Bullies Prey on Children with Autism

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SEPTEMBER 3, 2012, 4:01 PM129 Comments
School Bullies Prey on Children with Autism

By ANAHAD O'CONNOR

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/0 ... th-autism/

Connie Anderson didn’t know what was bothering her 17-year-old son, a Baltimore-area high school senior with Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism. He was usually a diligent student, but his grades began to plummet.

“He was starting to go downhill fast,” Ms. Anderson said. “His grades were crashing, and he wasn’t able to focus.”

At a meeting with school counselors, the teenager finally spoke up, confessing that he was being bullied by students in the cafeteria. Once, they had pulled his pants down to his knees in front of his class.

While the problem of school bullying has received national attention, with many states passing anti-bullying legislation and school districts adopting anti-bullying programs, a troubling new pattern has emerged among victims. Research published on Monday in Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine shows that children with autism spectrum disorders, who typically have difficulty in communicating and forming relationships, are far more likely to be bullied than their non-autistic peers.

“I would call it a profound public health problem,” said Paul R. Sterzing, lead author of the new study and an assistant professor at the school of social welfare at the University of California, Berkeley. “The rate of bullying and victimization among these adolescents is alarmingly high.”

The children at greatest risk, it turns out, appear to be those who also hold the most promise for leading an independent life. The researchers found that the risk of being bullied was greatest for high-functioning children who end up not in special education programs, but in mainstream classes, where their quirks and unusual mannerisms stand out and they are more exposed to bullies.

Many parents of children with autism already are well aware that their children are taunted and tormented at school, but the new study suggests the problem is pervasive. Dr. Sterzing’s data, collected from a nationally representative sample of 920 middle- and high-school students with an autism disorder, shows that 46 percent have been bullied. By comparison, in the general adolescent population, an estimated 10.6 percent of children have been bullied.

Dr. Sterzing’s study also showed that children were at highest risk for bullying if they also had a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Notably, children with A.D.H.D. also were more likely to display aggressive behavior themselves; however, the rate of bullying perpetrated by children with autism was 14.8 percent, similar to the rate estimated for the general population.

The findings are based on data collected in 2001 from a larger 10-year study of more than 11,000 special education students. Parents of autistic children and school administrators were asked to report on instances of bullying that occurred in the previous year.

Children and adults with autism spectrum disorders often are socially awkward and have difficulty communicating and recognizing social cues. Another hallmark of the disorder is a strict adherence to rituals and habits.

“Many of the defining characteristics of autism are the ones that put them at greatest risk of bullying,’’ said Dr. Catherine Bradshaw, deputy director of the Center for the Prevention of Youth Violence and an expert on bullying at Johns Hopkins University.

[edit: article truncated by mod] for copyright reasons

A version of this article appeared in print on 09/04/2012, on page D7 of the NewYork edition with the headline: Autistic Pupils Face Far More Bullying.

It's sad that people who are different than most others in school are always bullied. It usually doesn't matter what it is that makes a person different than the other students, bullying will happen. I don't understand why people can't just be more accepting of people who are different than they are. When I think back and remember all of the bullying that ever happened to me, I am filled with anger again and begin thinking to myself about how much I want to get revenge and kill those who bullied me.

I've even bullied others myself, which was actually how I was able to fit in during my Middle School years. Because of some of the things I have said in the past, I'm sure the people I tormented verbally probably want to get revenge and kill me. I am not able to contact those people who I bullied verbally to tell them how much I regret treating them the way I did. I sometimes wonder if any of those that bullied me regret it, though based on the personalities of the people who did bully me, I'm sure they probably don't care. They probably still think it was funny.

I can relate 100% until it said the parents of the bullies called to apologize. ALL parents were contacted in my case (10-15 kids) and only in only one case (by far the lowest on the scale) did the mother apologize and dealt with it permanently. No other parent saw fit to do anything to stop it and one father even made sure to bully me himself. In fact, that summer I had several parents taunting me while playing baseball and the ump was either a willfully blind or too scared to say anything. If not for laws, those parents would have tried to beat me up themselves.

