This paper examines the self-characterisation practices of boys who have been referred to special schools for disruptive behaviour. Thirty three boys, aged between 9 and 16 years of age and who were enrolled in separate “behaviour” schools, each participated in a semi-structured interview. During the interview, each boy was asked to describe his personality. Responses were coded according to whether the young person led with a positive or negative statement. Then, as expressive language difficulties are common amongst this population, participants were asked to choose five words from 16 descriptors that were organised into positive-negative pairings; e.g., determined/argumentative and hyperactive/energetic. The objective was to determine whether these boys would characterise themselves in positive or negative ways and whether they would be more likely to choose words that are aligned with DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for disruptive behaviour disorders, such as ‘argumentative’ (Oppositional Defiance Disorder) and ‘hyperactive’ (ADHD). While those who were able to provide spontaneous self-descriptions gave fairly frank assessments of their own character, the majority of boys prefaced their remarks with a positive statement and avoided diagnostic nomenclature. Student responses show that even boys with severe language difficulties employ discursive strategies to reframe the negative characterisations that they know exist.