-step approach to the most effective methods of teaching students with emotional and behavioral disorders.

Classroom Management for Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders was written to explain emotional and behavioral disorders from the eyes of the teacher, so that if a student in your class or school is diagnosed with this disorder, you can work effectively with the administrators, parents, other professionals, and the outside community.

We hope that Classroom Management for Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders will be helpful to you in understanding the key concepts of emotional and behavioral disorders and how to be an effective educator when working with students diagnosed with them.

I n the course of writing this book, we have encountered many professional and outstanding Web sites. Those resources have contributed and continue to contribute enormous information, support, guidance, and education to parents, students, and professionals in the area of special education. Although we have accessed many worthwhile sites, we especially thank and acknowledge the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities; the U.S. Department of Education; the National Institutes of Health; the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, for providing us with public domain information from