Emotional Behavior Disorder, BIP, IEP.

Emotional Behavior Disorders are.

            Before I began working in special education, my experience with special education and emotional/behavior disorder students was very limited.  I coached football before I began working in special education and had many athletes that had Individual Education Plans (IEP’s), along with Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP), which deal with students that have emotional and behavior disorders. Some characteristics that I have seen in students with emotional and behavior disorders are lashing out, shutting down and aviodence of difficult tasks. These experiences are the ones that got me interested in teaching special education and students with BIP’s. 

            I always tried to encourage the athletes that I coached to participate and try to positively reinforce their actions when they do participate.  These students, I could tell, had a little more difficulty with interacting with the other students.  These experiences are the ones that really got me interested in teaching and helping students with BIP’s.  I could see that students who had more problems then the other kids just wanted to be involved in a team and a sport.  I know that sometimes these students needed some time to step out when things in the football would get too intense for them, but as soon as they had time to cool off, they were ready to jump back in and participate.  On the football field students do not get extra time, get an aid, or have a BIP.  They are asked to do everything the students without IEP’s or BIP’s do and it is a great feeling when they accomplish great things.

            I just recently got involved in special education in August and I have loved every minute of it.  I work half of the day with just one student and the other half with several students.  Some of these students do have BIP’s, but I feel that they can become very successful.  Each student that I work with that has a BIP comes from a single parent home and they do live with their mother.  I do not know if this is a common trend with students that have BIP’s.  They become easily frustrated when it comes to difficult tasks. The students I’ve worked with like to throw things and shout out when they become frustrated.  The best solution for when these students become frustrated is to make them aware of their options and give them a chance to cool down.  I know that working with students that have BIP’s usually get several options, when they are acting out.  Usually the students are asked to correct their behavior, if the behavior continues they are told their options if they continue to behave inappropriately.  If these students continue to act then the student receives a Saturday school.  This is the extent of the experiences that I have had with students and BIP’s.  I have not seen students get to the third stage of correction which is good.

            I feel that all of these students have behavior that can be corrected, if they are given the right opportunity to do so.  I feel that these students need to be aware of the options that they have when they display inappropriate behavior.  I do think that all students that have a BIP’s can display appropriate behavior in school and become a successful student.