When children are not informed about decisions and plans regarding their future, they fill the void with fantasies of their own. Foster children experience higher rates of poor school achievement and emotional and physical disabilities. Also, there is a disproportionate number of foster children in special education. The most common handicapping conditions among foster children are learning disabilities, mental retardation, and emotional disturbance. Behavior problems are found more frequently in foster children than their age-mates.
Conduct disorder is the most prevalent single disorder.
Foster children often do poorly in unstructured activities, such as recess. Their tendency to be easily victimized or start fights can result in peers treating them as their biological parents did and reinforcing their belief that they are bad and deserving of abuse. They may test the limits of authority, have angry outbursts when asked to do something, or avoid contact with authority figures. Truancy and school refusal are common among foster children. Teachers noted particularly poor attention and work study habits.