1.

CHILDREN WITH COGNITIVE DIFFERENCES

The term refers to variations in mental abilities which include very high, high and very
low mental abilities. Children with cognitive differences fall into three groups’ includind:
the gifted and talented, the mentally disabled and those with specific learning difficulties

(i) Learners who are Gifted and Talented

These are children who have outstanding abilities hence are capable of high performance
in any given task. They demonstrate high achievement and potential in any of the
following areas:
 General intellectual ability:- this include ability to reason and judge on the basis
of evidence, adapt and manipulate ideas and evaluate and learn in the light of
personal experience
 Specific academic aptitude: these are learners with superior ability in one or more
academic school subjects such as language, mathematics, science and social
studied.
 Creative or productive thinking in areas such as art, music and craft: this is the
ability to; seek unique solution to the problems, have original approach to issues
such as creative writings, art and craft work.
 Leadership ability:- shows natural leadership, natural understanding of peoples
problems, usually question decisions and is impartial to issues that require his/her
input and unmatched oratory skills.
 Visual and performance arts: extreme ability in music, drama, poetry,
 Psychomotor ability: this include abilities in games and sports as well as in
gymnastics

Characteristics of children who are gifted and talented

Learning characteristics

 They show power of keen and alert in observation

 They read a great deal on their own, preferring books and magazines written for older
peoples than them
 They have long attention span and good memory for the things they hear or read
 They often take great pleasure in intellectual activities
 They have an ability to rapidly acquire, retain and use large amounts of information
 They are capable of relating one idea to another and make sound judgment
 They are capable to reason and think abstractly, acquire information and enjoy learning
 They learn rapidly, easily and with less repetition
 They display curiosity about many things and constantly ask probing questions in an
attempt to understand cause and reasons for things.
  They have unusually advanced vocabulary for their age or class level, use terms in a more
meaningful way than their peers, and are more mature in the ability to express themselves
through various communication skills.
 They readily perceive similarities differences and anomalies
 They often attack complicated materials by separating it into its components and
analyzing it systematically
 They spend time beyond the ordinary assignments or schedules on things that are of
interest to them, are original, initiative and independent learners

Social and emotional characteristics

 They are self-confident and believe in themselves

 They exhibit qualities of leadership
 Relate well with peers and enjoy company of older classmates, teachers and adults
 They have a sense of humour
 They consistently strive towards perfection
 They are self critical and not easily satisfied with ordinary situations, always get bored
with daily routine and sameness
 They easily get bored with non-challenging and non-stimulating schoolwork or tasks
 They may dominate discussion due to their high intellectual ability and verbal
expressions
 They are sensitive to criticism but criticize others
 They may appear indiscipline and fail to take responsibility for their action especially
when left idle. This may b expressed towards authority figures such as teachers.
 They may have poor interpersonal relationships with other children due to their
dominance and aggressive nature.
 Some may set unrealistic goals which if they fail to achieve may lead to feelings of
persecution
 They usually courageous
 Manifestations of curiousity and wanting to know more

Creative characteristics

 They have high level of originality

 They come up with unusual ideas and questions or give unexpected and unconventional
solutions to problems
 Some demonstrate fluency, flexibility and originality of thought
 Sensitive to aesthetic characteristics
 They are original thinkers and have a high level of curiosity of ideas, situations and
events.
Characteristics of learners with specific learning difficulties

Academic characteristics

These include the following:

(i) Reading Disorder (Dyslexia)

Dyslexia refers to severe difficulties in learning to read. A dyslexic learner may exhibits the
following behavior:

- Difficulty in recognizing and remembering letters and their corresponding sounds

- Difficulty recognizing and remembering sight words
- Confuses similar looking letters or words e.g b/p, b/d, s/z, w/m, f/t, n/h or
saw/was, pig/big/ dig/big, bread/beard etc.
- Reverses letters in words e.g top as pot, dog as god,
- Frequently loses place while reading
- Has poor memory of printed words
- Has problems associating letters and sounds
- Omits or substitutes words while reading e.g ‘Mary has a new ball’ becomes
‘Mary has a ball’ or ‘Mary has a big ball’
- Guesses at unfamiliar words when reading
- Has limited and poor retention of vocabulary
- Reads slowly
- Dislikes and avoids tasks that require reading
- Has problems comprehending what he/she reads

