Strategies for Teaching Students with Emotional Disturbance in Inclusive Classrooms

Emotional Disturbance (ED) is becoming more common in our society. The national estimates suggest that 1 in 10 youths in the United States suffer from a serious emotional disturbance (SED), a diagnoseable mental illness severe enough to cause impairments in the daily lives of students (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2000 as cited in Williams 2009). This has become a challenge for teachers in the inclusive classrooms. The purpose of this study is to explore teacher’s strategies used within the classroom. Eighteen teachers from an urban public high school in the Midwest participated in an anonymous survey through Purdue Qualtrics. The results showed that all teachers have had experience working with students with ED and indicated that one-on-one support has been successful for them as a strategy. The results also indicated that 83% of teachers stated they need the most support for strategies for emotional support with 72% reporting additional strategies needed for behavioral support.