Kids with disabilities and other special health care needs are at increased risk for bullying and generally show less motivation to succeed in school, new research indicates.
The findings come from a study published this week in the journal Pediatrics that looked at more than 1,450 students in fourth through sixth grade attending three rural school districts in Maryland and West Virginia.
Through surveys of the students and their parents, researchers found that about 1 in 3 kids in mainstream classrooms at the schools had some type of special health care need ranging from asthma and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to emotional and behavioral disorders.
When the survey responses were matched up with school records, it became clear that children with disabilities missed more days of school and had lower grades, according to the research team from the University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins and Marshall University.
These kids also reported higher levels of bullying and were less likely to feel safe in school, the study found.
Moreover, when it came to academics, students with special health care needs were less likely to report that getting good grades mattered to them.
“These problems threaten both their well-being as youth and their future flourishing as adults,” the study authors write. “Health and school professionals will need to work together to identify these children much earlier, ensure that they receive appropriate supports and services and monitor the effectiveness of services.”
Of the students surveyed, boys were twice as likely as girls to have special health care needs. Children from lower income households were also at increased risk for falling into this category, which could explain the high rate of the conditions among students in the study sample.
When there is a lack of resources causing stress, animals tend to be more aggressive. Is there a biogical imperative at work here on the classmates? Are there stressors on children that aren’t being addressed within the school environment, such as class sizes that are too large or not enough individual attention? Are there stressors at home that are influencing the kids to bully their classmates with disabilities? Is it as simple as teaching the “silent majority” of kids who are neither bullys nor the object of bullys’ attention to stop being bystanders and take action? Small children love super-heroes; can we teach them to be super-heroes in their own lives and help those who are being picked on?
No duh America. K-12 I was ALWAYS the target of bullies. Therapy did NOT help me cope either. Spent 9 months in a psych ward at 15 and was bullied in there too. I came from middle class America too. Even spent time in an alternative school where I was bullied. Never could escape them. I had to learn how to kick butt at an early age. My mom was ALWAYS told it was a right of passage. No it is not.
It does not surprise me that Kids with disabilities and other special health care needs are at increased risk for bullying but officials do not do anything about it and again parents do not have resources.
Msamericanpatriot you have a lot of courage to point out this information. Yes, the people with disabilities can never escape them. Sometimes is this person is dressed as a mother, and you have to stand your ground. Yes, Moms ALWAYS excuse this type of behavior and it is not acceptable. As an adult when I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, my mother did it constantly then she tried on my child and that was the end of our relation. This type of relation has to be broken. It is not healthy.
Yes, SusanFordKeller when there is a lack of resources causing stress, animals tend to be more aggressive, but we are not animals but human beings. A lesson was due long time ago classmates. Researchers need to find the answers because this economic crisis is not going to get better. I come from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico where a driver encouraged the other riders to attack me simply because I needed access to the ramp on the Public Bus. The bus was full of university students and I just made a call to file a complaint. As I finished my phone call on the cell phone, the sound of uproar and applause started on the bus. I did not know what was going to happen, but the teacher from the University said, “we needed more people like you” to me. It was a scary situation but I went all the way to the federal court and here you have the citation of the case Orria-Medina v. Metro. Bus Auth.,565 F.Supp. 2d 285 (D.P.R. 2007). I hope that people will not get discourage. We cannot give up our rights on these times of crisis and the lack of resources is everywhere.
msamericanpatriot — What do you think your parents should have done differently about the bullying? My son is not experiencing the same level of bullying that you did, but he does get picked on. His martial arts teacher told him to confront them verbally because ignoring them wasn’t working. But that is hard for a 10yrold to do! It is going to take some practice. I think his point was that my son needs to be more confident and stand up for himself so he won’t be such an easy target. But I would like your perspective as to what the grownups should be doing.
I have found that schools are more concerned about addressing bullying nowadays. There have been numerous court cases against school districts and personnel who did not respond to bullying issues. And it is not a IDEA issue but a civil rights issue that can bring federal charges against school districts who stand by idly. Violence against a person with disabilities is considered a Hate crime and current statutes permit federal prosecution of hate crimes committed on the basis of a person’s protected characteristics of race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability.
