Prevention of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders - Jenny Robinson

Prevention of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
By Jenny Robinson

The key to preventing emotional and behavioral disorders in children is early detection. Because of this, two U.S. Presidential commissions (U.S. Surgeon General report in 2000 and the President’s Freedom Commission on Mental Heath in 2003) have called for the “transformation of the mental health system emphasizing the early identification and intervention of children at risk…within school…settings.” (Reddy, 2006) An effective early detection program for children who are considered high-risk should focus, not only in the early school years, but also in preschool settings such as Head Start. Effective tools for screening preschool children for emotional and behavioral disorders are not in common use and universal mental heath interventions for preschool children are not established. A preschool curriculum that is based on following directions, sharing, making appropriate decisions, and other social or behavioral skills seems to be critical as a prevention strategy because it builds the children’s range of behavioral tools that they have available to them. (Forness, 2000)

Special education often involves “early identification rather than early detection and secondary prevention rather than primary prevention” (Forness, 2000). According to James Kauffmann in his article entitled, “How We Prevent the Prevention of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders,” he says, “We often find ways to avoid taking primary or secondary preventive action, regardless of our acknowledgment that such prevention is a good idea. Other concerns take precedence, and as a result we are most successful in preventing prevention itself.” (1999) Early detection involves a systematic screening of all children in the general education setting in order to determine which children may be at risk for behavior disorders so that problems can be detected even before parents or teachers identify them.

Therefore, the most effective early detection program should begin in preschools where children can be screened annually for behavioral problems. Also, incorporated with this should be a primary prevention program in which all children receive universal interventions such as direct instruction in social and behavioral skills, and activities to increase parent involvement. In order to implement this plan, general education teachers need to be trained in effective classroom-wide interventions (Forness, 2000). Parents also need to be trained in effective parenting skills, as well as made aware of how to cooperate with the school in the best interest of their children. Children who do not respond to universal interventions would then go on to prereferral interventions in order to determine their response to intervention. Another early detection and intervention program that is in place is the program known as Triple P-Positive Parenting Program, which is a multilevel system of family intervention. This program provides five levels of intervention, each level increasing in strength. The first level includes a universal media campaign targeting all parents, the second and third levels consist of brief primary care consultations which target mild behavior problems, and then the last two levels consist of intensive parent training and family intervention programs for children at risk for severe behavioral problems (Sanders, 1999).

Forness, S., Hale, M.J., Kavale, K., Lambros, K., Nielsen, E., & L. Serna. (2000). A Model for Early Detection and Primary Prevention of Emotional or Behavioral Disorders. Education & Treatment of Children, 23.3, 325-346.
Kauffmann, J. (1999). How We Prevent the Prevention of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. Exceptional Children, 65.
Reddy, L, & L. Richardson. (2006). School-Based Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children with Emotional Disturbance. Education & Treatment of Children, 29.2, 379-404.
Sanders, M. (1999). Triple P-Positive Parenting Program: Towards an Empirically
Validated Multilevel Parenting and Family Support Strategy for the
Prevention of Behavior and Emotional Problems in Children. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 2.2, 71-90.