Daniel Hoover, a child and adolescent psychologist at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, and a colleague discovered that 40 to 90 percent of children with autism are bullied, compared to 10 to 40 percent of average children, in a review of papers published in 2018. Why are Autistic Kids More Vulnerable to Bullying? “There's a kind of chronic potential trauma of being in a world where you only understand half of what's going on most of the time because you're missing all these social cues, so you feel constantly out of the loop and have chronic stress around that,” says Connor Kerns, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, who runs the Anxiety Stress and Autism programme. Thomas Frazier, the Chief Science Officer of Autism Speaks, is a clinical psychologist and autism researcher whose two-year-old son was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. According to Frazier, children with impairments frequently display an innocent or quiet demeanour, making them non-threatening to bullies. The last thing a bully wants is to be discovered. Furthermore, bullies are more likely to target a student with autism than a youngster in a wheelchair. Because it is socially undesirable to target people who have visible physical limitations, this is the case. The bully realises that it won't be considered a "fair fight." Those with a more "hidden" handicap, such as autism, on the other hand, are fair game. Another reason autistic children are more vulnerable is that they have difficulties reading people' motives and, as a result, may misinterpret bullying as harmless teasing. Autism is characterised by a fundamental misunderstanding of their intents and viewpoints, which frequently results in extremely painful situations. An experienced bully knows that autistic children are generally unable to defend themselves verbally, lack fundamental problem-solving abilities, and are unlikely to be able to accurately recount the bullying experiences to an adult. This effectively guarantees the bully's ability to attack the victim with impunity. It's not always easy to see bullying, and it's even more difficult with autistic children. They may have limited speech or be unable to appropriately articulate their feelings. Nonetheless, you should keep an eye out for indicators of physical harm, behavioural abnormalities, or emotional extremes like withdrawal or tantrums. 5 Strategies for Prevention and Repair 1. Parental Intervention to Help Protect the Child from Being Bullied 2. Support and Love in the Home If your autistic child is being bullied at school, he or she needs extra love and support at home. Conversations with you that are calm and loving will help your youngster feel loved and supported. Assist your child in comprehending the concept of bullying. To teach your child the difference between bullying and misconceptions, you could utilise role-playing, cartoon strips, or social stories. 3. Discuss Bullying with your Autistic Child If you feel your child is being bullied, you should listen to and chat with him or her to figure out what is going on. Once you have additional information, you can contact the school and request that they take the appropriate steps to protect your child. If your child's communication is restricted, you can ask him or her to sketch, point to pictures, or demonstrate the issue to you. 4. How Teachers Can Help Prevent Bullying When bullying occurs in the classroom, teachers are frequently on the front lines. This places them in a position of responsibility and opportunity to do whatever they can to help an autistic youngster avoid or escape a bullying scenario. 5. Education “Education is the best defence,” says Thomas Frazier. Teachers can keep their eyes open, but other pupils will be needed to see bullying in real time. Educating the entire class about bullying has proven to be a successful strategy for dealing with these issues. Encourage students to notice and report bullying, as well as to immediately defuse it.
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