Any child (or adult in some cases) which appears “different” for whatever reason, stands a pretty good chance of being picked on. “Different” appears as a weakness to most bullies and they’ll prey on that weakness.
To me, studies seem like a waste of time and money. As far back as most of us can remember kids appearing weak were always picked on. That said, parents of a disabled child need to closely monitor their children’s behavior to see if depression, lowered self esteem, etc is setting in. These are good signs that bullying maybe occurring. Then school officials need to be made aware.
Maybe hate crime charges need to be filed if it becomes too bad.
I was bullied when I was a school kid…no fun.
My mom didn’t like the fact that it was being excused. She wanted something done about it yet no one would and would tell her it was a right of passage. No it isn’t. She tried to get me psychological help which did more damage than good as well. They, the psychological help, wanted me to believe that the bullying was my fault and I caused it to happen.
What I would suggest to parents is threaten to sue the schools. They are at fault for not providing an environment conducive to learning. You threaten a school with a suit then they WILL straighten up and fly right real fast. Leave them with a lawyers business card to show them you mean business and that your lawyer will be calling them and then have the lawyer do it. Hit them where it hurts.
I suffer from low self esteem thanks to all that psychobabble I have gone through. I also have depression which is treatment resistant because of my hypothyroidism and adrenal fatigue. This means I can not take prozac and his cousins (SSRI). Also all this bullying caused me to become autistic which means now I lack the social skills I should have received in childhood. I have been told by my state vocational rehabilitation department that I do not have the social skills to hold down a job. Well I am working on going to a technical school to study for a job in broadcasting/entertainment industry and put a face on the bullied individual with disabilities. Lady Gaga thinks she can write a book on being bullied as a child. WRONG!! Did she have to chase a bully off with a metal baseball bat? Probably not. But I did. I got sent to the principal’s office for it too while the one bullying me got off scot free.
bullying can not be the reason for not including students with disabilities. confront bullying. don”t blame disability.
In my case I was made to feel and believe that my disability was the cause of my bullying and warranted bullying.
Try this on for size: When I went to school, my parents had to “hide” me. I was before Idea, before 504. So I didn’t get diagnosed with CP until I was 10 to be on the safe side, that I would be enrolled in school, have massive amount of at home training to “un-cp” me, (mom would put her fingers to my lips if I was tired and my mouth would slack, learning to walk flat footed, having to do manual dexerity things that everyone else did; including twirling bars, crossing bars, and so forth. I spent most of my recesses in the library, as a haven.
Because I was “hiding”, I wasn’t allow t o complain to teachers or anyone but Mom if someone was mean, or teased the heck out of me. One situation in particular, was that I had to walk a mile home every day, was detained by a teacher, because I “couldn’t spell well” and made me stay late practicing my penmen ship. Alright. Finally got to walk home and was greeted by the 3rd grade bully, who was bigger than any of the normal kids his age (and wore leg braces, go figure). He threatened to knock me down if I didn’t pull my pants down. Thankfully I ran, as hard as I could up the hill I had come down, and found someone to help me out. I could only tell my mom what happened. I’ve never forgiven the kid, never forgot the incident, and yes, it stays with me to this day.
I have had plenty of more bullying before leaving school. And while I managed to get through it, and went on to get all but thesis of a Master’s Degree…I know how harmed kids are, and how mainstreaming is not always good (teachers taunting students, students joining in teachers’ taunting). I am thankful that kids don’t have to “hide” being disabled, and feel shame for who they are. That’s a start, it will be better when we quit hiring previous bullies (yes, I did a study on this that shows that 85% of those who haze students go on to be in the social service industry), to be teachers of those less capable of fighting off bad teachers, student inclusion of behavior (if the teacher does it, so can I now start taunting the disabled), and set standards that will really benefit both the disabled and the non disabled in our classrooms.
Wow do we have a victim mentality or what? Oh, before the entire forum gangs up on me, hear me out! Yes, bullying is bad! It has a devastating effect on the self esteem of the sufferer. But, for msamericanpatriot to come on this forum and blame her entire existence to any bullying she may have suffered is crap. If she wants to wallow in self pity, that is her right; but don’t anyone dare believe she is a shining star in the disability community. It is time for the disability community to rise above the false definitions that are placed on us.
If you don’t like your lot in life, work to change it! It is up to you.