teaching students with conduct disorder

Students with conduct disorder are at risk for academic failure because of the seriousness of the disorder. I discovered that many students with conduct disorder are not placed in a general education classroom. These students react to situations better, and in turn are able to learn more, when they are in classrooms with high staff/student ratios, 1-to-1 situations, or self-contained programs when there is plenty of structure and the expectations of the students are clearly defined. The goal of putting students in this type of environment is to teach them how to portray socially acceptable behavior. This is also the time when most students are receiving some sort of treatment outside of the school such as counseling which will also help them with their behavior. I learned that 1/3 of students with conduct disorder are also depressed, and as soon as they start getting the treatment they need for depression, their behavior greatly improves. Besides depression, there are other common disorders that usually go hand in hand with conduct disorder such as OCD and ADHD. These disorders can also be treated and once treatment begins, an immediate change can usually be seen in the child if they have been properly diagnosed and are receiving the proper treatment. If and when a student’s behavior improves, this is when they are allowed back into a general education classroom.

After realizing that I may have students with a severe conduct disorder in my classroom, I decided to find out what the best steps are to take in order to ensure the learning and safety of this child and the other students in my class. If conduct disorder has already been diagnosed, one of the first approaches to take is to discuss the situation with the parents. It is important to find out where they are coming from and what their views of the situation are. I should also try to get them involved with their student’s learning and development if they aren’t already. Students with conduct disorder don’t respond well to orders such as “You will do this…” or “Now you must…” so I would try to stay away from this type of instruction and would give them a choice instead. This theory was created by Dr. William Glasser and it is referred to as “choice theory” which I have valued for many years. I worked in a daycare with toddlers and preschoolers and the choice theory was incorporated at this daycare. The students responded very well to this theory. The ten axioms of choice theory are:

1.     The only person whose behavior we can control is our own.

2.     All we can give another person is information.

3.     All long-lasting psychological problems are relationship problems.

4.     The problem relationship is always part of our present life.

5.     What happened in the past has everything to do with what we are today, but we can only satisfy our basic needs right now and plan to continue satisfying them in the future.

6.     We can only satisfy our needs by satisfying the pictures in our Quality World.

7.     All we do is behave.

8.     All behavior is Total Behavior and is made up of four components: acting, thinking, feeling and physiology.

9.     All Total Behavior is chosen, but we only have direct control over the acting and thinking components. We can only control our feeling and physiology indirectly through how we choose to act and think

10.   All Total Behavior is designated by verbs and named by the part that is the most recognizable.

By considering these axioms, a teacher can improve the responsiveness of a student with conduct disorder. I personally don’t like being told what to do and I never have. I respond much better when I have a choice and I always work harder and am more determined to do something when I feel like I had a say in it. I can understand why these students would need a teacher who responds to them strictly, yet not like a dictator. I understand that the students must learn to listen to what we say, but I feel like it is part of the teacher’s responsibility to determine how different students respond best and to enforce effective classroom management. Dr. William Glasser has a book about choice theory which is displayed below: