Bullying Experiences Among Children and Youth

with Autism Spectrum Disorder

A recent article explores the prevalence of bullying and children and youth
diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The article describes bullying as:
Bullying is a relationship problem involving repeated hostile actions that take
place within a relationship characterized by a power differential.
Among children, power can be gained through advantages in social status or
popularity, physical size and/or strength, age, intellectual disability and/or
membership in a socially dominate group. The most common forms of bullying
employed by school-aged children are verbal (name calling) and social (spreading
rumors).
Research in the general population indicates that children who are bullied are
more likely to exhibit psychosomatic symptoms, poor social and emotional
adjustment, low ratings of school commitment, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and
clinically significant social problems, as well as delinquent behaviors such as
substance abuse, carrying weapons at school and physically fighting.
Children with ASD may be at greater risk for peer victimization than typically
developing peers for many reasons for many reasons related to their sociocommunicative and behavioural difficulties, and the impact of these difficulties on
peer interactions (e.g. communication impairments, difficulties in initiating and
maintaining peer relationships, etc.). Due to their social difficulties, children with
ASD likely do not benefit from the protective factor of supportive peers and this may
put them at greater risk of victimization due to isolation from their peers. From a
developmental perspective, childrens individual characteristics such as age,
gender, and severity of ASD symptoms may influence victimization experiences.
From a contextual perspective, childrens relationships such as family and peer
group may also play a role in victimization experience.
A study conducted by Cappadocia, Weiss, and Pepler of the Psychology
Department at York University explored bullying experiences among children with
ASD. The aim of the study was to build an understanding of bullying experiences
among children with ASD. The first goal of the study was to examine parents
reports of various forms of bullying experienced by their children with ASD. The
second goal was to explore the association between victimization and mental health
problems. The final goal of the study was to explore individual variables (specifically
child age, social skills, deficits, communication difficulties, internalizing mental
health problems, and externalizing mental health problems) and contextual
variables (specifically parent mental health and number of friends child has at
school) as correlates of victimization.

The studys participants included 192 parents of children diagnosed with ASD
aged 5-21 years (85% boys and 15% girls, average age 11.71), who were enrolled in
elementary, middle or high school. Childrens diagnosis included Asperger syndrome
(54%), high functioning autism (14%), PDD-NOS (13%) and autism (19%). Roughly
80% of these children were placed in full-inclusion classrooms and 20% were placed
in special education classrooms or programs. The parents completed an online
confidential survey that took approximately 30 minutes to complete. The survey
included a demographic questionnaire (about parent(s) and child), a Kessler 6-item
Psychological Distress Scale (a six-item screening tool for non-specific psychological
distress among adults that asks about the frequency of symptoms (e.g.
nervousness, hopelessness, etc.) on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from none of the
time (0) to all of the time (4)) as well as a Promoting Relationships and Eliminating
Violence Network Assessment Tool-Parent Version (a parent report survey that
focuses on bullying perpetration and victimization experiences among children).
The results of the survey showed that 77% of parents reported that their child
had been bullied at school within the last month, with low percents of victims (less
than one-third) reporting their victimization. Sixty-eight percent of youth
experienced more than one form of bullying. As expected, children and youth with
ASD are victims of bullying more often when compared to the general population.
Research indicated that abnormal emotion regulation and aggression-focused
coping in response to bullying may represent risk factors for prolonged
victimization.
The survey determined that the most common form of bullying children and
youth with ASD experience is verbal or social in nature.
Mental health problems led to frequent victimization among children with
ASD. Children who were bullied, compared to those who were not, were also 11
times more likely to have higher levels of child internalizing mental problems.
Children who experienced high levels of victimization (once or more per week) were
rated by their parents as having higher levels of anxiety, hyperactivity, self-injurious
and stereotypic behaviours, and over sensitivity than children who experienced no
victimization or experienced low levels of victimization (i.e. less than once per
week).
The survey also found that when compared to children who were not bullied;
those who were victims were approximately 5 times more likely to have higher
levels of child communication difficulties. Communication difficulties also factored
towards bullying experiences, however, the implications of this finding are likely
impacted by the age of the child, as communication demands within social
situations differ across stages of development.
Adults are responsible for promoting healthy relationships among children.
Parents, teachers, along with any other adults involved with children must work

