Emotional and behavioural disorder is an emotional disability characterised by an inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers

Emotional and behavioural disorder is an emotional disability characterised by an inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers. For preschool-age children, this would include other care givers. Rhode, Jenson and Davies (1999) describe children with emotional and behavioural problems as “tough kids”, perhaps no other label describes them so well. This category of kids may include children with schizophrenia, affective disorders, anxiety disorders or those who have other sustained disturbances of conduct, attention or adjustment (National Association of School Psychologists, 2000, p. 1) The current trend in public schools is to mainstream children diagnosed with E/BD into regular education classrooms as much as possible (Sutherland, 2000). This essay will look at how a teacher can identify learners with emotional and behavioural disorder in a classroom situation.
As an educator one is able to identify a learner with emotional and behavioural disorder in a classroom if the learner is performing below grade level that is if a learner is not exhibiting intellectual abilities according to his/her level. Such learners have troubles in reading and also have trouble in writing words that are already written for them on the board, other learners have spelling difficulties and others are not able to solve math, they exhibit problems in either graphing or calculations. Emotional disabilities may be related to learning difficulties. For example a student who has severe anxiety will be spotted by the teacher as that learner is more often unable to attend class, listen and learn while in school. This category may include children or youth with schizophrenic disorders, affective disorders, anxiety disorder, or other sustained disorder of conduct or adjustment when they adversely affect educational performance in accordance with section (i) (as cited in Forness & Knitzer, 1992, p. 13.) Separation anxiety disorder is a condition

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