Behaviorally Disordered or Socially Maladjusted

Write a brief explanation of factors to be taken into consideration when assessing and determining whether a student is behaviorally disordered or socially maladjusted. When we are assessing a child to determine if a behaviorally disordered or socially maladjusted we must notice problems such as the child staying on task or trying to focus. A child might also be getting low grades when we know they are capable to complete their work.

Children that are behaviorally disordered or socially maladjusted can have problems including attention deficit problems, problems with certain teachers, emotional disturbance, depression, anxiety, and environmental factors from the child’s home. Observation is used to try to understand and be aware of factors that might be influencing a child’s behavior. We must do observations of a specific situation, various settings, and different times of day. The observer has target behaviors that they record throughout the observation.

Four of the most common recordings are anecdotal recording, even recording, latency recording, and duration recording. By doing observations we should be able to provide the behaviors we are frequently seeing, information that might relate to services a child might be needing, information that can help form intervention plans and goals, and an understanding of the child’s abilities in certain areas. Interviews help us gather information effectively. We can have a structured or unstructured interview to help us gain insight and understand the child and additional concerns.

We must understand what behaviors need to be watched and when we do the assessment for the child’s suspected disability. We must be aware of a child’s comfort level when doing assessment because if a child is displaying a high level of discomfort it might be a sign of more serious problems. Testing environment must be taken into consideration because it can have a large impact on the results of the testing when determining the true needs of the child. We can look at reaction time, the nature of responses give, the child’s verbal interaction ith the examiner, and organizational approach during testing, adaptability, and the child’s attitude. These must all be looked at and observed when assessing for this type of disability. When assessing a child’s behavior we must have knowledge of the degree the child believes their behaviors make a difference in their life, the tolerance for frustration that the child has, the activity level of the child, self-view of the child, emotional response of the child, and the conflict experienced by the child. Psychological testing is used in assessment of behavior and is administered by the school psychologist.

There are many tests we can use to determine if behavior is a disability for the child. Behavior Intervention Plans must be developed when dealing with a child’s inappropriate behaviors. This is intended to reduce the need for extreme discipline measures. These types of plans are intended to help control and suppress the behaviors that are inappropriate for a child. We must fully understand the psychological makeup of a child that might be behaviorally disordered or socially maladjusted to help recommend the correct placement and services that the child might need .