Bullying And Autism

Bullying for anyone is hard, but it’s especially when the person that is getting bullied is different from their peers and classmates. It makes for an easy targets for bullies. As much as kids are more open to other kids to being different, they may not get treated that fairly at home which makes them act out at school. They may use their anger towards others. They don’t know that it’s wrong.

When someone is different and doesn’t understand certain things like emotions and facial expressions, they’re not going to know that someone is being mean to them or mad at them and because of their reaction, bullies will hold it against them because they know that the person can’t do anything since they don’t understand. It continues to go round and round until something serious happens.

People with autism may not know that they are getting bullied, they may think that’s how people act. They may take something someone has said and believe that its true. There are social challenges with autism and sometimes there’s a lack of resources for someone with autism to be able to get understand when they are getting bullied. They don’t know that the way they are being treated isn’t right and they need to be able to stand up for themselves and tell someone about what’s going on.

It goes with making friends, they may think that a bully wants to be their friend or is their friend and when they get bullied, thinking that’s what friends do. They don’t see that bullying is a problem because they believe that person is a friend and they don’t want to lose that person so they don’t see the bullying and over time, it could get worse and the bully will take an advantage and try and get the person to do something dangerous or have them say something that’s inappropriate because they know the person their bullying will go along with anything they say and do.

People with autism don’t know right from wrong and when they get into a situation where someone tells them it’s okay to do something even when it’s not, they are going to do it. If they are not taught or told that not everything that someone says it right and if they are not sure about something, telling someone like an adult is something they do. There’s going to be pattern of reckless behavior because of the people they hang out with.

Parents of kids and young adults with autism should show them that not everyone is a friend. If they don’t feel comfortable with someone, it’s okay to not be friends with them. If they don’t feel safe with someone, it’s okay for them to speak up and say something. Talk to the school and check in with them and let them know if there is a problem. The more people that are involved and the more people know, the better chance of making sure that the students with autism have a successful time at school.