How children and young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties see themselves

This chapter examines current knowledge about how young people experience being labelled as having emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD). As EBD is a special educational label, discussion is about the experiences of young people in the school system. It is not primarily about the experience of being labelled as ‘naughty’, or a ‘troublemaker’, although these less formal labels may of course be precursors to being identified as having EBD.Nor is it principally about the experiences of young people who acquire a medical diagnosis such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). While there will clearly be similarities, it has been argued that the acquisition of a medical label has particular consequences for a young person (see e.g. Harwood 2005).