towards creating positive environments to promote positive peer interactions and

minimize the potential for negative peer interactions such as bullying. It is also
important to provide structure in the lives of the children we work with so that
aggressive behaviours like bullying cannot develop or thrive. It is also important to
be made mindful that adults are the role-models for children and we must act
accordingly to provide positive and healthy interactions with other staff members.
It is also important to promote inclusivity in the settings in which we work
with children and youth. It is important that children, youth, and staff are made
aware of the exceptionalities and disabilities among the children. It is important to
model an appreciation for children with exceptionalities and to treat them as a
valued member of the class with many positive attributes.
As a Child and Youth Worker it is crucial to provide support to a child,
particularly one with a disability, who is being bullied. Child and Youth Workers can
provide support to children to acquire and develop important social skills such as
adaptive emotional and behavioural regulation strategies and coping skills, ignoring
peer provocation, identifying and engaging with supportive peers, problem solving,
and communicating assertively.
Child and Youth Workers are more than likely going to work and assist with
children with exceptionalities. It is important to understand the barriers and
limitations that children with ASD have and to actively find new opportunities to
engage and support children in ways that meet their needs.
Lastly, bullying prevention programs can be implemented by Child and Youth
Workers in ways that involved the whole school. These programs can be useful in
teaching children and youth bullying prevention and health intervention techniques.
By implementing bullying prevention programs, Child and Youth Workers are used to
promote healthy relationships among the student body and for students to be more
aware of the different forms of bullying as well as students right to feel safe and
welcomed within their school community.

Stigma In School-Based Mental Health:

Perceptions Of Young People And Service
Providers
A recent article by members of the Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental
Health explores the stigma surrounding mental health through the eyes of high school students and mental
health providers. The article explores the statistics of young people with mental health disorders, the
barriers of seeking mental health services and the consequences of unmet mental health needs. The article
also explains the results of a survey completed by high school aged students and mental health service
providers to give a more in-depth look at the emphasis of the need for young peoples involvement in
mental health initiatives.
Researchers estimate that one in five adolescents will suffer from a mental health disorder. Half
of adult disorders will emerge before the age of 14 and 70% before the age of 18, making adolescence a
critical time to identify and seek mental health services for their disorders. However, research suggests
that up to 70% of young people who have mental health needs do not access mental health services for a
myriad of reasons.
Many barriers are associated with mental health disorders and seeking services for mental health.
Two themes emerged when a earlier study was conducted to identify the prevalence of stigma as a barrier
of seeking mental health services: family perception and school environment. If there was a negative
perception towards mental health in the family, young people tended to feel more shame related to their
illness. In the school environment, young people were concerned with the behaviour and attitudes of their
peers and teachers in respects to expressing their mental health disorder. If young people felt that the
attitudes and behaviours from their peers and teachers were discriminatory or stigmatizing, the young
persons would then become more secretive, feeling more shame about their illness and withdrawing from
social contact more frequently. The stigma behind mental health disorders and receiving help is more
related to males than females. Males are significantly less likely to seek professional help than females.

Another barrier identified in the article was the stigma surrounding the mental health service
sector. Service providers reported three main reasons behind the unfortunate existence of stigma in their
sector; a lack of value for clients by professionals, a high staff turnover rate and a lack of support for staff
from their organizations.
Without appropriate help, mental disorders can be detrimental to a young persons relationships,
school and future life goals. The stigma becomes dangerous when it interferes with young people
connecting to mental health service providers. An unfortunate common consequence of not accessing
mental health services for a mental illness is suicide. It is suggested that up to 90% of adolescents who die
by suicide had an unmet mental health need.
The surveys participants were made up of two groups: young people in high school and schoolbased mental health service providers throughout all of Canada. The young people in this study were 1320 years of age, currently attending a Canadian high school at the time of the study. The students
presented an array of personal experiences including some with self-reported mental health concerns. Of
the students who conducted the survey, 82% were female, 80% were white, 74% were from Ontario, and
58% identified having a mental health concern. The survey for the youth consisted of 35 questions that
examined young peoples perceptions of the available mental health problems in schools, resources
available for young people and the impact of stigma on young people and their use of services. The data
from mental health service providers came from the School-Based Mental Health and Substance Abuse
project all across Canada through an interview that was designed to gain insight on any challenges and
enablers associated with implementing mental health programs, and barriers the program leader has in
implementing the programming.
The results from the survey done by the high school students showed that young people perceive
stigma as the number on reason barrier to accessing mental health services, however, the second barrier
was identified as not knowing where to get help for those who identified having a mental health problem.
Those who did not identify as having a mental health problems results identified that peer pressure
and not knowing you have a mental health problem as the second barrier. Overall, young people reported
being very concerned or concerned with mental health and substance abuse problems among their
peers at their school. The results also showed that young people are strongly not aware of the resources
available to them either at their school to help them with mental health concerns. Additionally, the survey
found that the majority young people do not think their teachers are well prepared or prepared to deal
with and identify mental health needs.
Insignificant results were found when the perception of stigma as a barrier by service providers
was compared to the type of program they represented. When the perception of stigma by service
providers was compared to the involvement of young people in the program and design of the program,
insignificant results were found.
As a child and youth worker, this article is beneficial in identifying the needs of young people in
todays high schools. Providing programs that provide positive brief contact with someone with a
disorder, including education regarding their disorders and providing an opportunity to protest has been
proven to be successful in a reduction of stigma with an individual.