Just What Is ED/BD? (1)

Behavioral and emotional problems among children and youth may be looked at from the psychiatric or psychological perspective of mental health, or from the perspective of educational classification.  There are many things in common between these two perspectives, but the water is muddied by differences in how disorders are conceptualized and by differences in terminology.  The professional worlds of mental health and education look at problem behavior through different lenses, and this can be quite confusing!  The definition of emotional disturbance and behavioral disorders will be considered here first from a medical or mental health perspective, then from the perspective of special education.

The Medical or "Mental Health" Perspective

The medical community has had much to say about problem behaviors in children and adolescents, and describes them in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM).   DSM contains diagnostic criteria applicable to children and youth.  It is used by psychiatrists, physicians, licensed psychologists, and many social workers and counselors to help them diagnose a condition and formulate a treatment plan.  Although DSM recognizes the importance of environmental factors upon behavior, the various diagnoses place heaviest emphasis upon individual functioning.  The "medical model" it supports has been criticized in the past as narrow in scope, but recent advances in science (and particularly, neurology and genetics) have blunted such criticism.  In fact, the medical model has much to offer those who work with children and youth whose mental health is compromised.

There are many psychiatric diagnoses that apply to troubled and troubling children and youth.  These include Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Bipolar Disorder , Conduct Disorder , and Intermittent Explosive Disorder , to name just a few.  It is not unusual to find youth who have several diagnoses, often by different practitioners.