Students with Emotional/Behavior Disorders

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Children suffering emotional and behavioral disorders are in need of effective interventions and strategies that will provide them relief in stressful situations and help them self-regulate their behavior. Effective interventions for this population could result in reduced distractions (both personally and within the classroom) and enable them to increase their learning time, thereby optimizing their educational careers. An intervention of yoga and related relaxation techniques may provide students a natural and holistic approach to accomplishing these goals.
Emotional and behavioral disorders manifest from various sources. For some children, the core of these disorders is rooted in such factors as “family adversity...poverty, caregiving instability, maternal depression, family stress…marital discord…dysfunctional parenting patterns…abuse and neglect” (Fox, Dunlap & Cushing, 2002, p. 150). These factors are stressors that affect children both emotionally and behaviorally. Students have their educational performance and academic success impeded by such stressors once in school, which creates even more stress as they find themselves frustrated and failing. As a result, problem behaviors may manifest that can be described as disruptive, impulsive, pre-occupied, resistant to change, aggressive, intimidating, or dishonest. Such behaviors may also inflict self-harm.
Students suffering emotional and behavioral disorders can benefit from a variety of classroom accommodations that may help lessen the severity of their behaviors and/or reactions to external stimuli. Stress reduction is also extremely important for children suffering emotional and behavioral disorders as it could help them relax, which would contribute to diminishing such...

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