Almost all of us have experienced bullying in school. While bullying is a common experience for any child, it is particularly common in autistic children. In this article we explore bullying from an autism lens. How prevalent is bullying in autism? What factors lead to bullying of autistic individuals? And what interventions show evidence of effectively addressing bullying specific to autism?

Prevalence of Bullying in Autism

It is widely accepted that bullying is more prevalent in autistic children than neurotypical children. However, when we actually break down the numbers, it is still shocking to see how pervasive bullying is. Up to 94% of autistics report experiencing bullying in school! Furthermore, 87% of autistics report being bullied weekly and 40% report being bullied daily, compared to 15% of neurotypicals. This bullying includes both physical and emotional forms of bullying. For example, 75% of parents report that their autistic child had been hit or emotionally bullied in the past year compared to 30% of neurotypical children.

Autistic children socialized as boys seem to have the highest rate of bully victimization. Although, one must wonder whether more covert forms of bullying and higher levels of masking, often associated with children socialized as girls, may explain this difference or may result in less noticing and reporting by teachers and parents.

Victim or perpetrator?

There is a misconception that autistic children tend to be the perpetrators of bullying. In reality, research findings over the years have actually been mixed. More recently, this was found to be because studies historically have not controlled for demographics or co-occurring conditions like ADHD. When studies properly controlled for these variables, autistics tended to be the victims of bullying more often than the perpetrators. The numbers are quite inconsistent across studies however, as an example, one study found that autistics are perpetrators 10% of the time versus 44% of the time in neurotypicals.

Research methods aren’t the only reason this misconception exists. Here are some other explanations:

Bullying involves intent to harm

Autistic children can often display emotional outbursts and aggressive behaviour. However, the underlying trigger for these behaviours is important to understand. In order for these behaviours to be considered bullying, they must be acted out with the intent to cause harm. Research finds that autistic behaviours that are aggressive do not typically fall under this category. It is more likely that the autistic individual is having a meltdown in an attempt to self-regulate or that their aggression is a reaction to a situation but is not intentionally violent. Notably, it has been shown that bullying is what causes the emotional overload, meltdowns, and aggression in the first place!

Bullying involves an imbalance of power

Moreover, in order for bullying to occur, there must be an imbalance of power. We must recognize that due to ableism, autistics tend to have less power than their peers. They also tend to have lower social status. Since bullying tends to victimize the person with less power, this often targets autistic individuals.

Factors Influencing Bulling of Autistics

There are several factors which predict the risk of experiencing school bullying in autistic children. Research shows that with the presence of each of these factors, the cumulative risk of experiencing bullying increases exponentially.

Social and communication differences

Our social and communication differences make autistics easy targets for bullying. Autistics have even been described as “perfect victims” by some researchers. It is often found that because of these social communication differences, autistics are particularly easy for bullies to target without getting caught. For example, autistics don’t always recognize when bullying occurs, even if they feel a negative reaction towards an interaction. This may look like not picking up on the difference between an insult and a joke. Additionally, autistics may not recognize when it’s appropriate to report a negative social interaction or even how to report.

One consequence of these social communication differences is that bullying becomes normalized and can escalate beyond what is typically tolerated by neurotypical children.

Noticeable education-related differences

Research shows that neurotypical children find differences easy to target and difficult to empathize with. In a school setting, autistics are labeled as different because they may be removed/isolated from their peer group, for example because of their IEP (Individualized Education Plan). They also stand out in their class because they may have accommodations or educational supports in place, for example using an AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) device to communicate.

It seems that receiving support for autistic educational needs is necessary, but simultaneously creates reasons for peer ostracization.

Mainstream schooling

Not surprisingly, these educational supports stand out more in Mainstream schools. Accordingly, multiple studies show that autistics attending mainstream schools tend to experience higher rates of bullying. In comparison, autistics don’t stand out as as much in special education schools where neurodiversity and autistic traits are more accepted.

Outwardly observable social struggles

Interestingly, it seems that autistic adolescents who report less social difficulties are also more targeted for bullying. It seems that more social understanding and social integration with neurotypical peers leads to a higher risk of bullying. One hypothesis worth exploring in future research is whether masking and camouflaging mediate this relationship. I wonder if neurotypical peers have less empathy for a student who is labeled as “quirky” or often has social “slip ups” compared to a student who is more outwardly identifiably autistic or who is less able to pass as neurotypical. (Of course both these views are ableist and don’t align with embracing neurodiversity!)

Consequences of bullying on autistic individuals

Prolonged bullying has been shown to be associated with many negative outcomes in autistics. Research shows an association between bullying and a reduction in relationship building and social interaction, an increase in difficulty completing school work, damages to self-esteem, refusal to attend school, and reduced overall mental health. Bullying is also associated with a clinically significant increase in suicide and suicidal ideation. This increase is 28x higher for autistic students than for neurotypical students.

