Emotional or Behavioral Disorders: Background and Current Status of the E/BD Terminology and Definition

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, efforts were made to propose an alternative to the then existing definition and terminology of serious emotional disturbance (SED). The proposed terminology, emotional or behavioral disorders (E/BD), was nearly adopted as an amendment to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). A brief review of its development and current status is offered here, since several states are now beginning to revisit their own existing terminologies or definitions in order to respond to the change in terminology occasioned by the 1997 reauthorization of IDEA that dropped the term seriously from the SED terminology.