Autism-World

Q: My son has his first bully. His first set of glasses disappeared on the bus soon after he got them. Since this is a small town, I found out through the grape vine what happened. A kid on his bus took his glasses, took them home, and smashed them. How do you start to deal with bully like this? Go to the bus driver? This boy also makes fun of him. My daughter is friends with someone’s brother riding Mike’s bus. This is also the first time my daughter cried in defense of her brother. A silver lining?

Answer:

There is no excuse for bullying in school and it is absolutely not acceptable under any conditions. The school is unconditionally responsible and accountable for bullying behavior AND should be held for the cost of damages he (or she) causes to another child’s property during school time. There are federal mandates and programs through OSEP (Office of Special Education Programs) that expect schools to implement anti-bullying programs and instruction. Ask the school, and the school district, if they are aware of these obligations.

I’d also encourage you not to accept any kind of rationalization by the school district. This is NOT acceptable, definitely should not be considered ‘typical’ behavior between kids, and is not for the kids to work through on their own. The school is responsible for this behavior for EVERY child and, in the case of kids covered by IDEA/ADA, even a little more so inasmuch as disability can not lead to stigmatization or patterned harassment.

Technorati : autism

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 20th, 2007 at 12:25 pm and is filed under Ask and answer.