- Has significant trouble learning to read

- Problems locating the main idea in a passage

(ii) Difficulties Writing (Dysgraphia)

This refers to sever difficulties in writing. A learner with dysgraphia may exhibits the
following behaviours :

- Poor motor control: a learner may find difficulty in manipulating and guiding a
pen resulting in poor letter shapes
- Dislikes and avoids writing exercises
- Writing is messy with many crossing and erasing
- Has difficulties remembering shapes of letters and numbers
- Use uneven spacing between letters and words
- Has trouble staying on the line
 - Has problems copying written work
- Has spelling problems when writing e.g omitting letters in a word, adding
incorrect letters in a word, confusion of letter-order in a word, wring words
exactly as pronounced, substitute letters in a word etc
- Frequently reverses letters, numbers and symbols
- Fails to develop ideas in writing
- Has problem choosing the words to use when writing
- Difficulty in maintaining straight line when writing
- Slow speed when writing
- Mixes lower and upper cases when writing
- Poor handwriting.

(iii) Mathematics calculation and reasoning difficulties ( Dyscalculia)

This refers to severe difficulties in doing mathematical calculation and reasoning. A learner with
dyscalculia may exhibits the following characteristics:

- Difficulties with counting due to the learner’s difficulties in sequential learning

- Difficulties in recognizing and remembering numbers
- Difficulties in mastering mathematical operations (computations) and concepts
such as addition, subtraction, multiplication or division
- Problems with place value concepts
- Difficulties with word problems e.g Mike went to the market and bought ten
eggs. On the way he broke three eggs. How many eggs did he remain with?
- Poor alignments
- Confusing mathematical symbols e.g x and +.
- Forgets to carry or borrow when doing sums involving addition or subtraction.
- Has problem mastering multiplication table

Behavioural characteristics

(iv) Delayed spoken language development. This may result in:

- Sentence construction difficulties due to poor mastery of grammar and limited
vocabulary
- Word finding difficulty when engaged in utterance/ conversation or when
confronted with specific question
- Malarticulating/pronouncing sounds wrongly
- Inability to use appropriate body language to convey meaning
- May have trouble organizing what he or she wants to say or not be able to think of
the word he or she needs for writing or conversation

(v) Poor Spatial Orientation: A learner with this problem may:

 - Have difficulties identifying position of objects in space
- Easily forget their way in the environment
- Not arrange his/her surrounding to look organized

(vi) Inadequate time concept : A learner with this problem may

- Overestimate or underestimate the amount of time to complete a task
- Exhibit regular lateness due to lack of normal time concept
- Have problems telling time

(v) Poor general motor coordination: The learner may have poor fine and motor skills

development.

(vii) Inattention: A learner may:

- Find it difficult to focus on any one activity.
- Show inability to select the right stimuli to attend to.
- Have difficulty sustaining attention within the duration required
- Show inability to pay attention in class or to concentrate
(viii) Hyperactivity: A learner with this problem may:
- Be restless in class
- Fidget hence unable to sit still
- Moves about purposelessly
(ix) Memory Disorder ; A learner with this problem may:
- Not remembering things learnt easily
- Lacks strategies to recall facts

Learners with Mental Disabilities

Definition: Mental disabilities (Mental handicap) refers to significantly sub-average
intellectual functioning resulting in or associated with impairment in adaptive behavior and
manifested during developmental period which is 18-21 years.

