Two-Thirds of kids with autism have been bullied: study

March 30, 2012 in Autism spectrum disorders

Two-Thirds of kids with autism have been bullied: study

Middle school typically the worst time for being picked on, researchers say.

(HealthDay) -- Nearly two-thirds of American children with autism have been bullied at some point in their lives, and these kids are bullied three times more often than their siblings without autism, a new survey finds.

Bullying occurs in every grade but is worst in grades five through eight, with 42 percent to 49 percent of autistic children in those grades bullied, according to the survey of nearly 1,200 parents of autistic children ages 6 to 15.

The Interactive Autism Network (IAN), a project of the Kennedy Krieger Institute, conducted the survey.

"These show the urgent need to increase awareness, influence and provide families and children with effective strategies for dealing with bullying," Paul Law, director of the IAN Project, said in an institute news release.

Children with autism, a , usually have delayed and difficulty with .

"Children with [autism] are already vulnerable. To experience teasing, taunts, or other forms of spite may make a child who was already struggling to cope become completely unable to function," Law said. "The issue is complex and we plan to carefully analyze the data and publish peer-reviewed findings that will serve to advance policy and care for individuals with [autism]."

Overall, 63 percent of kids with an have been bullied at some time, the survey found.

Children with autism in public schools are bullied nearly 50 percent more often than those in private schools or special-education schools, the researchers found.

Types of bullying experienced by autistic children include: being teased, picked on or made fun of (73 percent); being ignored or left out of things on purpose (51 percent); being called bad names (47 percent); and being pushed, shoved, hit, slapped or kicked (30 percent).

Bullying is experienced by 57 percent of children with autism who want to interact with others but have difficulty making friends, compared with 25 percent of those who prefer to play alone and 34 percent of those who will play with others only if approached.

Fifty-two percent of the parents said their child had been taunted by other children in order to trigger a meltdown or aggressive outburst.

Kids with Asperger's syndrome, a high-functioning type of autism, were nearly twice as likely as children with another autism disorder to be bullied, perhaps because of different school placements, the researchers said.

More information: The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more about autism.

Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

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Lurker2358
Mar 31, 2012

Rank: 5 / 5 (2)
This doesn't surprise me one bit, simply because about 3/4ths of "normal" people are complete assholes, and this also includes the faculty at your child's school, who are often just as bad as the bullies in how they mistreat the disabled or less popular students.

People with Asperger syndrome are picked on at all stages of life, because other people are jealous of their abilities in mathematics and some other skillsets, and yes, because they are a bit socially awkward.

That's just the civilization we live in I guess.

If you're a complete fool who likes to do drugs, get drunk, and place no value on anything rational, then everyone likes you.

If you are rational and well behaved and such, and interested in learning, then everyone hates you.
LEVI506
Mar 31, 2012

Rank: not rated yet
There seems to be a pervasive idea within the scientific community that knowledge in itself is the basis for intelligence. However, this is a false presumption. Knowledge coupled with the ability reason, using that acquired knowledge forms the basis for what is called common sense. Had the authors of the above article had a modicum of Common sense, they would not have wasted their time with this study, they would have just asked my autistic son and he could have provided them with the answer. DUH!
Tausch
Apr 01, 2012

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What do you expect from a life form that slaps their newborn to induce breathing?
Sinister1811
Apr 01, 2012

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@Lurker2358 Well said, sir - I couldn't have put it better myself.
210
Apr 02, 2012

Rank: not rated yet
What do you expect from a life form that slaps their newborn to induce breathing?

No one "slaps" a newborn baby...they spank the baby...do you understand the need to induce breathing in a creature that must stop' breathing' a fluid and breathe air?
Better yet, tell us how you would induce breathing in the newborn human infant...inquiring minds want to know.

word-
210
Apr 02, 2012

Rank: not rated yet
This doesn't surprise me one bit,...
If you are rational and well behaved and such, and interested in learning, then everyone hates you.

"Everyone hates you"...! Everyone hates you...I have never met you, if I hated you, you would not be writing ANYTHING! You see, I have reserved 'hate' for a special group of 'former' people....NO, 'everyone' does not hate you. BUT, anyone who would write such a thing is either testing the waters or in need of counselling...for sure!

word-
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