So, I have been researching a lot trying to figure out why a teacher would ‘exaggerate,’ or whatever it is she is doing with putting so many odd and disturbing ratings, on my son’s BASC2. She put so many severe behaviors as “always” occurring that do not seem to comport at all with reality in general (incidentally these are not necessarily adhd behaviors – they are more indicative of psychosis, autism and such). I haven’t actually sat down and asked the teacher specifically about each one yet. Although I do have my list of questions prepared (I am planning to approach like I would a deposition unemotionally nail down the “facts”). Anyway, I really would like to understand “why” behind her behavior. I have a hard time believing she is purposefully being malicious.
I think I have stumbled upon what may be going on: a negative halo effect. The halo effect is a cognitive bias in which one's judgments of a person’s character can be influenced by one's overall impression of him or her. For instance, if we like a person we think what attributes that person is having are favorable even if there is actually little knowledge about the individual. The halo effect has been found to be alive and well in the classroom and (surprise, surprise) in teachers’ evaluations of children. For example, in one study, regular and special education elementary school teachers watched videos of a normal child whom they were told was either emotionally disturbed, possessing a learning disorder, mentally retarded, or "normal". The teachers then completed referral forms based on the child's behavior. The results showed that teachers held negative expectancies toward emotionally disturbed children, maintaining these expectancies even when presented with normal behavior. In addition, the mentally retarded label showed a greater degree of negative bias than the emotionally disturbed or learning disabled. My DS has the label of “emotionally disturbed” due to his anxiety disorder. He is also not a very compliant child (although he in no way has ODD – I would be having severe problems with him if he did and I do not) – he asks hard questions, he has wanted to read higher level books and has/does disobey to get that, he has “defied” teachers several times by “working ahead” etc. I know also there is “ negative talk” in the teacher’s lounge adding to the negative halo effect – after all, why else would a teacher who had only 5 interactions total each less than 45 minutes, state, “DS knows if says he’s bored everyone jumps.” So, I think she sees inattention and there is a negative halo effect emanating from that. Additionally, I think she sees his desire/need to learn more as more oppositional and there is a negative halo effect emanating from that.
Anyway, just wanted to share that. I think for those us with 2e kids, a negative halo effect can be an issue.
Last edited by Irena; 01/06/14 10:01 AM.
