This may not be a surprise to parents of children who have an autism spectrum disorder. A study has found that almost half of all teenagers who have autism are bullied at school. Researchers conclude that this indicates that schools are not doing enough to appropriately include teens with autism into general education classes.
A study led by Paul R. Sterzing, the lead author from the University of California, Berkley, used records from a 2001 survey of 920 parents who had teenagers with an autism spectrum disorder. The researchers found that 46% of parents said that their autistic teenagers were victims of bullying.
15% of the parents reported that they thought their teens were bullies. Around 9% of parents said that they believed that their teens were both victims of bullies and were also bullying other kids. Researchers said that kids with autism were picked on at a much higher rate than the current estimates for kids in general. However, the proportion of kids who had autism and who were bullies, (or both victims and bullies at the same time), was about average.
The lead author, Paul R. Sterzing, spoke with Reuters. He said that the teens who had autism and ADHD and who were placed in “regular classes” were “especially likely” to be victims of bullying. This does not mean that kids who have these types of special needs should not be included in general education classes. Instead, it indicates that schools are failing to do a good job of including kids with autism into mainstream classrooms.
There are some things people can do to prevent bullying from happening. AbilityPath has resources for parents of children who have special needs about how to identify signs that their child had been bullied at school. This is part of their “Disable Bullying Campaign”.
Debra J. Pepler is a researcher at York University in Toronto. She studies bullying among vulnerable children. She suggests that schools can create “circles of support”. This would be a way to educate students that everyone has a right to be safe. It could teach that it is unacceptable to make fun of someone because he or she is different from themselves. It also would give kids who are being bullied a resource to turn to for help within the school environment.
Kids who have autism tend to struggle with social skills. Parents might want to work with their teens and help them to learn how to discern the words coming from a friend who is being playful from the sarcasm that is coming from a bully who is trying to make fun of them.
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