Sub-average intellectual functioning: This refers to below average performance in cognitive

abilities such as memory, attention, reasoning, making sound judgment, problem solving,
associating and classifying information, perception etc. This below average performance in
cognitive abilities influences poor performance in academic tasks. These learners hence
experience difficulties in all areas in the school curriculum. Intellectual functioning is measured
by administering standardized tests of intelligence to a learner. The result of more than two
standard deviations below the mean (I.Q of 100) indicates limitation in mental functioning. If the
I.Q falls to 70 and below, a learner is said to be mental disabled.
 Adaptive in Behavior: Adaptive Behavior refers to skills which a normally developing child
acquires through imitation, observation, or incidentally which enables him/her perform daily
living activities. However for a child who is mentally disabled, these behaviors are lacking
(impaired) and can only be acquired through formal training especially at school by specially
trained personnel. They include:

Communication: This is a skill involving the ability to comprehend and express information
through symbolic (spoken word, written word or sign language) or non-symbolic (gestures, body
language ie non-verbal language) behaviors. Learners with mental disabilities have
communication problems.

Self-Care: This involves skills in toileting, eating, dressing, bathing and general good grooming
or personal hygiene. Learners with mental disabilities experience problems in performing these
skills independently hence require training to master how to do them.

Home Living: The skills in this area are those that relate to functioning within a home and
include skills such as house keeping, food preparation, home safety and general cleaning at
home. Learners with mental disabilities have problems performing home chores and require
training to be able to do that.

Social Skills: Skills related interpersonal relationship with others including initiating and
terminating friendships with others, recognizing feelings of others, sharing experiences and
things with others, greets and talk to people well. Learners wit mental handicap have social
problems hence may be isolated or discriminated by peers. They need training in this area.

Community Use: The skills involve in this area include appropriate use of community resources
such as community transport, health facilities, purchasing goods from the market, shops, seeking
services from professionals and officials in the community. Learners with mental disabilities
may have problems with community use and require support.

Self-Direction: These refer to skills in making individual decisions and abide by them, follow
own schedule, choose what to do and at what time, define own principles that guide own life.

Health and Safety: Skills related to maintenance of one’s health interms of treatment when sick,
administering first aid, leading a healthy life, avoid situations that may cause accidents or
injuries. Learners with mental disabilities may own life in danger by not being conscious of
safety in the environment.

Functional Academics: These are cognitive abilities which relate to learning basic reading,
writing and arithmetic which have direct application in ones life. Learners with mental
disabilities
Leisure: This refers to recreational interest and activities that one does out of the normal duties.
These include hobbies like reading, playing, watching movies, going picnicking, dancing etc.
Learners with mental disabilities have problems with leisure.

Work: This involves holding part or full-time job after acquiring specific job skills and
competencies. Some learners with mental disabilities can be trained in vocational skills which
they can use to employment and be self reliant.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS WITH MENTAL DISABILITIES

They are categorized into four. These include the following:

The Mild Mentally Disabled

 They form about 90% of people with mental disabilities

 They have I.Q of between 50-70
 They deviate to a relatively minor degree in their physical development compaired to
peers
 They can learn in ordinary schools up to class 6, however those who reach class eight
may not pass KCPE.
 They are identified as mentally disabled while in school.
 They can manage basic reading, writing and arithmetic with intensive support
 They can be trained in vocational skills for self reliance in adult hood
 They have the capacity to adjust socially and get along independently
 Some can bring up family with minimum support.

The Moderately Mentally Disabled

 They form 6% of people with mental disability

 They have IQ between 35-55
 They are very slow in learning and if enrolled in ordinary school, may go up to class two
 Mostly they learn in special schools and units
 They experience delayed their physical growth and development hence may learn to sit,
crawl, walk and talk late compared to normal peers
 They have motor co-ordination problem demonstrated from their clumsy and awkward
movement
 Their learning emphasizes self help skills such as toilet training, proper eating habits,
bathing, dressing and general personal grooming.
 They may adjust socially and get along independently with intensive training and support
by the family members.
 Some may be noticed from birth as mentally disabled.
The Severely Mentally Disabled

 They form 3 % of people with mental disabilities

 Their IQ range between 20 to 40
 They are identified at birth as mentally disabled
 Thy have limited or no speech
 They have extreme motor co-ordination problem
 They learning stresses acquisition of daily living activities than functional academics
 They require continuous supervision in life
 They learn in special schools
 They are dependant throughout, however with intensive training few may acquire
independence in self help skills

The profoundly mentally disabled

 They form 1% of people with mental disabilities

 Their IQ is 20 and below
 They are easily identified at birth as mentally disabled
 They require supervision throughout their lives
 Their learning major in sensory stimulation
 They have no speech
 They cannot move independently
 Some are bed ridden
 They have other handicapping conditions apart from mental disabilities e, M H& PH
 They are found in special schools, however a number may be at home or in hospitals

GENERAL CHARECTERISTICS OF INDIVIDUALS WITH MENTAL DISABILITIES

 They have reduced ability to learn and experience problems with academic tasks
 They have attention problems thus attend to wrong things or easily distracted by
irrelevant stimuli within the environment
 They have poor memory hence have problems recalling information on demand
 They have language and speech problems
 They have motor co-ordination problems and this affect both theit gross and fine motor
abilities
 They have social and emotional problems hence may not initiate friendships. They have
low self concept
 They may be hyperactive hence do not sit still, fidget a lot and exhibit purposeless
movement
  They exhibit motivation problems demonstrated in lack of confidence in their abilities
and have a tendency to give up easily when faced with challenging tasks
 They are impulsive meaning they do things without thinking about the consequences of
their actions
 They require intensive training in adaptive behavior skills.

Learners with Mental Disabilities

Definition: Mental disabilities (Mental handicap) refers to significantly sub-average
intellectual functioning resulting in or associated with impairment in adaptive behavior and
manifested during developmental period which is 18-21 years.

Sub-average intellectual functioning: This refers to below average performance in cognitive

abilities such as memory, attention, reasoning, making sound judgment, problem solving,
associating and classifying information, perception etc. This below average performance in
cognitive abilities influences poor performance in academic tasks. These learners hence
experience difficulties in all areas in the school curriculum. Intellectual functioning is measured
by administering standardized tests of intelligence to a learner. The result of more than two
standard deviations below the mean (I.Q of 100) indicates limitation in mental functioning. If the
I.Q falls to 70 and below, a learner is said to be mental disabled.

Adaptive in Behavior: Adaptive Behavior refers to skills which a normally developing child
acquires through imitation, observation, or incidentally which enables him/her perform daily
living activities. However for a child who is mentally disabled, these behaviors are lacking
(impaired) and can only be acquired through formal training especially at school by specially
trained personnel. They include:

Communication: This is a skill involving the ability to comprehend and express information
through symbolic (spoken word, written word or sign language) or non-symbolic (gestures, body
language ie non-verbal language) behaviors. Learners with mental disabilities have
communication problems.

Self-Care: This involves skills in toileting, eating, dressing, bathing and general good grooming
or personal hygiene. Learners with mental disabilities experience problems in performing these
skills independently hence require training to master how to do them.

Home Living: The skills in this area are those that relate to functioning within a home and
include skills such as house keeping, food preparation, home safety and general cleaning at
home. Learners with mental disabilities have problems performing home chores and require
training to be able to do that.
Social Skills: Skills related interpersonal relationship with others including initiating and
terminating friendships with others, recognizing feelings of others, sharing experiences and
things with others, greets and talk to people well. Learners wit mental handicap have social
problems hence may be isolated or discriminated by peers. They need training in this area.

Community Use: The skills involve in this area include appropriate use of community resources
such as community transport, health facilities, purchasing goods from the market, shops, seeking
services from professionals and officials in the community. Learners with mental disabilities
may have problems with community use and require support.

Self-Direction: These refer to skills in making individual decisions and abide by them, follow
own schedule, choose what to do and at what time, define own principles that guide own life.

Health and Safety: Skills related to maintenance of one’s health interms of treatment when sick,
administering first aid, leading a healthy life, avoid situations that may cause accidents or
injuries. Learners with mental disabilities may own life in danger by not being conscious of
safety in the environment.

Functional Academics: These are cognitive abilities which relate to learning basic reading,
writing and arithmetic which have direct application in ones life. Learners with mental
disabilities

Leisure: This refers to recreational interest and activities that one does out of the normal duties.
These include hobbies like reading, playing, watching movies, going picnicking, dancing etc.
Learners with mental disabilities have problems with leisure.

