Accommodating Students with Emotional Disturbance Needs in the Regular Education Setting
One of the realities of teaching
today is that most teachers work in classrooms with students identified
with a wide variety of needs. We often focus on how to best accommodate
our students with learning support needs, but when we welcome a student
with emotional support needs into our classroom, it can really turn
everything upside down. Students with emotional support needs often
don’t “play by the same rules” as other students. They don’t always
follow our classroom procedures and they don’t adjust their behavior
when we correct them–gently or firmly. Some emotional support students
are severely withdrawn and we find ourselves desperately trying to bring
them out of their shells. Others are overly energetic or aggressive,
leaving us scrambling to manage their behaviors so it doesn’t disrupt
the learning of their classmates. It can be exhausting. Without the
proper support, it can also be intimidating.
Having spent time as both an
Emotional Support teacher and a regular education teacher with
identified students in my class, here’s a list of dos and don’ts that
have helped me to best accommodate these often-challenging students.
DO collaborate.
If you’re teaching a class with a
student who has emotional support needs, read their paperwork–but also
make sure to chat with the Special Education teacher who wrote the
paperwork. Often we can tell you more about the student and the best
ways to accommodate him/her in your classroom. We might have helpful
ideas that were not included in the paperwork or ideas that have helped
students with similar needs. It’s important to remember that the Special
Education teacher might not be able to solve all of the challenges you
may face–but it is equally important to continue to communicate with
them about those challenges. The Special Education teacher can document
that information and use it to adapt or change the student’s
Individualized Educational Plan.
DON’T be afraid to ask for help.
This goes hand-in-hand with the first “DO.” Don’t be shy about communicating what is working and what isn’t working
in your classroom. If you’ve been given a behavior plan to follow and
you have followed it for a few weeks and are not seeing any
improvement–don’t hesitate to bring that up to the student’s IEP team.
If you are concerned that the student is not improving, is overly
distracting to other students or if you are concerned for the safety of
the student, of other students, or of yourself–don’t feel like you have
to deal with it on your own. Reach out to the IEP team and to your
administration and communicate your concerns. You should not have to
deal with these challenges on your own.
DO talk to the student.
If the student is older, it can
be a very good idea to meet with them before or after class to go over
the expectations and procedures of the class, as well as what their IEP
states. It lets them know that you are aware of what they need to be
successful in class as well as what you need from them to be a
successful citizen in your classroom. If the student has a history of
challenging behavior, it can also be helpful to let them know that you
are aware of that past, but that you are a fair teacher who will always
treat him/her just like you treat other students. Let them know that if
they make mistakes you will not hold a grudge, but also let them know in
a firm but friendly way that there are consequences in your classroom
and that, just like everyone else, they will receive them if they do
make mistakes. By sharing this information during a calm time you’ll
avoid the student feeling like you are picking on them later on. Make
sure you let them know that you are looking forward to them being in
your room and that the two of you will work together to make it a great
year.
DON’T take it personally.
Even if you’ve had a great start
and things seem to be going well, one of the most challenging aspects of
working with students with emotional needs is that you may never know
exactly when or why they act out. Even more challenging is the fact that
this acting out often comes in the form of defying or being
disrespectful to the people who have been trying the hardest to help
them. They may be attempting to gain attention, avoid an activity, test
boundaries, or deflect attention away from something they’re
uncomfortable about. It can come out of nowhere… and sometimes students
with emotional needs can be surprisingly personal in their attacks. It’s
very important to realize that when an Emotional Support student acts
out it is not about you specifically. Take a breath, follow the behavior
plan or your classroom procedures for dealing with behavior issues,
and stay calm. Sometimes, all they want to do is see what it
takes to get your riled up. Other times they don’t believe adults who
say they’ll be there for them or treat them fairly, so they test it by
misbehaving. Staying calm demonstrates that you are an adult, a
professional, and that you will always treat them fairly–even when they
misbehave.
DO build rapport and trust on the good days.
