subject: How To Deal With Aspergers Bullying [print this page] Unfortunately, Aspergers bullying does happenUnfortunately, Aspergers bullying does happen. Children with Aspergers often behave differently than other children and can have peculiar habits and interests. This attracts the attention of children who are looking for someone to pick on. Besides simple teasing, bullying of an Aspergers child can happen where the child has little resource to protect themselves. If this happens at school, it can be handled better than if it were happening at the park where there are not the resources available at school. Many schools are cracking down on bullying and as long as your child makes you aware of the bullying at school, it can be addressed.
Such behavior can be legally construed as assault and punished by the law. Parents have every right to speak to the principal, teacher or counselor in order to get help with stopping bullying. Some schools even have behavioral support staff whose job it is to investigate behavior problems and crack down on bullies. Teach your child to walk away from bullies, preferably before the bullying even starts. Help your child to recognize situations where bullying can happen, such as after school, at lunch, or on the playground when they are not as well supervised by staff. Teach your child to be vigilant and stay near adults in these situations.
Sometimes just having a friend around can prevent bullying. Facilitate friendships with mature, understanding children who can be a friend to your child and can help if bullies start to tease your child. You can facilitate this friendship by inviting the child over for a meal, games or television. You can also take the children to a movie or on a shopping trip to help form a friendship. Making your child aware of some of the behaviors that attract bullies can help them to control those behaviors. For example, hand flapping or making odd noises might not be apparent to Aspergers children when they are doing them. You can point out when your child does this in an effort to help them control it. This will make them a less obvious target for Aspergers bullying.
Educating the general population of the school about Aspergers can also help some people to refrain from making fun of your child. People tend to poke fun at things they don't understand or that make them uncomfortable. Aspergers bullying is a fact of life for Aspergers children. To help the child deal with this difficult situation, parents should intervene. Demand that the other adults in your Aspergers child's life also intervene. The adults in children's lives must work to prevent bullying.
