African American and Hispanic students receive more punitive school discipline than White students even when students of color commit similar infractions as Whites. Similarly, students with a disability status are more likely to experience harsher discipline in schools compared to their counterparts without a disability label. This study examines…

Objective: Mental health policy for youth has been constrained by a paucity of nationally representative data concerning patterns and correlates of mental health service utilization in this segment of the population. The objectives of this investigation were to examine the rates and sociodemographic correlates of lifetime mental health service use…

This study examined disciplinary exclusion data from 77 schools implementing school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS). The authors examined (a) patterns of exclusion in schools implementing SWPBS; (b) associations between decreased exclusions and SWPBS implementation at the whole school level, the classroom level, the nonclassroom level, and…

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the influence of racial and ethnic backgrounds in children who stutter (CWS) with 18 specific coexisting disorders. A sample of 1,184 speech-language pathologists responded to a detailed questionnaire designed to answer questions about the type and prevalence of coexisting disorders in 2,535 CWS.…

The use of psychotropic interventions to manage the inappropriate behaviors displayed by students who are emotionally disturbed (ED) has continued to increase over the past several decades. To date, few studies have investigated the use of psychotropic medications among students with ED placed in the most restrictive educational settings (i.e.,…

Purpose: To determine a population-based estimate of communication disorders (CDs) in children; the co-occurrence of intellectual disability (ID), autism, and emotional/behavioral disorders; and the impact of these conditions on the prevalence of CDs. Method: Surveillance targeted 8-year-olds born in 1994 residing in 2002 in the 3 most populous…

A survey of 692 regular and special educators found that teachers selected punishing and exclusionary interventions most often for Asian-American students and least often for Hispanic-American students. Special educators were more likely than regular educators to use behavior interventions. Implications for teacher training, teacher…

This report summarizes an analysis of the Illinois State Board of Education's (ISBE) Funding and Child Tracking System (FACTS) for students with emotional/behavioral disabilities (EBD) from 1989-1996. The data indicate: (1) the numbers of youth identified with EBD as a primary disability increased by 13 percent; (2) older children, male children,…

Although there has been long concern about underidentification or misidentification of children with emotional or behavioral disorders in special education, recent attention has also been focused on disproportionate racial and ethnic representation of children in the school category of emotional disturbance (ED). There is evidence that African…

This book examines the effect of racial, ethnic, and cultural factors on the process of identifying and serving students with emotional or behavioral disorders. The book acknowledges the importance of diversity among students with behavioral disorders, and the need to consider their diversity in identifying their behaviors and intervening to…