Assignment On Guidance

and Counselling

Topic: Guidance for Emotionally

Disturbed

Submitted To : Rev.Dr.D. Thomas Alexander, S.J

Name

: P.Muthu Selvam

Roll No

: 12MD36

Guidance for Emotionally Disturbed

Introduction
Emotionally disturbed children are special children. Emotionally disturbed children
may be either of mild and moderate type or of severe type. Teachers in regular schools are
expected to manage the mildly and moderately disturbed children in their classrooms.
Teachers and peers are in better position to observe the behavior of the disturbed. Hence, it is
imperative for teachers to be familiar with the behavioural and psychological characteristics
of mildly and moderately disturbed children to provide guidance.

Definition
The emotionally disturbed child is a social failure. Underlying all the specialized
terms and complex diagnostics levels used to describe him is the implication that his
behavior, for whatever reason, is maladaptive according to the expectations of the society in
which he lives.
-F.M. Hewett
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) defined emotional disturbance as
follow: It is a type of Psychiatric disturbances without clearly defined physical cause or
without structural damage to the brain

Characteristics of Emotionally Disturbed Children

Emotional disturbance is a commonly used umbrella term for a number of different
mental disorders including anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, conduct disorder, eating
disorder, excessive-compulsive disorder, and psychotic disorders. A child is said to have a
specific diagnosis or disorder when his or her behaviors occur frequently and are severe.

There are three types of characteristics emotionally disturbed children.

1. Intelligence and Achievement Characteristics

In general, mildly and moderately disturbed children are found to be dull. Their IQ

falls around 90. Very dew disturbed children are found to be bright.
Most severely disturbed children are untestable. Those who can be tested are found to

be retarded, their IQ falling around 50.

There are some disturbed children who are extremely bright, but they are not

representative of disturbed children as a group.

The lower IQ scores of disturbed children are consistent with their impairment in

other areas of functioning.

Most disturbed children are underachievers at school. A disturbed child does not
achieve at the level expected for his mental age. It is relatively seldom that some finds
an academically advanced disturbed child. Most severely disturbed children lack even
the most basic reading and arithmetic skills. Those who appear to be competent in
reading or arithmetic are usually unable to apply their skills in any useful way to
everyday problems.

2. Social and Emotional Characteristics

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Conduct disorders are the most common problems exhibited by disturbed children.
Hitting, fighting, yelling, refusal to comply with requests, crying, destructiveness,

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3

vandalism are most commonly exhibited by such children.

They drive adults to distraction with their bad temperament and nastiness.
They are not popular among their normal peers. They are not good at making friends.
Their most obvious problem is a failure to establish close and satisfying emotional
ties with other people.

Some disturbed children are withdrawn. Their drawing back from interaction with
others-their social isolation is clearly self-imposed. When will meaning adults and
others care about them and try to help them, such children strike out with hostility and
aggression. It is easy to see why they are friendless. They are abusive, destructive,
unpredicatable, irresponsible, bossy, quarrelsome, irritable, jealous, defiant-anything
about pleasant and nice to be with. Naturally other children and adults choose not to
spend their with this kind of person.

Their behaviour is not only extremely troublesome but also resistant change through
the usual means of discipline. Often they are so frequently reprimanded and punished
that punishment means little or nothing for them.

3.Behavioural Characteristics
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Needs an unusual amount of providing to get work completed.

Is inattentive, indifferent, or apparently lasy.
Is actively excluded by most of the children wherever they get a chance.
Failure in school for no apparent reason.
Seems to be more unhappy that most of the children.
Achieve much less in school than his ability indicates he should.
Jealous or over competitive.

Problems of Emotionally Disturbed Children

There are three types of emotionally disturbed children.
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Children with conduct problems.

Children with personality problem and
Children with inadequacy-Immaturity problem.

1.Children with Conduct Problems

Behaviour traits:
Disobedience, Disruptiveness, Fighting, Destructiveness, Temper tantrums, Irresponsibility,
Impertinent, Jealous, Anger, Bossy, Profanity, Attention seeking, and Boisterous.
Life History Characteristics:
Assaultive, Defies authority, Inadequate guilt feeling, and Quarrelsome.

2. Children with Personality Problems

Behaviour traits:
Feelings of inferiority, Self-consciousness, Social withdrawal, Social withdrawal, Anxiety,
Crying, Hypersensitive, Seldom smiles, Chews finger nails, Depression, Chronic sadness and
Shykness.
Life History Characteristics:
Seclusive, Shy Sensitive, Worries, Timid, and Has anxiety over own behaviour.

3. Children with Immaturity Problem

Behaviour traits:
Preoccupation, Short attention, Span, Clumsiness, Passivity, Day dreaming, Sluggish
Drowsiness, Prefers younger play mates, Masturbation, Giggles, Easily flustered, Chews
object, Picked on by others, and Plays with toys in class.

Life History Characteristics:

Habitually truant from home, Unable to cope with a complex word, Incompetent, Immature,
and Engages in furtive stealing.

Guidance for Emotionally Disturbed

1

Emotional disturbance is the result of some inner conflict. Hence, before giving
guidance these children teacher psychologists and psychiatrists must help to uncover
the underlying inner conflict in an effort to improve psychological functioning as well

as behaviour and achievement of the child.

Emphasis should be placed on teacher-pupil relationship in which the child feels
accepted and free to act out his impulses in a permissive environment. Initially little
emphasis should be given on academic achievement or change the surface behaviour
of the child. If the teacher can uncover the mental conflict half of his work achieved.

The mildly and moderately disturbed children should be kept in the mainstream as
much as possible. If it is no feasible to keep the disturbed child in regular classes all
the time then he may be removed to the resource room of the special class for a part of

the day with the goal of reintegration in the regular classes.

The curriculum for such children will be the same as for normal children with
emphasis on basic academic skills (reading, writing, and arithmetic), art, music,

dance, social skills, and effective experiences.

The basic idea in the education of disturbed children is that they can be re-educated if
the social system is changed and if teachers play their role with sincerity and
dedication.

Guidance by Teacher in School

1

There are specially trained resource teachers for all categories of disabled children,
but trained resource teachers are not available for teaching emotionally disturbed
children. It is, therefore, obvious that disturbed children are to be educated in regular
classrooms by regular teachers. Regular teachers are therefore, to play a very befitting

role in managing such children.

The special educator or any other special education personnel for advice concerning

behaviour management, behaviour modification and teaching technique.

It is essential that the teacher communicates his expectations to the child clearly and
firmly. Nothing is to be gained by beating around the bush or keeping the child

guessing about what the teacher has in mind regarding behaviour and goals.
The teacher must have realistic expectations concerning the childs behaviour and
academic performance. His tasks should be well within his capacity, but still a

challenging. The child must feel success and pride in what he accomplishes.
The teacher managing emotionally disturbed children should remember that good
behaviour management for disturbed children has a lot in common with good
behaviour management for all children. The best preventive action any teacher can
take is to make sure that the classroom is a happy place where children take pride in
their work and learn to treat others with respect.

Conclusion
A teacher-counsellor is a decent adult, educated, well trained; able to give and
receive affection; to live relaxed and to be firm; a professional through and through; a person
with a sense of the significance of time, of the usefulness today and the promise of tomorrow;

a person of hope, quiet confidence, and joy; one who has committed himself to children and
to the proposition that children who are emotionally disturbed can be helped by the process of
re-education.