Parent-reported problem behavior among children with sensory disabilities attending elementary regular schools

Parent-reported problem behaviors of 94 children with visual and auditory disabilities, attending elementary regular schools, were compared with problems reported in a general population sample of nondisabled children. Both samples were matched by means of a pairwise matching procedure, taking into account age and sex. Problem behavior was measured by Achenbach's (1991) CBCL (Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist/4-18 and 1991 Profile, University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry, Burlington, VT). No significant main effects of type, degree, and nature of disability were found on the CBCL Total Problems scale, nor on the syndrome scales. In general, children with sensory disabilities attending elementary regular schools did not show more problems in comparison to nondisabled children. Merely on the Social Problems scale there was a significant difference between both samples, the children with sensory disabilities getting higher scores than their nondisabled peers. Further, children with sensory disabilities ran considerable risks of developing deviant scores on the Social Problems and the Thought Problems syndromes, the odds being respectively 3.2 and 5.2 times higher than in the general population sample. To optimize the benefits from placement in integrated classrooms for children with sensory disabilities, school counselors and teachers should not only focus on the academic achievements of these children, but also on their social skills and peer sociometric status