Most definitions of emotionally disturbed youngsters suggest that disturbances in the child's behavior patterns cause academic and social problems which affect the child and his peers. While the process of identification may be facilitated by operational criteria within a definition, these factors are noticeably absent from definitions of emotional disturbance. The State of Florida has adopted a definition for emotionally handicapped children which has potential for operationalization. That definition and its components as well as a discussion of implications relative to its use are presented here.

While it is common for a distinction to be made between mild, moderate, and severe levels of emotional disturbance, little empirical evidence exists to support such a distinction. This investigation obtained teachers' opinions as to the extent to which certain characteristics of emotionally disturbed children should be considered within mild, moderate, or severe subcategories. Five characteristics were thought to be descriptive of mildly disturbed children, and five were thought most descriptive of severely disturbed children; no consensus was obtained with regard to the moderately disturbed subgroup.

The National Secondary School Survey was conducted to obtain "state-of-the-art" information about service delivery to learning disabled and emotionally disturbed adolescents. Public

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not there are differences in the prison adaptation of mentally retarded and nonretarded inmates.