Causes of Emotional Disorders

I began to research more about emotional disorders last week and came across some very interesting information. One question that I intentionally didn’t list in my previous post was “What causes an emotional disorder?” I didn’t list this as a question because I know there are so many different causes and every case of emotional disorders in children is different because no two children have the exact same experiences. However, after researching emotional disorders, I came to the realization that it is important to mention the different types of causes because it is imperative to the treatment a child receives for their particular disorder. The three broad categories of what causes emotional disorders in children are the following: biological factors, home and community, and schools. I discovered that biological and genetic causes for emotional and behavioral disorders are being identified more and more as the years go on. One of the most prevalent biological causes of emotional or behavioral issues in children is prenatal drug exposure. “53% of drug exposed participants in Headstart Preschool programs are identified as having an emotional or behavioral problem” (Maag, 2000). I taught in a kindergarten classroom the last two weeks of my internship and I was introduced to a male child in the class who lived with his grandparents because his mother abused drugs while she was pregnant with him. I immediately thought of this child when I read the statement about emotional and behavioral disorders being related to prenatal exposure to drugs. I discovered that this child was actually one of the top students in the classroom. However, he had severe emotional and behavioral issues that effected not only him, but the other students and teacher in the classroom as well. The child had to sit at a desk that was separate and facing away from all the other students. I felt very bad for this child when I first saw where he sat, but it became clear to me by the end of the first week why it was so necessary to separate him. He was constantly distracting other students by touching them, taking their belongings, or being excessively loud and noisy. The other students were obviously very annoyed by this child and he was picked on for that reason. This made me so sad and angry at the same time because his emotional and behavioral issues could have completely been avoided if his mother would not have abused drugs. This child was very smart, so I can only imagine how smart he would be if he had not been exposed to the drugs. It is very important for teachers and parents to determine whether or not biological factors influence a child’s emotional and/or behavioral issues because, like I mentioned earlier, there is treatment such as counseling and medication that would benefit these children. The treatment for children with emotional and behavioral disorders can help these children immensely both in and out of a classroom setting. I spent a great deal of time reflecting on my experiences with the child who was exposed to drugs and I will continue my next blog by going over the other two causes of emotional and behavioral issues.