I agree with the whole 'stealing homework would be a disaster'. In my case, the bullies knew I was an avid Nintendo Power collector so they would steal it and throw it in the mud so it would be ruined because no matter how I tried to hide it they WOULD get a reaction. They would also do it to my favorite clothes and I wouldn't dare bring my Game Boy for obvious reasons. At least if a criminal or thief does something to me now, they are getting something out of it but back then they delighted on being sadistic. As an Aspie, I simply couldn't grasp why anyone could do this. To me this would be like burning down my apartment to keep burglars out: too illogical to even try to comprehend.

At least today there is some awareness of bullying. Back then, it took months before anyone would believe it because it was simply beyond the realm of possibility. I still think my Guidance Counsellor thought I was either delusion or being abused at home because kids can't be that cruel. Yes, they certainly can. Best days of my life my @*$! !

What I really don't understand is why the kid with mental retardation was treated like gold by the bullies? NOBODY was more different than him: ditto for the kid from China (my only friend at the time until he moved) or the guy with only two fingers. They were never targeted at all and the two finger kid even turned into a nasty POS himself. No matter where I went, I was ALWAYS targeted in those years.



It's possible the 'minions' might but the ringleaders certainly don't. I recently ran into one of the main bullies and he hasn't changed a bit. He is S-C-A-R-Y looking like he just stepped out of prison. He even gave me the look of death too so I knew he knew exactly who I was. What's scary is he has two kids and volunteers with youth sports. I guess he used his BS skills to get out of doing the criminal background check!

It always seemed to be that way in my school too. The kids who obviously had mental retardation were treated way better than anyone who was just a little bit different than most of the students. I was always one of those who was "a little different". Luckily for me I didn't have any big and scary bullies like you did. All of mine were just normal looking kids who always liked to tell me "No one likes you." just because I was a little strange. There were always a lot of them too.

I'm surprised your old bully isn't actually in prison. Most bullies like that usually do end up in prison when they get older, where they rightfully belong.

Well, most of the trouble was verbal (especially the girls) but that made it hurt more, not less. Still, at one point I counted over 30 bruises just on my legs alone. Like you said, most of it was psychological like telling me to drop dead, being told everyone hated me, told of nasty things that they wanted to do to me if they could get away with it or shunning like refusing to let me sit on the bus and when they were forced to, they would give a dramatic 'get this @#$@ creep away from me' song and dance routine. I did have some really awful things done to me that I can't even say without getting too enraged. Bottom line: I hate much of humanity for a VERY good reason!

The 'scary' bullies weren't really that bad but once every month or two they would strike without apparent warning (there were three of them and they always attacked in groups of two or more). I had to stop going to the locker room because they loved to ambush me there and yes, I think one of them would have no trouble killing me outright once he got older as he told me that to my face it wouldn't bother him to kill me and I believe him. Luckily rival gang members became the target in High School and I was too insignificant to deal with.


Even in a country with a pathetic justice system (Canada) I strongly suspect he did time. He sure looks the part tattooed from head to toe! If he didn't it's because he is a master liar and BS artist and convinced the judge otherwise not because he isn't a criminal because he certainly was back then and hasn't changed a bit. Most of the bullies are doing quite well with families, high paying sales jobs (surprise!) and houses because we all know women love Bad Boys! I was actually surprised to find out assault was illegal because every time I reported it, everybody including the police thought it was too minor to even mention.

Here's how it works: Some people--IMHO--have an innate desire to bully others. I do not think there are many people like this, but for some people, it seems almost like they can't help it. There are others who bully, but they are the sheep bullies. They are just following along to be cool or to avoid being the target themselves. But left alone, they would not bully anyone. Then you have the kids who would not bully anyone, but they would only rise up against a bully when it is blatantly obvious the bullied kid is disabled or otherwise disadvantaged. Then, on the other end of the spectrum, you have those few people who will ALWAYS stand up for others. It's almost like they can't help it.

We are at a point in history in which there is social stigma against bullying the obviously disabled. If anyone were to dare poke fun at someone with obvious MR, the majority of other kids would stand up and say something.

However, take someone like my son, who appears--for all intents and purposes--to be typical. He is attractive, he is not stupid, we are not poor, so he is not dressed poorly, etc. Yet there is something very subtly awkward about him. It is like a guiding beacon to nature's bully. They can sense him from across the room. Then they start to bully him, but the kids who would normally stick up for a kid with a disability do not stick up for him, because they do not realize he has a disability. He's just a little weird and no one has ever told them that being weird is the "same" as being MR. So, even if it makes them feel a little uncomfortable for some reason, most of them will just stand by and let it happen. There are only those few who will stand up and do something about it. I have found there are VERY few kids like this.