Addressing bullying as a parent/teacher/clinician

If you are someone who interacts with autistic children and teens, here is a long list of what you can do to be proactive about addressing bullying:

• If you notice that there is a change in behaviour, particularly related to withdrawing from school and social activities, a decrease in capacity to do schoolwork, and poor mental health, this is an indication that you should inquire about bullying.
• Recognize that autistics are less likely to seek advocates or supports when bullied. Often autistics feel obliged to take matters into their own hands, which can lead to aggression as self-protection.
• Therefore, if you notice aggressive behaviours, directly inquire about bullying.
• In the absence of aggressive behaviours or reporting, it is important to check-in around bullying anyway given how prevalent it is.
• When autistics do come forward, believe what they say! Autistics tend to be truthful about their experiences. In contrast, findings show that neurotypical peers do not report bullying as accurately as teachers do.
• Promote respect for diversity and difference. Neurodiversity should be included in all school equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) initiatives
• If you are a teacher, avoid singling out your autistic/disabled students. This tends to heighten difference and increase bullying outside the class.
• As a teacher, you can also demonstrate acceptance of difference (instead of conformity). Allow neurodivergent students to be neurodivergent in the classroom!
• Normalize accommodations that are typically only associated with autistic students. For example, ask all students if the classroom lights are too bright, not just the autistic students.
• Dismantle the false belief that more assertiveness will mitigate bullying. This may work in neurotypicals, but it is not effective in autistic individuals.
• Teach all children the skills needed to identify social cues and vulnerable situations that relate to bullying.
• Teach children how and when to report bullying. This may not be obvious to all children.
• Avoid peer mediation. It has been shown to not be effective against autism-related bullying.

Bullying is one of the most persistent and costly workplace problems. It harms employee physical and mental health and results in the loss of productivity, as well as talent loss via turnover. And yet, bullying is hardly ever addressed.

While workplace bullying is highly problematic for all employees, it has particularly severe consequences for autistic individuals. Bullying of autistic people in the workplace is a problem that cost many their jobs and is likely contributing to the extremely high rates of unemployment (85% in the US, 78% in the UK, and 60% in Australia). In this paper, I propose that bullying of autistic people is also a problem made particularly persistent due to its cyclical nature: autistic people are more likely to be bullied, and are also more strongly affected by bullying, both psychologically and physiologically. Sadly, autistic employees are also less likely to be believed while seeking a recourse, and less likely to receive empathy. This leads to further cycles of bullying.

Autistic people are more likely to be bullied

Starting in the childhood, autistic people are more likely to be bullied both at home and at school. This continues in the workplace. Compared to other employees, autistic individuals are more likely to be targeted by bullies. In the UK, half of the autistic employees report bullying, harassment, or other discrimination or unfair treatment at work.

Exceptionally high productivity of many autistic people, along with their strong focus on work, are often touted when presenting the business case for autism employment. After all, no other group of employees has been shown to be up to 140% more productive than their typical counterparts. However, there is a danger to this focus and productivity. “Get smarty pants” phenomenon, also known as bullying and victimization of top performers, is well documented in the workplace as well as at school. A key explanation is coworker envy and concern with unfavorable comparison. High performance and the resulting coworker envy are likely to contribute to bullying of autistic performers. Moreover, autistic focus on work rather than socializing, while contributing to productivity, can also be perceived by coworkers as negative. Other “strikes” against autistic performers include blunt communication perceived as lack of agreeableness, and simply being different.

On the other end of performance distribution, low performers are also likely to experience bullying. If an autistic individual is poorly matched to the job or the job calls for skills associated with “lows” of one’s “spiky” profiles, the lower performance is also likely to cause bullying.

Bullying of high performers is likely to be covert. Typical tactics include withholding of information and resources, gossip, making false complaints to supervisors, sabotage, and backstabbing. Bullying of low performers is more likely to be overt and to involve yelling, threats, and other forms of direct hostility.

It is well-documented that bullying is detrimental to individuals’ productivity. It can harm performance by affecting cognitive processes – and likely more so for autistic employees due to the tendency toward rumination and other physical and mental health differences described in the next session. Hence, unfortunately, bullying coworkers may achieve their goal of hampering the high performer’s success. However, bullying does not help improve low performance.

Autistic people are more strongly affected by bullying

While all workers suffer the negative effects of bullying, these effects are often particularly detrimental to autistic individuals. Autistic people are more likely to have chronic autonomic nervous system (ANS) hyperarousal – a chronic biological threat response. This makes autistic individuals more vulnerable to harmful physiological stress response to bullying and incivility, possibly resulting in physical illness or even cardiac events.

In addition, the history of bullying trauma typical of autistic individuals results in another vulnerability factor – gelotophobia, the conditioned fear of being laughed at and ridiculed. The term is derived from the Greek word ‘‘gelos’’ for laughter and ‘‘phobia’’ for fear. It is a type of anxiety related to an intense feeing of shame arising as a long-lasting result of prior bullying, ridicule, and mockery. Because ridicule and mockery are some of the most typical ways in which the world treats autistic people, high levels of gelotophobia are reported to occur at much higher rates in autistic (87.4) vs. non-autistic populations (22.6%). It is likely that the repeated experience of bullying creates the phobia of being mocked, which likely exacerbates social awkwardness in autistic people, leading to a cycle of torment and further increases in fear and anxiety.

