Most children will have at least one experience of being bullied by another child. It generally happens in school environments where kids spend a lot of time with their peers. Children who have special needs are bullied much more frequently than children who are “typical”. Some experts are starting to think that bulling can lead to post traumatic stress syndrome.
According to AbilityPath, kids who have a special need, any special need, are two to three times more likely to be bullied than children who do not have any special needs or disabilities. This does not mean that kids who are “typical” never get bullied, because they do. It just points out that children who have special needs are much more likely to become the target of bullies.
The sad truth is that children can be cruel. There are going to be some kids that feel the need to pick on other kids because of a perceived difference between themselves and the other child. Many schools have enacted some sort of anti-bullying measures, but this cannot completely stop all bullying from happening. AbilityPath did a survey where they asked children with special needs about bullying. Half of the kids in the survey said they were afraid of their peers.
One of the most common reactions to being bullied is to feel fearful. In clinical terms in order for something to technically be considered as “bullying” it has to take place repeatedly.
In other words, a kid who calls another kid bad names at recess one time is not necessarily a bully. Maybe that particular child simply lost his or her cool for a moment, and lashed out. Now, if this hypothetical kid returns to recess the next day, finds the same child he or she yelled at the day before, and calls that child bad names again this could be considered bullying. If this starts happening every day, at every recess, this is certainly a situation where bullying is happening.
The most recent version of the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual (DSM) has updated its definition that describes what Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is. The DSM, of course, is what professionals in psychology and psychiatry use in order to make a diagnosis of a mental illness.
In the past, PTSD was something that was believed to occur to a person after one incredibly intense life threatening event. This can happen to soldiers who experienced really bad situations during wartime, or to women who were raped by a boyfriend or a stranger. Now, however, the definition of PTSD has changed. It also, officially, can be caused by the accumulation of many small events that are not necessarily life threatening. In short, a child who has been bullied for a long enough period of time can develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
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