Emotional Disturbance - Pros and Cons

[Anonymous]

1. What behaviors and/or school challenges led to your child's emotional disturbance IEP designation?

2. What were the advantages of getting this designation?

3. Were there any unintended consequences for this designation?

We're trying to make a very difficult decision and would like to hear from other parents who've been there done that.

[Anonymous]

My son has very low frustration tolerance, severe anxiety, and inability to regulate his emotions. He can go from laughing to rage in the time it takes you to turn around.

I don't know that there were any advantages to the designation and so far I have not seen any unintended consequences. I'm not sure that the designation matters as long as your child gets the support/placement that they need.

[Anonymous]

There was a situational issue that led to ED. Death of close family member. It was a disadvantage because student then put in small group self contained. Had it removed

[Anonymous]

My DD with anxiety qualified under "Emotional Disability", which bothers me way less than "Emotional Disturbance". I suppose that her anxiety could have been shoehorned into "Other Health Impairment", but I was alright with the label of Emotional Disability.

My understanding is that the types of service isn't supposed to be dependent on what category your child qualifies under -- it is driven by their needs, not the label. So if there is a category that you prefer (that would still be accurate), you could advocate for your child to qualify under that label.

[Anonymous]

I had a student we finally coded with an "Emotional Disability" and the advantage was it allowed him to go to a private therapeutic placement to receive the extensive services he needed. He had PTSD as a result of significant family trauma. He also had started showing signs of schizophrenia (age 9), and there was family history of it too. So yes the code can be somewhat stigmatizing for some, but it can lead to more services and supports for truly emotionally disabled/disturbed kids.

[Anonymous]

ED in Maryland is Emotional Disability. I'm not sure about VA or DC. One disadvantage is that someone (teacher, staff member) who looks at the documentation with an ED label might dismiss your DC as "trouble" or have other preconceived notions as to how an ED kid acts. It makes sense for disorders like bipolar or disruptive mood dysregulation or other disorders to be ED. General Anxiety should be Other Health Impairment IMHO.

[Anonymous]

Do you think your kid is likely to be suspended often? An ED classification sometimes makes it easier for the team to find most behavior to be a manifestation of the disability after a suspension. It shouldn't really matter, but if the classification says OHI teams can think about the behaviors they expect from that differently than if it were ED. Not a big deal for lots of kids, but for some it really matters.

[Anonymous]

One positive is that it is the only code that does not require an academic goal. This was great for my advanced child who could not regulate his emotions, yet was fine academically. At eligibility, we did not have to prove that he was behind.

The code was the most appropriate for my child, so it is what it is. I wish he did not have an emotional disability, but he does so I am glad that he got services through the school.

I wish there wasn't such a stigma with all mental health issues, but as everyone who has a child with this label knows, there is that stigma. However, you as the parent, should not let that stop you from getting your child the support he/she needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you think your kid is likely to be suspended often? An ED classification sometimes makes it easier for the team to find most behavior to be a manifestation of the disability after a suspension. It shouldn't really matter, but if the classification says OHI teams can think about the behaviors they expect from that differently than if it were ED. Not a big deal for lots of kids, but for some it really matters.

DC has a history of ADHD, anxiety, and disruptive mood dysregulation disorder with lots of academic challenges and definitely needs more individualized help from an IEP. However, the vast majority of behaviorally challenges occur at home. At school, she can keep it together although the severe executive functioning deficits have had a tremendous amount of academic impact. My concern is giving a child an ED designation when the behavior at school seems similar to the other "neurotypical" children seems a bit extreme. I thought the ED designation is more for children with significant behavioral problems at school which we have not (yet) had. The school thinks that the behavior will deteriorate as the academic demands increase which is true. However, the behavior could improve when she has the right supports. She was denied an IEP before and did not receive any services. Now they are pushing for an ED designation. I'm so torn about this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you think your kid is likely to be suspended often? An ED classification sometimes makes it easier for the team to find most behavior to be a manifestation of the disability after a suspension. It shouldn't really matter, but if the classification says OHI teams can think about the behaviors they expect from that differently than if it were ED. Not a big deal for lots of kids, but for some it really matters.

DC has a history of ADHD, anxiety, and disruptive mood dysregulation disorder with lots of academic challenges and definitely needs more individualized help from an IEP. However, the vast majority of behaviorally challenges occur at home. At school, she can keep it together although the severe executive functioning deficits have had a tremendous amount of academic impact. My concern is giving a child an ED designation when the behavior at school seems similar to the other "neurotypical" children seems a bit extreme. I thought the ED designation is more for children with significant behavioral problems at school which we have not (yet) had. The school thinks that the behavior will deteriorate as the academic demands increase which is true. However, the behavior could improve when she has the right supports. She was denied an IEP before and did not receive any services. Now they are pushing for an ED designation. I'm so torn about this.

It sounds like she does need an IEP and the school is willing to work with you on that. I would take any designation to get the supports in place. Once you get the IEP, then you can work on changing the code (if necessary) in a year or so. Anxiety and DMDD both fall under the ED category while ADHD can go with either OHI or ED. WIth that combination, ED does sound the most appropriate.

[Anonymous]

I would do whatever gets your child access to the supports he or she needs.

[Anonymous]

Question to MCPS parents, assuming a child has an IEP for emotional disturbance with NO physical aggression or conduct issues, would MCPS push for self-contained class or do they agree that these children can go into a general ed class with extra support?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Question to MCPS parents, assuming a child has an IEP for emotional disturbance with NO physical aggression or conduct issues, would MCPS push for self-contained class or do they agree that these children can go into a general ed class with extra support?

In what sense are you using the phrase "conduct issues?" Are you talking about zero behavior issues at all, or in the sense of conduct disorder? If a student is routinely losing significant chunks of instructional time or not making progress due to the emotional disability, e.g. shutting down, eloping, needing a lot of time to process through something with an adult before coming back to task, etc. then they might recommend a smaller setting at least some of the time. There's no blanket rule. They are charged with providing education in the least restrictive environment appropriate to the student's needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question to MCPS parents, assuming a child has an IEP for emotional disturbance with NO physical aggression or conduct issues, would MCPS push for self-contained class or do they agree that these children can go into a general ed class with extra support?

In what sense are you using the phrase "conduct issues?" Are you talking about zero behavior issues at all, or in the sense of conduct disorder? If a student is routinely losing significant chunks of instructional time or not making progress due to the emotional disability, e.g. shutting down, eloping, needing a lot of time to process through something with an adult before coming back to task, etc. then they might recommend a smaller setting at least some of the time. There's no blanket rule. They are charged with providing education in the least restrictive environment appropriate to the student's needs.

Unfortunately, DC shuts down, needs time to process something, difficulty staying focused and on task, makes friends easily but then has trouble keeping them due to the impulsivity and being impatient with social interactions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Question to MCPS parents, assuming a child has an IEP for emotional disturbance with NO physical aggression or conduct issues, would MCPS push for self-contained class or do they agree that these children can go into a general ed class with extra support?

They will never put a child into a self contained program unless they have tried everything else. Those programs have very limited numbers and are hard to get placed into.