This week’s blog
offering has to deal with Students with Emotional/Behavioral Disorders (EBD).
Before moving to my current 12:1:4 classroom for students with severe and
multiple disabilities, I was in a 6:1:1 classroom for students with
emotional/behavioral disorders. In this classroom I saw a number of disorders
such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Anxiety,
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Bipolar Disorder. In other
words, EBD is a very comprehensive disorder and encompasses a number of
different diagnoses. The Gallaudet article does a nice job outlining a number
of different ailments.
In my
classroom, I had the luxury of incorporating an iPad about half way through the
school year. Fortunately, now I can look back and reflect what kind of an
impact the iPad had in my classroom. Students in my classroom were all over the
place on the EBD scale, as the slideshow points out students behaviors can differ.
I had a handful of students who would externalize their behavior, while I had a
few students that would internalize their behavior. However, the implementation
of technology into the classroom did not care what kind of behavior you had.
The implementation of an iPad, a piece of assistive
technology in some cases was huge. The iPad can act as a way of communication
for students who struggle to communicate. I had a student ask for the iPad as a
way to write his morning journal. This was an effective way for this particular
student convey his thoughts. As a result of his success, other students wanted
to try. They were also successful. However, this brought up a problem, 6
students and only 1 iPad. Thankfully, my classroom had enough computers for
students to use, and use the iPad on a rotational basis.
Another way the iPad benefited my students with EBD
was a way for students to be rewarded for good behavior. Before the iPad was implemented students had
very little to work for in terms of a reward. Previously, students had the
reward for puzzles, games and computer time. However, the iPad was fun and
exciting and very motivating. The iPad made these students work harder in
class, focus on their work and not be disruptive.
I like how you talked about how to encompass an iPad into the classroom for these students. I also have iPad's in my classroom which have been beneficial to my students who suffer these behaviors. Working in early childhood is a lot different because it is harder to tell if it is a disorder or if the action is developmentally appropriate. I have had students who lash out in an external manner as well as students with anxiety who shut down and could not come out of there shell until they were comfortable again. For the students with stress and anxiety the iPads were a great way to calm them down. However, for the out-lashing child the iPad was overstimulating for them. Finding out what type of EBD the student had allowed me to figure out with tools or apps worked well for who and what did not work at all.
ReplyDeleteDale,
ReplyDeleteI am glad you have found so much success with the iPad. It sounds like you were able to use it in many ways in your class and leverage its usefulness to help all of your students. For some students, it is a method of communication, others it is a "fun" way to do academics, and for others it is an excellent motivator.
iPads are a great tool both for educational purposes as well as a way to assist with certain behaviors. I agree with Janelle that in an early childhood classroom it can be challenging to determine which behaviors are a disorder vs. which behaviors are developmentally appropriate. Before I was a teacher I worked in a childcare center and was able to see children grow up from infant to school agers up to age 12. Because I was able to see them each year as they grew I was able to see how difficult it can be to determine if adverse behaviors were actually developmentally appropriate behaviors or behaviors that a child would grow out of vs an actual persistent disorder. Often times a student that I was certain would be diagnosed with anxiety, OCD, or ADHD would simply grow out of it as the years went on. I did however notice that the more aggressive behaviors didn't seem to phase out as consistently with age as the more introverted behaviors did.
ReplyDelete