Because we know the challenging
days are inevitable, it’s important to take advantage of the times when
students with emotional support needs are working well and being
positive. Enjoy getting to know the student while they are willing and
in the mood to share. Find things that both of you enjoy and have in
common, and begin to build the rapport and trust that will make the
challenging times easier to get through.
DON’T get backed into a corner.
Students with emotional support needs can sometimes be very good at
manipulating situations. Teachers I spoke with about this article
relayed stories of being fooled into letting students do far less work
than they were capable of because they believed the student couldn’t do
it, or getting so frustrated with a student’s behavior that they
threatened a consequence they were unable to act on. It’s imperative
when working with students with emotional support needs that we remain
consistent, firm, and fair. Ignoring behaviors we would not tolerate
from our other students because they are being “reasonably good,” or
issuing consequences (like loss of break time if their IEP specifically
states they are to receive a certain amount of it each day) that we
can’t carry out weakens our position as a trusted adult in their life.
DO have a plan for when things go badly.
It can be downright frightening when a student with emotional support
needs has a true breakdown during class time. Although we’ve read the
IEP, reviewed the behavior plan, and think we are prepared–the first
time you see a student cursing, spitting, throwing, biting, hitting, or
worse, it can put even the most experienced educator at a loss for what
to do. That’s why it’s good to have already considered what exactly you
will do when a student exhibits dangerous or inappropriate behaviors.
When reading the student’s IEP and/or behavior plan, think to yourself, how will I handle this when it happens? If
you don’t know what you should do, ask the IEP team for suggestions,
but do not wait for it to happen before thinking through your plan of
action. Will there be an aide in the room who can move other students to
a safe location? Is the student to be restrained or allowed to move
around? Is there another classroom you can send the student to if he/she
needs to calm down before becoming too upset? Try to work through these
types of questions during the calm times so you know what to do during
the not-so-calm times.
DON’T panic if a behavior plan doesn’t work right away.
Behavior plans are wonderful when
they work, but they are never perfect solutions. Sometimes they work
beautifully for a time and then seem to stop. Other times they are
implemented and do not seem to change the behaviors they were put in
place to deal with at all. It is important, however, to commit to an
agreed upon behavior plan and to follow it completely for several weeks
before deciding to modify it. There are several reasons for this. One,
quite frankly, is that an approved behavior plan is part of a student’s
Individualized Educational Plan and therefore, we’re required by law to
follow it. Failure to comply with behavior plans can lead to lawsuits
for the school district. More relevant to our classrooms, however, is
that if we want behaviors to change, we have to consistently address the
reasons for the behavior and provide a suitable alternative to deal
with those causes. If a student is withdrawing and refusing to speak as a
way to avoid math, we need to find a way to make math less
intimidating. A plan to do that may take a while to work and that
requires us to be patient and consistent. That being said, if we have
given a plan time to work and are not seeing improvement, it is
important to communicate that information to the IEP team so that
adjustments can be made as needed.
DON’T let them get away with misbehavior.
While there may be certain
behaviors that you will be required to overlook because their IEP or
behavior plan states that you must, there will be plenty of other
aspects of your daily classroom management routine that a student with
emotional support needs may test. Many teachers, myself included, have
found themselves bending the rules for these students–ignoring behaviors
that we would not ignore from others–in an attempt to gain the
student’s trust or to get them to participate in class activities. While
there may be times when this is necessary, it is also vital to hold
these students accountable for their behavior. As members of your
classroom they need to know that you have high expectations for them
just like you have for all of the students.
DO stay calm.
I know I went out of order here
at the end, but I wanted my last point to be the “DO” I have found the
most valuable when dealing with Emotional Support students. Students who
are dealing with this type of disability require the guidance and
support of steadfast, reliable adults. They need to know that we will
encourage them when they are at their best and that we will be fair and
safe when they are at their worst. They will test us frequently to see
if we are honest in our claims. Some of their tests will hurt. One of
the hardest aspects of working with these students is the “one step
forward, three steps back” feelings that occur when you feel you’ve made
progress with a student one day only to have them act out the next. It
is vital at these times to remain calm, to remind ourselves that we are
professionals helping a hurt child, and that we promised we’d be here to
support them.
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