October is Bully Prevention Month. 

I can’t let this month pass by without highlighting the importance of this topic.

Autism parents know first hand the pain of bullies. 

• Mean comments
• Verbal Abuse
• Cyberbullying
• Exclusion
• Threats

Somewhere along the way, your child may have experienced one or more of these behaviors.  

School and Learning

Instead of learning, he’s spending his time and energy protecting himself.

Federal Laws

According to The Autism Society, kids with autism are 63% more likely to be bullied than other students. 

Students with disabilities have legal rights against bullying.

If harassment denies a student with a disability an equal opportunity to education, it is a Civil Rights issue.  Bullying blocks their rights to a free and appropriate education.

Here is a link to the federal government bullying resource site.

Stopbullying.gov

Help For Bullying

We all have an idea of what bullying is, so let’s focus on finding help.

It’s important to teach your child to seek help.  

It is not your child’s responsibility to fix a bullying problem, but we have to teach them to talk about what is happening to safe adults so they can the adult can step in.  

Parents need to make sure to contact the school immediately.