On top of that, many kids with HFA/AS and/or ADHD do things that draw negative attention to them. So it is very difficult for them to float under the radar. It seems to amplify the bully target they are walking around with on their back.

Sorry if I'm dominating this thread but this really strikes a raw nerve with me! I wanted to respond to the first part but I get too angry (if I was able to stand up for myself on my own I WOULD HAVE!) so I'll jump right to the end:

That's the ultimate understatement! I know of exactly one kid who stood up for me after two years and at that point the bullying almost stopped overnight. That's right, just 1 of 300 kids had the courage to just speak up. That was the ultimate shock to me as I assumed everyone had a pure heart and incorruptible integrity. Ditto to when I worked in retail: people shoplifted in front of me and I never knew because I couldn't believe well off people actually felt entitled to steal whatever they could.



Didn't help being 6'4" at age 13 and being unable to stand up straight. Funny how if I was in a wheelchair these same bullies would back off instantly. Makes zero sense to me: just like them, I have no #@!$@ control over biology although I grant I have rather have AS than not be able to walk it's ridiculous how it's required to give them accommodations but nothing to me. Even without the label it was obvious I was very different!

I don't have much to say about this otherwise I am likely to rant......because of how pissed off I am about what my experiences with that did. I mean now even if I am not getting bullied or otherwise mistreated I might feel like I am and accuse people of it. Or I might get paranoid that everyone hates me out of the blue and of course my mind will try and find anything that is evidence of that.......and then I cant stop thinking about it.

But yeah I guess fact of the matter is people are a**holes and treat anyone who is different like sh*t.......at least that is my impression. And yet somehow I think there is hope for humanity, well I think that less and less lately.

I couldn't wait to get the hell out of our public school system. I experienced bullying on a daily basis, especially in junior high. Not one teacher intervened. I was on my own. I never told my parents because I believed they would never help me.
It's not true that the US is a nation of "rugged individualism". It's a country of conformists that have little toleration for different people.

Might have well just titled the article "The Sky Is Blue".

I have noticed that it's kids with hidden disabilities who get bullied. Kids who have obvious disabilities are left alone. It's taboo to pick on someone who is obviously disabled but it's socially acceptable to pick on the ones who have hidden disabilities.

What really struck me with this article is the part about high-functioning kids getting more teasing than low-functioning because the LFs are in special education and thus theoretically protected, while the HFs are in the mainstream school population.

My teasing started almost from my first day of school, and continued up until graduation 12 years later. I have searched my brain and soul trying in vain to figure out why.
I thought it was because I was a cryer, so they knew they were getting to me.
Then I thought it was because I talked "funny" -- I was born in Connecticut and grew up in Texas. I learned to speak from a mother with a New Hampshire accent. Possibly teasing material, but who know?
I had bad cystic acne -- still scarred from it -- but I don't recall being teased for that (except by my brother).

I suspect now, however, that I may have been exhibiting AS traits even then -- we're talking back in the 70s -- and didn't realize that I was coming across as a weirdo.

And let me guess: Nobody got arrested for sexual assault?

"Bullying" is such a nice term for it. If adults did the same things to each other, they'd end up in jail or at least be the recipient of a lawsuit. But no, because they're teenagers, kids will be kids and it's all okay.

When I was fourteen, I was perfectly capable of making moral decisions like "It's wrong to pull down somebody's pants in front of his entire class." In fact, I was capable of that when I was three. They need to give teenagers more credit. When bullies do stuff like that, they know it's wrong, and they do it anyway. They're morally responsible; they should be legally responsible. Yeah, they're juveniles; but that's what the juvenile justice system is for, now, isn't it?

Oh but they do. They just find ways to do it that don't leave physical evidence behind.

Speaking of...

This sounds a lot like me. It's hypervigilant behavior, which is emotional injury similar to PTSD. If you're an INTJ like me it is even worse because your imagination and innate ability to connect the dots and see underlying reasons for things beyond the obvious means you are predisposed to thinking like this. They call it a Ni-Fi loop in case you're an INTJ and it is relevant to you, and you want to do some research.