The recent increase in school shootings has brought about an urgency to renew efforts to understand and reduce them. In this article, the Division for Emotional and Behavioral Health reviews what is known about school shootings, including data related to incidence and shooter profiles. In addition, we describe responses to shootings, accompanied…

Catherine Bradshaw, PhD, MEd, is a professor and the senior associate dean for research and faculty development at the Curry School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia. She was previously the associate editor for the "Journal of Research on Adolescence" and is currently the editor of "Prevention…

Virtual learning is attracting more students with disabilities as it may offer unique learning opportunities in online environments. However, virtual instruction may not effectively meet the needs of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). We highlight ways that special education teachers can develop culturally relevant behavioral…

Gaming addiction is a behavioural disorder that requires clinical therapy because of its symptoms, which often overwhelm children's sense of self-control. However, the credibility of the screening test for gaming addiction is contentious in the literature, resulting in some ambiguous distinctions between excessive video gaming and the disorder.…

The intertwined academic and behavior deficits, often referred to as the failure cycle, of students with and at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) negatively impact learning and skill acquisition. Reading comprehension is one academic area where students with and at risk for EBD display significant deficits. The self-regulated…

In this article, we follow up on recommendations from the Division for Emotional and Behavioral Health (DEBH) for providing school mental health (SMH) services by offering additional implementation suggestions for teachers and school staff. We highlight the need for and urgency of SMH services, particularly during and after the pandemic, and also…

Social-emotional and behavioral skills are essential to school and life success. Some young children, though, demonstrate significant delays in these areas. While there is a current hierarchical model of behavioral interventions for young children, it is lacking explicit interventions to be implemented in the early childhood classroom. This column…

Students' early school experiences have a significant and long-term effect on key academic and social/behavioral outcomes. Evidence-based programs that both increase the quantity and quality of positive teacher-student interactions and decrease the frequency of negative teacher-student interactions may be critical for changing negative patterns…

Students' early school experiences have a significant and long-term effect on key academic and social/behavioral outcomes. Evidence-based programs that both increase the quantity and quality of positive teacher-student interactions and decrease the frequency of negative teacher-student interactions may be critical for changing negative patterns…

This document provides administrative recommendations of the Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders (CCBD) regarding the need for school-based mental health services (SBMHS) in schools (Kern et al., 2017). It includes (1) an introduction, (2) key considerations for successful SBMHS, and (3) recommendations regarding local, state, and…

There is a growing emphasis in U.S. schools to focus on the social-emotional issues of rural students. Specifically, the effect of mental health issues on school success underscores the importance of collaboration between, and among, educators and specialized support personnel (SSP; e.g., school counselors). In rural areas, school counselors and…

Attachment disorders are a relatively rare condition affecting children. This is particularly true for those who are adopted or living in foster care, and are thought to be attributed to an interruption in the bonding between a child and his or her caregiver. Attachment disorders are divided into two distinct categories: a predominately withdrawn…

Across the modern history of the field of special education and emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD), direct observation of student and educator behavior has been an essential component of the diagnostic process, student progress monitoring, and establishing functional and statistical relationships within research. This article provides an…

This article discusses how a neurodiversity perspective can help educators create learning environments in which all students flourish. The basic premise of neurodiversity is that there is no "typical" mental capacity--no "normal" brain to which all other brains are compared--and because this is the case, educators should look at students with…

Special educators frequently teach students with a variety of diagnostic labels, including autism and oppositional defiant disorder. Some of these diagnoses point to the presence of challenging behaviors that might be viewed as threatening and disruptive. Teachers working with these students must make daily choices in how they approach such…