Emotional Disturbance Emotional Disturbance: Emotional Disturbance is one of the 13 categories of special education eligibility.  This is a disability in social and emotional functioning and it encompasses mood disorders and schizophrenia.  A student may qualify in this area if his or her emotional functioning not only impacts learning, but also significantly impacts relationships

Bipolar Disorder Bipolar Disorder: Bipolar disorder is characterized by severe and abrupt mood swings ranging from mania to depression.  There are two subtypes of the disorder: bipolar I is diagnosed when the manic episode lasts for more than seven days and results in marked impairment in functioning, whereas bipolar II lasts under four days

Anxiety Anxiety is an emotion characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil. It is the subjectively unpleasant feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is not the same as fear, which is a response to a real or perceived immediate threat. Anxiety is the expectation of future threat. While moderate levels of anxiety

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD):  Today the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 5% of children in the United States have ADHD.  That means that roughly 2.7 million children in grades k-12 have a diagnosis of ADHD in the United States.  It is known that 11.5% of

Depression Emotional Disorder: Everyone experiences sadness at some point in their life -- it is a normal human emotion.  However, when sadness extends beyond an expected response to a life event and begins to impact learning and social functioning, a diagnosis of depression is considered.  In addition to sadness, feelings such as excessive guilt,