Work: This involves holding part or full-time job after acquiring specific job skills and
competencies. Some learners with mental disabilities can be trained in vocational skills which
they can use to employment and be self reliant.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS WITH MENTAL DISABILITIES

They are categorized into four. These include the following:

The Mild Mentally Disabled

 They form about 90% of people with mental disabilities

 They have I.Q of between 50-70
 They deviate to a relatively minor degree in their physical development compaired to
peers
 They can learn in ordinary schools up to class 6, however those who reach class eight
may not pass KCPE.
 They are identified as mentally disabled while in school.
 They can manage basic reading, writing and arithmetic with intensive support
  They can be trained in vocational skills for self reliance in adult hood
 They have the capacity to adjust socially and get along independently
 Some can bring up family with minimum support.

The Moderately Mentally Disabled

 They form 6% of people with mental disability

 They have IQ between 35-55
 They are very slow in learning and if enrolled in ordinary school, may go up to class two
 Mostly they learn in special schools and units
 They experience delayed their physical growth and development hence may learn to sit,
crawl, walk and talk late compared to normal peers
 They have motor co-ordination problem demonstrated from their clumsy and awkward
movement
 Their learning emphasizes self help skills such as toilet training, proper eating habits,
bathing, dressing and general personal grooming.
 They may adjust socially and get along independently with intensive training and support
by the family members.
 Some may be noticed from birth as mentally disabled.

The Severely Mentally Disabled

 They form 3 % of people with mental disabilities

 Their IQ range between 20 to 40
 They are identified at birth as mentally disabled
 Thy have limited or no speech
 They have extreme motor co-ordination problem
 They learning stresses acquisition of daily living activities than functional academics
 They require continuous supervision in life
 They learn in special schools
 They are dependant throughout, however with intensive training few may acquire
independence in self help skills

The profoundly mentally disabled

 They form 1% of people with mental disabilities

 Their IQ is 20 and below
 They are easily identified at birth as mentally disabled
 They require supervision throughout their lives
 Their learning major in sensory stimulation
 They have no speech
  They cannot move independently
 Some are bed ridden
 They have other handicapping conditions apart from mental disabilities e, M H& PH
 They are found in special schools, however a number may be at home or in hospitals

GENERAL CHARECTERISTICS OF INDIVIDUALS WITH MENTAL DISABILITIES

 They have reduced ability to learn and experience problems with academic tasks
 They have attention problems thus attend to wrong things or easily distracted by
irrelevant stimuli within the environment
 They have poor memory hence have problems recalling information on demand
 They have language and speech problems
 They have motor co-ordination problems and this affect both theit gross and fine motor
abilities
 They have social and emotional problems hence may not initiate friendships. They have
low self concept
 They may be hyperactive hence do not sit still, fidget a lot and exhibit purposeless
movement
 They exhibit motivation problems demonstrated in lack of confidence in their abilities
and have a tendency to give up easily when faced with challenging tasks
 They are impulsive meaning they do things without thinking about the consequences of
their actions
 They require intensive training in adaptive behavior skills.

2. Children with Sensory Differences

The auditory and visual senses enable people to gain information from the environment.
They also enhance effective interaction with one another. Children who are hearing and
visually impaired are disadvantaged and need special interventions to make up the loss.

(i) The Visually Impaired

Visual impairment is a general term for a visual loss that affects learning in a school
environment. Visual impairment includes the blind and the low vision. A child who is blind
cannot use vision for learning but still can be responsive to light and darkness and may have
some visual imagery. They use their tactile or auditory senses as their primary learning
channels. A child with low vision has difficulty accomplishing visual tasks, but he/she can
learn through the visual sense by the use of various special technologies and teaching
techniques. They use visual sense as their major avenue of learning with the support of visual
devices.
 Characteristics of learners with Low Vision

