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Identification
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Identification in special needs education is the process of detecting the presence of a certain
developmental problem in students. It is the initial/first stage in the practice of inclusive/special
needs education. The first signs of serious emotional disturbance are difficulties with basic
biological functions or social responses(eating, sleeping, eliminating, responding to parents’
attempts to comfort at infant age. At later ages slowness in learning to walk or talk is a sign of
potential emotional difficulty at toddler age.
In short, failure to pass ordinary developmental milestone within a normal age range is a danger
signal in emotional and cognitive development of children.
Stow and Selfe(1989) identified the following as major symptoms of EBDs:
> Nervousness or emotional disturbance -sometimes also referred as neurotic disorders.
This includes children with excessive fears, anxieties as well as quite and withdrawn
children.
> The presence of developmental disorders or habits.
> Conduct disorders-also termed as antisocial or acting out behavior(stealing, aggression,
vandalism or truancy
> Organic disorders: include disorders that have physiological origin such as temper
tantrums which results from some forms of epilepsy/seizure disorder
> Psychotic behavior: includes childhood schizophrenia and may present abnormal fears,
delusion, illusion and hallucination
> Educational and behavioral difficulties
You can identify and help children with emotional disorders by the following behaviors:
A. For aggressive maladjustment
> Does not go along gracefully with the decisions of the teacher or the group
> Is quarrelsome: fights often, gets mad easily
> Is bully
> Occasionally is disruptive of property
B. For withdrawn maladjustment:
> Is noticed by other children, is neither actively liked nor disliked-just left out
> Shy, timid/nervous, fearful, anxious, excessively quiet, tense
> Is easily upset, feelings are readily hurt
C. For general maladjustment:
> Needs unusual amount of prodding to get work completed
> Is inattentive or apparently lazy
> Exhibits nervous manners such as nail biting, sucking thumb or fingers, stuttering,
extreme restlessness
> Is actively excluded by most of the children whenever they get a chance
> Is a failure in school for no apparent reason
> Is absent from school frequently or dislikes school intensely
> Seems to be more unhappy than most of the children
> Achieves much less in school than his ability indicates he should
> Is jealous or over competitive
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