cases of physical impairment, the effect of the disease is so severe that the welfare and education of the child is persistently disrupted (Kolo, 1994).
From the above, it can be seen that the provision of acceptable definitions of the emotionally disturbed child is not any easy task. However, the emotionally disturbed children are those who have deviated in an extreme manner from the norms of the society within which they operate. The behaviour they exhibit is unacceptable and high in frequency and not in accordance with the social and cultural expectation (Abang, 1992).
2.6.1 Prevalence of Emotional Disturbance.
Prevalence figure for behavioural disabilities is extremely difficult to ascertain.
Considering the difference in terminology and definition that are used by various agencies, it is not surprising, to find estimates varying widely and sometimes changing abruptly (Dunn, 1971). According to Schults Hirshoren, Manton and Henderson (1971) prevalence figures for special education purposes vary widely according to states. In a survey they found that 18 states used a prevalence estimate of 2 percent and 7 states used 3 percent, while 6 states used 5 percent.
Dunn (1971) further stated that emotional disturbance is not distributed evenly throughout the population, and that while disturbed children can be found in all social classes, lower socio-cultural classes produce far more than their share.
Hewett and Forness (1977) predicted that 2 to 6 children per 10,000 of the child population would be so afflicted. Nevertheless, they maintained that schizophrenia and infantile autism, which are all severe emotional disturbance, are rare conditions.
There is no serious attempt in Nigeria to have a complete census of emotionally disturbed children because most Nigerians do not see this disturbance as a problem. But this is not so in other countries like Britain, America, France and Germany etc. Adima (1989) revealed that one of the most comprehensive attempts to obtain a census of emotionally disturbed children was complete in Rhode Island (USA) where nine children in every thousand in the ages of four through twenty were emotionally disturbed. Boys were found to
outnumber girls by three to one. By age, one percent was reported disturbed at given years with gradual increase of 2.4 percent at the age of fifteen after which it again decreased by 5 percent at eighteen. In alignment with Rhode Island survey result, Gulliford (1987) reported that Yule and Rutter sought reliable information from surveys of 2,193 children in need for special services. From screening procedures, 286 children were selected for intensive psychological and psychiatric assessment. Their estimate was that 5.7 percent showed a psychiatric disorder. Of these about 36 percent showed neurotic disorders, 36 percent conduct disorders and 23 percent were mixed group. There was only a slightly smaller number of boys to girls with conduct disorders at a ratio of nearly 4:1.
Mba (1986) estimated the number of handicapped children in relationship to primary school enrolment and gives a population of emotional disturbed children in Nigerian schools as 355,907 out of 43,089,123 pupils enrolled in 1984. Of this, Plateau state has 14,451 out of 742,593 enrolled.
Looking at the figures above, Adima (1989) concluded that one thing is certain in the situation in Nigeria and that is that the large majority of emotionally disturbed children are enrolled in regular schools with normal children. But still the exact population of emotionally disturbed children in our school is unknown. However, Adima put the population of this group of handicapped children between 5 and 10 percent of our school population.
2.6.2 Characteristics of Emotionally Disturbed Children
According to Gulliford (1971), emotional upsets and difficulties can hardly be avoided in the process of human development. Thus, it is not uncommon to experience emotional difficulties in the forms of stress, temper, and even regressive behaviour in children and grown ups. However, when such emotional upsets not only persist, but reach a level at which it becomes a permanent feature of a persons social adjustment, it most often
turns out to be an emotional disorder requiring special educational adaptations (Gilliford, 1971). Gulliford made reference to a British Underwood Report of 1955 which described the emotional disturbance as maladjustment in which there is a feeling of insecurity and unhappiness resulting from failed personal relationships. According to the report, emotionally disturbed children hardly know how to reciprocate emotions like love, comfort and reassurance, making them hard to school discipline of whatever form.
Kolo (1994) posited the following characteristics of emotionally disturbed: nervous disorders in form of fears, anxieties, withdrawal and timidity, habit disorderliness like enuresis, poor eating habits, fidgeting; behaviour disorders like temperaments, stealing, cruelty and aggression mainly to known weaker victims; organic disorders in the form of neurological dysfunction resulting to impulsiveness and distractibility; psychotic behaviour in which there is a lack of achievement of psychological developmental tasks; and educational and vocational difficulties in the form of academic underachievement and poor career awareness.
Hence, it is characteristic of emotionally disturbed children to exhibit signs of inability to concentrate, awkward behaviour, restlessness, marked skepticism about every environmental change (Kolo, 1994).