 Inability to see things clearly

 Have difficulties reading or copying from a source
 Read and write with their heads tilted to one side
 Read materials held very close to or far away from the eyes
 Sensitive to bright light and may complain about too much or little light in the
environment.
 Some have double vision i.e seeing one object as two
 Stumble over objects on the ground which they are expected to see
 Moving the head instead of the eyes when reading
 Using markers such as pencils or fingers when reading
 Have watery or reddish and painful eyes
 Their eyes move involuntarily
 Omit letters while reading or writing
 Avoids reading
 Rubs their eyes excessively since they itch
 Have white patches in the centre of the eye
 They frequently experience headaches and eye pain
 They squint, frown, shut or cover eyes when trying to see things.
 Rub eyes often or while doing close visual work
 May have difficulty staying on line when writing or write within the spaces

Characteristics of learners who are Blind

 They do not see at all

 Depend on their auditory and tactile channels for acquiring information
 Pocking their eyes
 Rocking their body back and forth
 Turning their heads rapidly from side to side
 They have clumsy movement
 Read and write in Braille

The Blind

 Teach them Braille reading and writing

 Train them in orientation and mobility
 Train them on daily living activities such as cooking, spreading bead, laundry, dressing
bathing etc.
 Teach using unifying and concrete experiences
  Always provide tactile opportunity
 Train in auditory skills to augment reception of information
 Make an abacus available to the learner in math lesson
 Lesson can be taped using cassette recorder for later play-back at home or as revision.
 Tactile images can be drawn on Braille paper using special mat and stylus which
produces relief images that can be felt
 Daily living skills such as cooking pose particular challenges for blind persons. They
should be trained how to do them
 Train them to walk independently around the school using a cane.

The hearing Impaired

The term covers the deaf and the hard of hearing. The deaf are those whose hearing is disabled
to an extent that precludes the understanding of speech through the ear alone with or without the
use of hearing aid. The hard of hearing are those whose hearing are disabled to an extent that
makes it difficult but does not preclude the understanding of speech thro’ the ear alone with or
without aid. However for them to hear speech well, the sound volume must be raised. This can
be done by:

 Speaking louder than usual

 Placing them near the source of sound/speaker
 Make the surrounding quiet
 Encourage them to look at the speakers face
 Wearing hearing aids

Classification of hearing loss

(i) According to the degree of hearing loss

 Minimal hearing loss: can follow normal conversation if there is no noise in
the surrounding but need to be nearer the source of the sound and preferable
face the speaker. May not hear distant sounds.
 Mild hearing loss: Mau understand conversation if the surrounding is very
quiet and at a distant of about one metre. May miss out on discussion
especially if the speaker has faint voice. Some exhibit limited vocabulary and
speech defects. They can benefit from hearing aids
 Moderate hearing loss: Hears only loud conversation, exhibit deficit in
language use and comprehension, have limited vocabulary than peers, benefit
from hearing aid and speech training
 Severe hearing loss: Have difficulty hearing in all situations, have no
language and speech if the loss is congenital, may be able to identify
 environmental sound and discriminate vowels and not all consonants. Require
hearing aids throughout. Should be taught sign language.
 Profound hearing loss: They may not hear at all, rely on visual cues for
communication. Can benefit from sign language.
(ii) According to age at on set
 Congenitally deaf: are those children who are born deaf
 Adventitious deaf: are those children who acquire deafness at some time
after birth
 Pre-lingual deafness: deafness that is present at birth or occurs before the
child develops speech
 Post-lingual deafness: deafness which occurs after the child has developed
speech or language, mainly after the age of three.
(iii) According to the part of the ear affected
 Conductive hearing loss: the damage or infection is either in the outer or
middle parts of the ear. They have residual hearing and can hear and
understand spoken language with the help of suitable hearing aids
 Sensori-neural hearing loss: The damage is in the inner ear which results in
severe and profound hearing loss. They do not acquire and use spoken
language
 Mixed hearing loss: the combination of conductive and sensori-neural
hearing losses. This means both middle and inner parts of the ear are affected
at the same time

Characteristics of learners with hearing impairment

The hard of hearing:

