Diagnostic Schooling for Children or Adolescents with Behavioral Disorders

Abstract

Dissatisfaction with traditional diagnostic evaluations and conventional means of distinguishing between different types of handicapping conditions has led to consideration of alternate ways to assess classroom needs for children with behavioral disorders. Experience with short-term evaluation of children admitted to a psychiatric hospital has served as the basis for development of a diagnostic school model. It is designed to apply not only to those children normally considered behaviorally disordered but also to a variety of other children, ranging from severely mentally retarded to gifted, who present behavior problems. Based on six developmental continua, the program includes a 2-month period of classroom teaching to determine a child's or adolescent's readiness for eventual placement in a variety of regular or special classrooms. It further provides a means whereby interdisciplinary evaluation can be brought to bear on recommending approaches for both the antecedents and consequences of classroom behavior and learning problems.