Critical areas and intervention strategies on emotional and behavioral disabilities amongst primary school going children in Kakamega County Kenya

Abstract

Emotional and  behavioral disabilities is a condition in which behavior or emotional responses of an individual are so different from generally accepted norms that they adversely affect the child’s performance. The term EBD is broad, often used to group range of difficulties such as behavior which interfere with child’s own learning or learning of their peers (Clavina and Radionova 2016). According to ACSM (2014), it is a specific diagnosis where a child displays persistent and severe behaviors and at times referred to as” Social, Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties” (SEBD). In general Children with Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties (EBD) are characterized by: Disruptive, anti-social and aggressive behavior, Poor peer and family relationships, Hyperactivity, attention and concentration problems. This paper reviews on status, causes and critical areas for intervention. This paper used desktop research methodology to gather up to date information on descriptions, causes characteristics and impact of emotional and behavioral disability (EBD) on learning abilities of the children. The paper highlight intervention strategies which may be used to mitigate against this condition in an inclusive setting within the area of disability studies.

Keywords: Emotional and behavioral disabilities, children, anxiety disorders, hyperactivity, inclusive setting