 Stare at speaker’s face to lip read what is said
 Have limited vocabulary compared to peers who hears
 Cups the ears in the direction of sounds
 May have frequent ear infections
 Use hearing aids to amplify the sound
 Hear if the environment is very quiet
 Ask for repetition of what has been said
 Speaks loudly or softly due to inability to monitor own voice
 Have problems hearing high frequency speech sounds such as /s/, /sh/, /t/, /k/, /ch/
 May misunderstand others due to inability to understand all that is said
  Turn head towards the direction of sound so as to maximize on sound vibrations
 Have frequent substitute and omission of consonant sounds
 Have difficulties following verbal instruction
 They are unable to follow directions
 They display restlessness, inattention and speech difficulty
 Avoids participating in oral activities
 Have difficulties in group discussion especially in noisy surroundings

The Deaf

 Have no speech or that which has flow difficulties i.e lacks stress, intonation and rhythm.
 Have too high or too low voices since they cannot hear themselves to adjust their voices
 Have frequent substitutions, distortions and omissions of speech sounds
 Confuse certain consonants like /p/and /b/, /t/and /d/.
 Have slow and labored speech
 Mainly use gestures or signs to make themselves understood.
 The learner may interpret facial expressions, body movements and contextual
information rather than spoken language and thus sometimes make false conclusion
 The learner may isolate him/herself from social activities

Learners with Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties

They exhibit one or more of the following five characteristics to a marked extent and over a long
period of time.

 An inability to learn which cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory or health factors

 An inability to build and maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with others
 Inappropriate types of behavior of feelings under normal circumstances
 General pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression
 A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school
problems

In addition, these children have emotional disturbances of anxiety; worries and generalized fear
which make them behave in a maladjusted manner. Their behaviors thus are socially
unacceptable and interfere with their social-emotional and educational growth. Some have self
destructive behavior that can also be harmful to those around them

Classification of Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties

 Conduct Disorder; they seek for attention, usually show off, are disruptive and annoys
others, exhibit temper tantrums and fight frequently
  Socialized Aggression: steal in company with others, remain loyal to delinquent friends,
truant from school with others, have bad company and freely admit disrespect for moral
values and laws
 Attention Problems and Immaturity: are known for short attention span, poor
concentration, easily distractible and diverted for the task at hand, sluggish, slow moving
and lethargic
 Anxiety-withdrawn: are self conscious, easily embarrassed, usually hypersensitive,
feelings easily hurt, generally fearful and anxious, depressed and always sad, may
develop thoughts of suicide, drastic loss of weight, muscles aches and pains.
 Psychotic Behavior: expressed: far fetched ideas, marked for repetitive speech, exhibit
bizarre behaviors such as radical swings of mood.
 Motor Excess: restless and unable to sit still, tense and unable to relax, over talkative.

Characteristics of learners with Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties

 Poor academic achievement: are low achievers in academic tasks, require constant
supervision, hardly complete school activities, play truancy most often, hardly
concentrate in class and generally hate learning.
 Poor International Relationships: not liked by peers, are not able to maintain a good
interpersonal relationship with others, are in constant conflicts with authority and peers,
fight or bother others a great deal, demonstrate verbal aggression towards individuals, are
rejected by peers, cannot initiate and maintain friendship, have few or no reliable friends.
 Aggressive Behavior: engage in aggressive ‘acting out’ behavior from time to time,
more likely to engage in fighting, stealing, destruction of property, refusal to obey
teachers. Do not respond to punishment or threats, pose a threat to school and their peers
and also put themselves in grave danger, may have difficulty in holding jobs and become
involved in criminal behavior.
 Withdrawn and Immature Behavior: low in self-esteem, depressed, disturbed, have
few friends or no friends at all, play with children much younger than themselves
(regress), have elaborate fantasies or daydreams and have very low self-image. They are
overly anxious about their health and feel generally ill , have school phobia, appear odd
or awkward at all times, lack ways of initiating contact with others and do not respond
correctly to other peoples attempts to initiate contact.
 Hyperactivity: unable to sit still or concentrate for any length of time, exhibit excessive
restlessness and short attention span, always on the go as though driven by a motor, runs
about a lot, climbs things excessively and generally disrupts on going activities.