October is National Anti-Bullying Month. Children who have special needs are especially vulnerable to becoming a victim of bullying. Now is a good time for parents of kids who have special needs to investigate what your child’s school experience is like.
One way to bring awareness to something is to have an entire month dedicated to it. October is National Anti-Bullying month. To me, this seems like an excellent choice of month to bring awareness to this particular problem. The new school year started a few weeks ago. Now is a good time to remind people about the effects of bullying, and to prevent some of it from happening.
Studies show that children who have special needs are 2 to 3 times more likely to have been the victim of a bully than are their peers, who have no disabilities. Often, the bullying that a child with special needs experiences is directly related to their special need or disabilities.
No parent wants their child to be the victim of a bully. While it is possible that your child will talk to you about the things that they experience at school, this is not always the case. Some students who have special needs are non-verbal. Other children could be too intimidated by the bullies to tell anyone about what is happening.
There are some excellent online resources for parents who want to learn more about bullying. AbilityPath.org has created a series of “toolkits” that are designed for parents to use.
These include topics such as: signs that your child with special needs may be a victim of a bully, ten tips to protect your child with special needs online, five steps parents can take to protect their child with special needs from bullies, and more. You can also find detailed guidelines and advice about the laws regarding parents rights in combating bullying.
There are also resources on Facebook. There is a community page called “Stop Bullying: Speak Up”. There are many different groups, businesses, and organizations that have become involved, (and have mentioned something about it on their Facebook pages).
Parents can also browse through the Facebook Safety Resources for advice on how to keep your child safe on Facebook. CNN has an a ton of resources that have been conveniently compiled onto one website for parents to watch, read, and think about. This is the way that CNN is participating in the “Stop Bullying: Speak Up” campaign.
Image by Eddie~S on Flickr