5 WAYS
TO
protect
Your Child From
Bullying
R
esearch studies indicate that children with
disabilities are two to three times more
likely to be bullied than those without disabilities. Children with autism are even more
vulnerable due to differences in communication abilities, motor skills, and social cognition.
I know this to be true because, throughout
elementary and middle school, I experienced
severe bullying due to my sensory issues and
social awkwardness from autism. My life’s
experiences with bullying have taught me five
powerful methods to be bully proof.
1. Teach your child to recognize and
understand bullying.
Many autistic children tend to be naïve and
may fail to realize that they are being bullied.
Anthony Ianni, an autistic public speaker who
also played Division 1 college basketball at
Michigan State University, told me in a phone
interview, “When I was a child, a bully whom
I thought was a friend tricked me into sticking my tongue on a frozen, metal pole.” (Learn
more about Anthony’s story in our article on
page 17.)
A bully may harass your child by manipulating
him to do things that he does not want to do.
He can even get him in legal trouble or expelled
from school. This type of bullying uses conditional friendship. The bully tells your child, “I
won’t be your friend anymore unless you steal
this video game.” Educate your child to know
the difference between a friend and a bully.
2. Teach your child not to react to
the bully.
You can help prevent your child from being a
human target by teaching him or her not to react
to bullying but instead to report the incident
to an adult. Bullies feed on reaction. If your
child does not react, the bully will quickly lose
interest and search for another helpless victim.
Richard Maguire, who has Asperger’s, shares,
“Bullies are inadequate people; they cannot deal
with confident people who will not be controlled by them.”
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ZOOM Autism through Many Lenses
3. Teach your child the danger of
cyber bullying.
An example of cyber bullying is a bully emailing a message to your son pretending to be a
girl he likes and asking him on a date. When he
arrives at the movie theater, the bullies are waiting for him. Michael Ko wrote in his article “14
Signs That Your Child Is Being Bullied or Is a
Bully” (Health & Fitness MSN.com. 7 Feb. 2015),
“The profile of the adolescent bully is changing
from the schoolyard thug who extorts fistfuls
of lunch money to a more covert operator who
avoids face-to-face confrontations in favor of
phones and Facebook.” You can help prevent
cyber bullying by monitoring your child’s use of
the computer.
4. Prevent bullying by establishing a
mentor for your child.
Use the power of bystanders. More than 50% of
bullying situations stop when a peer intervenes.
Find a mentor or buddy with whom your child
feels comfortable to report bullying. Mentors
can serve as a deterrent to bullying since a bully
normally preys on a child who is alone.
5. Educate teachers, parents, and
students on autism and acceptance.
Bullies tend to make fun of children they perceive as different. An understanding of disabilities and autism can help create acceptance. If
teachers and administration confront bullying,
students will do the same. Awareness and acceptance helps students to have the courage to
speak up against bullying.
Ron Sandison is a professor of theology and an
advisory board member of Autism Society Faith
Initiative of the Autism Society of America. His
book, A Parent’s Guide to Autism: Practical
Advice. Biblical Wisdom is scheduled to be released later this
year. You can contact Ron at his website.
ZOOM Autism through Many Lenses
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