ABSTRACT
References to behaviour disorders and the diagnosing of children as disorderly
have become increasingly common in countries such as Australia, the UK and
the US. Descriptions of children are made from a vocabulary that includes be-
KDYLRXUSUREOHPVEHKDYLRXUGLI¿FXOWLHVHPRWLRQDODQGEHKDYLRXUDOGLI¿FXOWLHV (EBD), behaviour disorders, emotional and behavioural disorders, conduct disor-
GHUV&'RSSRVLWLRQDOGH¿DQWGLVRUGHUV2''DQGDWWHQWLRQGH¿FLWK\SHUDFWLYity disorders (ADHD). At times when reference is made to behaviour problems
RUEHKDYLRXUGLI¿FXOWLHV LW VHHPV WKDW UHIHUHQFH LVQRWEHLQJPDGH WRDPHQWDO disorder. At other times this seems less than clear, the lines seemed blurred and
EHKDYLRXUDOGLI¿FXOWLHVVHHPVWRFRQQRWHSV\FKLDWULFGLVRUGHU3RXORXDQG1RUwich (2002: 112) capture this confusion in relation to EBD, stating it is a ‘broad
and vague term which is used mainly in the education service to refer to a pupil’s
GLI¿FXOWLHVLQEHKDYLRXUHPRWLRQVDQGUHODWLRQVKLSVZKLFKDUHVHYHUHDQGSHUVLVWent such that they interfere with their learning and development’. They then make
the point that EBD ‘is a term which overlaps with psychiatric disorder at one end
and disruptive behaviour or behaviour problems at the other’ (ibid.).
