Mental Illness Children and Education
A history of social adjustment issues also accompanies many emotionally disturbed youth to high school—almost three-fourths of them have been suspended or expelled at least once, a rate more than twice that of youth with disabilities as a whole (Wagner and Cameto, 2004).
• Children and youth with serious emotional behavioral disorders get lower grades, fail more courses and exams, miss more days of school, are retained at the same grade level more frequently, graduate at lower rates, get arrested more often (37% within one 1 year and 58% within 5 years), spend more time in the juvenile justice system, and are more frequently placed in restrictive educational environments (Wagner and Cameto, 2004; U.S. Department of Education, 2005; Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice; SAMHSA)
• Emotionally disturbed youth have had a dramatic increase over time in ever having been in disciplinary trouble at school, fired from a job, or arrested. Almost 9 in 10 youth with emotional disturbances had had one or more of these