Emotional+Disability

//From the Maryland Steering Committee on Students with Emotional Disabilities:// **Stigma: The Label of "Emotional Disturbance" ** The term “Emotional Disturbance” makes a difference in how children perceive themselves and how others in the school setting perceive them. Students and their families stated that the label is both demeaning and stigmatizing. IEP teams also feel the stigma of “Emotional Disturbance,” and sometimes use other special education categories such as “Other Health Impairment” for coding a child, even when the child’s primary disability is an emotional impairment. The U.S. Department of Education permits states to use different terminology, as long as it does not change eligibility or deny services to any student meeting the definition. Twenty states already have adopted different language. [|Characteristics of Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities] from the Council for Exceptional Children