The emotionally disabled child in a classroom can be a challenge for most teachers, especially if they have not been trained to deal with anger issues, shyness, or defiance. One method of getting the defiant child to work is to give them two choices. The first choice is the assignment you want them to do and the second choice is an easier assignment. Of course the child is going to take the easier assignment. By making choices they feel empowered and have a sense of being in control of the situation. The defiance should stop there and the work completed is the result.
When the next study period comes into play, the teacher or parent has a chance to become the master manipulator. When the child becomes defiant when given a new assignment give them two choices again. This time the second choice could be the assignment that the child refused to do the day before. Again, empowerment comes into play and the child will usually pick the previous assignment that they refused to do the first time around. This is a win-win situation for both the student and the teacher. The teacher gets the work completed without rebellion and the student learns the content though it is not in the order the teacher planned.
Do not get into a power struggle. The student will be defiant if he or she chooses, but then it becomes an issue for the administration or the special education teacher assigned to them. Two choices works at home as well as at school.