Bullying involves the repeated harmful and frequent
actions toward an individual or a group. It is also involves high intensity and
a power-base. It is brought on when someone is perceived to have a weakness, a
challenge, or a difference that may serve to both isolate them and to make them
a target for harmful acts. Bullying often occurs in front of or includes
others, and witnesses usually the fellow students , can play an important role in
increasing or decreasing bullying, if they choose.
It is not unusual to hear stories about students
with and without hidden disabilities of being bullied.
Stories about bullying
have captured media attention as children attempt to cope with being bullied
and as families attempt to adjust to losing a loved one to suicide motivated by
being bullied. The reality in today’s school setting is that students with
special needs are bullied more often than students without disabilities. Regardless
of the outcome associated with bullying and whether the student has a
disability or not, bullying is a serious and systemic problem that must be
addressed in schools all over the world.
There are various forms of bullying, including
verbal, physical, emotional, and the deadly cyber virus, which is growing area
for bullying in which Facebook, Email, Twitter, and other forms of social media
are used to spread unkind and often untruthful information about students.
While social networking can be a great resource to connect people; it can and
has been used in a harmful manner to ostracize and exclude others.
The impact of bullying can be significant and can
include lowered self-esteem, heightened anxiety, depression, fear, refusal to
attend school, isolation, suicidal ideation, and suicide. Sometimes the signs
are apparent, and at other times, individuals try to mask or hide their
reaction to the bullying. Involved professionals and family members may notice
decreases in grades, an inability of the child to concentrate, a loss of
interest in academic skills, school avoidance and higher rates of absenteeism,
and ultimately the desire to leave school .
Families and school staff should be
aware of behaviour changes that may indicate a student is being bullied. For
example, if a child or adolescent refuses to go to school, it may be an
indicator that she or he is being bullied and does not feel safe at school or
trust those that are hired to protect them.
For students with special needs , bullying may be
difficult to detect and understand. Because of theory of mind challenges and
social skill deficits, these students become more vulnerable targets for
bullying. Theory of mind differences result in difficulties grasping the
intentions of others and understanding what others are really feeling and
thinking. In terms of social skills, individuals with disabilities have
difficulty reading nonverbal cues, including body language and the facial
expressions of others. In addition, they may take comments literally instead of
understanding the underlying and perhaps unkind message. Many may have
difficulty detecting the difference between teasing and bullying.
In addition to the emotional and social toll on
students and their families, bullying is becoming a growing area for
litigation. Schools must seriously investigate any complaints of bullying made
by parents or students. While bullying often impacts individual students,
programs must be designed schools. Their anti-bullying programs
should be conducted that focus broadly on teaching tolerance and understanding,
and creating a safe school environment, overall.
Current research clearly shows
that proactively providing strategies and supports within the context of the
school culture can decrease or minimize the need to reactively respond to
incidents.
We Should Create a school-wide no-bullying policy
that clearly describes the various forms of bullying, outlines safeguard
procedures to be followed when bullying occurs, and articulates consequences.
This policy should be shared with parents, and parents should be encouraged to
discuss the policy with their children, with or without special needs .
Establish rules and post these throughout school.
Rules should not be stated simply in negative terms (telling students what not
to do), but should tell students how they are to act. Often times, rules are
stated using abstract terms, such as, “Respect Others.” Be tangible and
measurable, in order help students understand what respect does or does not
look like.
Teach what respectful behaviour looks like, teach
how to be respectful, and teach others how to respond to behaviour that is not
respectful. Again, the key here is, to establish a district-wide Anti bullying
team or outside provider that is objective in his or her evaluation, so that it
can be EVALUATED and assessed quarterly.
Highlight and reward students who have exhibited
acceptance toward classmates. Staff should acknowledge random act of kindness
by posting notices in central locations. Staff can also distribute reward cards
to students when they notice students treating classmates in a positive
fashion.
As a school, identify social skills that are
important to focus on. For example, many students lack problem-solving,
negotiation, anger management, and conflict resolution skills.
Choose a social skill of the month. Rehearse with
students and continually coach throughout the month. All school staff should
also remember to be a positive role model for these social skills.
Hold regular meetings in which bullying is discussed.
Allow students to provide examples and discuss how
it felt to be bullied. Make sure students know the consequences for bullying.
At the same time, make sure they also understand the importance of establishing
positive relationships.
If there are times or areas of the school where bullying is more likely
to occur, develop a staff safety plan for adult supervision.
If recess, during change of periods , bus rides, or certain
classes are more problematic, work with staff in those areas to identify the
signs of bullying. Often times, students are very discrete and bullying may be
hard to detect. Work with staff on
strategies and a plan of action.
If unstructured times of the day are more problematic,
it may mean that more staffing is required during those times. Create
information about cyber bullying that can be sent home to family members and
given to students. Students need to understand that technology allows us to
maintain a permanent record. It may be necessary to establish rules for the use
of personal technology in the school.
Bullies seek power and attention from bystanders.
Empower peers to take action to stop bullying events by teaching them how to
seek help, distract a bully, and advocate on behalf of the target of a bully.
Layout a process they can follow if bullying escalates. Make sure bystanders feel safe reporting
students and that confidentiality is respected.
For specific students with special needs who are
potential victims of bullying, I would suggest the following:
Help students clearly discern what bullying is and
is not. For some students it will be helpful to explain in concrete terms since
this is HOW THEY THINK on what bullying is by providing specific and concrete
examples that do and do not depict bullying. Through the use of social
narratives, role playing and coaching, individuals can be presented with real
life concrete examples of bullying and teasing, and helped in learning the
difference. Realize that it is difficult for many with and without disabilities
to understand true intentions of others, thus they become afraid and lose
trust. However, for students on the spectrum, it is critical that they clearly
understand the differences.
When bullying does occur, a safe person or safe
place should be identified for students on the with special needs to access
quickly. Write out or illustrate procedures that students should follow if
they believe they are being bullied or if they are in a situation in which they
feel uncomfortable or unsafe.
Provide opportunities for students to practice the
procedures at various times. It might be helpful to provide a small procedure
card for the student to carry in their bags. Another key to safety is to create a community
of friends around the student. Students have the potential to become greater
victims when they are isolated in the student body.
Making sure they are
connected to others through informal or formal means may increase their safety.
If the hallway or bus stop is problematic, assign other students to be a hall
buddy with the person with disability. The same can be done on the school bus,
where bulling is often not reported or documented effectively.
Bullying can heighten child’s anxiety, and cause
them to feel unsafe, and thus hinder academic performance. All students,
including those with special needs have a right to feel safe, feel good about
who they are, and get the BEST possible education our teachers can offer them
at school. Each of us has a role in making our school a safe and caring
environment that fosters learning and positive social-emotional relationships.
