Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) have academic, behavioral, and social characteristics that present unique needs within schools. Educators across the country are responding to the academic, behavioral, and social needs of all students, including students with E/BD, by implementing a continuum of supports across a…

As the Council for Children with Behavior Disorders(CCBD) celebrates its 50th anniversary, it seems like a good time to take stock of our field (Peck et al.,2011). There is probably no more fundamental way to do so than an analysis of prevalence; that is, how many school-age children actually have an emotional or behavior disorder (EBD)? We do…

Many classroom teachers are faced with challenging student behaviors that impact their ability to facilitate learning in productive, safe environments. At the same time, high-stakes testing, increased emphasis on evidence-based instruction, data-based decision making, and response-to-intervention models have put heavy demands on teacher time and…

One simple and naturalistic strategy shown to have positive effects on both academic and behavioral outcomes is teachers' use of praise statements. Praise statements can be broadly categorized as general praise and behavior-specific praise (BSP). In a general praise statement, a teacher delivers verbal praise without describing the behavior for…

Harry, a fifth-grade student attending a public middle school that serves students from fifth to eighth grade, was described by the math and special education teachers as monotone, not caring about school or friends, and generally off task. Ms. Hart, the special education teacher, considered Harry's lack of attention, doodling, playing with his…

Students who display the most challenging behaviors are more likely to be excluded from the general education learning environment and placed in more restrictive environments such as residential or juvenile justice (JJ) settings. Historically, the approaches used to address the needs of these students have been rooted in reactionary and punitive…

Public schools are replete with children and adolescents like Billy, Reid, and Rowdy whom teachers describe as rude, disruptive, and obnoxious, and not all of them are in special education. Asher (1990) estimated that 10% of school-age children have social skills deficits severe enough to be rejected by their peers and up to 75% of children with…

As research has suggested, success with homework tasks directly relates to overall academic achievement (Coutts, 2004). In addition, homework provides a venue for developing organizational skills that become necessary as students learn to self-manage. Thus, the importance of developing homework strategies that support both student achievement and…

Many students with exceptionalities, such as Aaron, display challenging behaviors that have a substantial impact on their quality of life and greatly disrupt the educational process (Matson, Wilkins, & Macken, 2009; Westling, 2010). Challenging behavior often causes academic and social difficulties for the students displaying the behavior,…

Schoolwide positive behavior support (SWPBS) is an empirically supported approach that is implemented by more than 10,000 schools in the United States to support student and staff behavior (www.pbis.org). SWPBS is based on a three-tiered prevention logic: (a) Tier 1 interventions support all students; (b) Tier 2 interventions support targeted…

It is often said that the best intervention strategies prevent problem behaviors from starting in the first place. Two preventative strategies that teachers can use are choice making and incorporating preferred activities into classwide instruction. Not only do these strategies avoid problem behaviors, but teachers also find them easy to use in…

The authors begin this article by introducing a student, Andy, who has emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Andy is the kind of student who needs to be given more responsibility for his own behavior. In this article, the authors illustrate why and how that can be done. The authors focus predominantly on the strategy of self-monitoring and how…

Secondary schools--be they middle schools or high schools--are reading-rich environments. Secondary schools provide contexts in which students must regularly read and write competently to demonstrate their literacy achievement. In any given semester, there are short stories and novels to read, comprehend, and analyze; civics and science texts…

Mrs. Donohue, a middle school teacher of students with emotional and behavior disorders (EBD), emphasizes that her job is extremely challenging. Her biggest issue is lack of administrative support. Mr. Clark, a teacher for students with EBD at an alternative school, had similar experiences with administrators in the past. He says, "The current…

The need for an environment conducive to achievement for diverse learners is especially challenging at the middle and high school levels, where more students with learning challenges are included in the general education program, but teachers tend to be less tolerant of disruptive and distractible behaviors. Thus, students who do not conform to…