Continued from : yesterday entry
• Children with hemiplagia (paralysis of one side of their body) are more likely than other children
their age to be victimized by peers, to be rated as less popular than their peers, and to have fewer
friends than other children (Yude, Goodman, &McConachie, 1998).
• Children who have diabetes and who are dependent on insulin may be especially
vulnerable to peer bullying (Storch et al., 2004).
• Children who stutter may be more likely than their peers to be bullied. In one study, 83 percent of
adults who had problems with stammering as children said that they had been teased or bullied;
71 percent of those who had been bullied said it happened at least once a week (Hugh-Jones &
Smith, 1999).
How does bullying affect children?
Bullying can have serious consequences. Children and youth who are bullied are more likely than
other children to:
• Be depressed, lonely, anxious;
• Have low self-esteem;
• Experience headaches, stomachaches, fatigue, poor appetites;
• Be absent from school and dislike school; and
• Think about suicide.
Can bullying of my child be illegal?
Yes. Bullying behavior may cross the line to become “disability harassment,” which is illegal under
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.According to the U.S. Department of Education, disability harassment is “intimidation or abusive
behavior toward a student based on disability that creates a hostile environment by interfering with or denying a student’s participation in or receipt of benefits, services, or opportunities in the
Institution’s program” (U.S. Department of Education, 2000). This behavior can take different
forms including verbal harassment, physical threats, or threatening written statements. When a school finds out that harassment may have occurred, staff must investigate the incident(s) promptly and respond appropriately. Disability harassment can occur in any location that is connected with school: in classrooms, in the cafeteria, in hallways, on the playground or athletic fields, or on a school bus. It also can occur during school-sponsored events (Education Law Center, 2002).
What can I do if I think my child is being bullied or is the victim of disability
Harassment?
• Be supportive of your child and encourage him or her to describe who was involved and how and
where the bullying or harassment happened. Be sure to tell your child that it is not his or her fault
and that nobody deserves to be bullied or harassed. Do not encourage your child to fight back. This may make the problem much worse.
• Usually children are able to identify when they are being bullied by their peers. Sometimes, however, children with disabilities do not realize they are being targeted. (They may, for example, believe that they have a new friend, when in fact, this “friend” is making fun of them.) Ask your child
specific questions about his or her friendships and be alert to possible signs of bullying—even if your
child doesn’t label the behaviors as bullying.
• Talk with your child’s teacher immediately to see whether he or she can help to resolve the problem quickly.
• If the bullying or harassment is severe, or if the teacher doesn’t fix the problem quickly,
contact the principal and put your concerns in writing. Explain what happened in detail and
ask for a prompt response. Keep a written record of all conversations and communications
with the school.
• Ask the school district to convene a meeting of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team
or the Section 504 team, a group convened to ensure that the school district is meeting the
needs of its students with disabilities. This meeting will allow you to explain what has been
happening and will let the team review your child’s IEP or 504 plan and make sure that the
school is taking steps to stop the harassment. If your child needs counseling or other supportive
services because of the harassment, discuss this with the team.
• As the U.S. Department of Education (2000) recognizes, “creating a supportive school climate
is the most important step in preventing harassment.”Work with the school to help
establish a system-wide bullying prevention program that includes support systems for
bullied children.
• Sometimes children and youth who are bullied also bully others. Explore whether your child may
also be bullying other younger, weaker students at school. If so, his or her IEP may need to be
modified to include help to change the aggressive behavior.
• Be persistent. Talk regularly with your child and with school staff to see whether the behavior
has stopped.
What if the bullying or harassment does not stop?
If your school district does not take reasonable,appropriate steps to end the bullying or
harassment of your child, the district may be violating federal, state, and local laws. For
more information about your legal rights, you may want to contact:
• The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights
Phone: (800)-421-3481; or Web: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/index.html
• The U.S. Department of Education Office of Special
Education Programs
Phone: (202) 245-7468; or Web: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/osep/
index.html
Reference:
To have a preview of the kind of documentary we are going to show on our Sprout Film Festival and Community Inclusion , we leave with a teaser :
The Boy Inside
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