Bullying Prevention for Children with Disabilities

Positive Strategies to Protect Children

While it is true that any child can be bullied or bullied as is commonly known in English, those with disabilities such as Tourette Syndrome, as was the case with Jane, may be especially vulnerable to these situations. Recent research linking disabled children to bullying indicates an increased risk of bullying children with special needs. According to the report, “Put yourself in your shoes for a mile: Bullying and the Child with Special Needs,” prepared by the organization AbilityPath.org, the statistics of these cases are extensive:

In 2008, a study by the British Learning Support journal “British Journal of Learning Support” found that 60% of students with disabilities reported being bullied compared to 25% of students overall. In 2009, researchers Wall, Wheaton, and Zuver found that only ten studies related to bullying and developmental disabilities had been conducted in the United States. However, all of them showed that children with disabilities were bullied in a range 3 or 4 times higher than those without disabilities. Another survey involving approximately 400 parents of children with autism, conducted by Massachusetts Children’s Advocates in 2009, found that 88% of children with autism had been bullied at school.