ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses the emotional well-being of children with severe and complex learning difficulties. The World Health Organization uses the term “mental retardation”. The book describes these children as those with severe and complex learning difficulties. It provides material for a school to become initially engaged with emotional well-being – and in particular why a whole school approach is helpful as well as the importance of working as a team. The book focuses on the difficulties of understanding the emotional well-being and mental health needs of children with severe and complex learning disabilities. Emotionally Able focuses on those children whose learning difficulties are sufficiently severe or complex that they will require access to specialist provision, in special schools. Emotionally Able sees a child’s challenging behaviour in terms of underlying emotional problems which can be seen as the child’s reaction to being under stress.