Autistic people are less likely to be believed

Most workplaces in the US lack regulations against bullying, and despite generally stronger legislation, Canada and many European countries still lack anti-bullying recourse. In many cases, there is simply no recourse. And if there is any possibility of recourse, the burden of proof rests on the target on bullying – and autistic people are less likely to be believed.

Experimental research indicates that autistic individuals are seen as more deceptive and of lesser character” than neurotypical individuals when telling the truth. These judgments relied on perceivers’ impressions such as “he seemed nervous,” or “body language seemed off” and the overall liking.

The pervasive and unfounded stereotypes held by the general public as well as some supposed “experts” label gaze aversion and fidgeting (nervousness and the “off” body language) as indicating deception. In reality, reliable behavioral cues to deception do not exist. Unfortunately, stereotypical “liar” behaviors are also typical autistic behaviors, and without training and education, most individuals make incorrect attributions. Moreover, their disbelief and denial of the autistic person’s experienced reality will likely contribute to the gaslighting trauma often experienced by autistic individuals, which is turn is likely to make them even more nervous – and thus, to typical observers, deceptive-looking.

Autistic people are less like to receive empathy

Due to the lack of effective, systematically applied anti-bullying mechanisms, targets of bullying are often at the mercy of individual decision-makers within organizations. Such decision-makers may hear their concerns – or side with bullies. In some cases, leaders rely on their own empathy in “taking sides” – and empathy is likely to result in taking the side of those more similar to decision-makers themselves rather than to those actually telling the truth.

Most decision-makers are allistic and are thus more likely to side with other allistics rather than with autistics. Research demonstrates that non-autistic individuals tend to lack empathy toward autistic people and display significant automatic bias of disliking after a very brief first impression, which persists into further interaction, and is accompanied by exclusionary behaviors. Thus, an allistic bully will likely have an advantage over an autistic target in the judgment of allistic decision-makers.

The lack of empathy from decision-makers and the lack of recourse are likely to inflict a further betrayal injury on autistic employees. The resulting trauma reactions (dejection, depression, anxiety, self-isolation) will likely, in turn, perpetuate victimization.

In sum, the cycle of bullying in the workplace is embedded in both organizational systems and in human biases. Therefore, it is unlikely to be broken without significant structural intervention. I will discuss several possible mechanisms that may help reduce bullying in the workplace in general and bullying of autistic employees specifically in the next installment.

Apart from horror and young adult fiction, science fiction is a part of the vast literary world that I rarely venture to. I admit, I am not a fan of any of these three genres. However, my aversion from these genres does not prevent me from indulging every now and then. One of these exemptions was Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Ship? It was my first work by the highly regarded American novelist. It was one of the books I purchased during the 2019 Big Bad Wolf Sale but I barely had an iota on what the book was about. I still bought it; after all, it was listed as part of the 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. It is also often regarded as one of the best works of science fiction. So what else is stopping me from opening a classic of science fiction?

Do Androids Dream of Electric Ship? is not only Philip K. Dick’s most popular work. It is also widely regarded as one of the most seminal and most influential works of science fiction. The year was 1992 (although later editions used 2021) and the world was still recovering from the impact of the devastating global war referred to as World War Terminus. Earth has irreversibly been polluted by radioactive waste which prompted the United Nations to encourage mass relocation to off-world colonies. This was also promoted to preserve humanity’s genetic integrity. Those who opted to emigrate were provided with an incentive of free personal androids. The robot servants, which were akin to humans, were manufactured by the Rosen Association on a colony on Mars.

However, some androids go rogue and rebel against their manufacturers. They escape to Earth in the hopes of living undetected. These rebellious androids kept both the American and Soviet police departments on their toes. Thus commences the story of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Following the escape of six androids from Mars to Earth, the San Francisco Police Department commissioned Rich Deckard, a bounty hunter they keep under their payroll, to “retire” (kill) the rogue androids. It was going to be no ordinary manhunt, rather android-hunt as these androids are part of the new and highly intelligent Nexus-6 model.

Because of the similarities, distinguishing androids from real human beings is no easy task. So far, only a posthumous bone marrow analysis can determine the identity of a person. However, a new empathy test, the Voigt-Kampff Empathy Test, showed promise of being able to determine who is who without having to wait for death. To confirm the accuracy of the test, Deckard traveled to the Rosen Association’s headquarters in Seattle. Deckard was apprehensive of the test’s ability to distinguish an android from humans, especially on the latest android models. There was also a possibility that the police have been killing human beings. As the narrative transitioned into a combination of suspense and adventure novel, the question arises, “Is empathy enough a basis to segregate a real human from a humanoid?”

According to the post-apocalyptic society of the book, empathy was an important determinant in segregating humans from humanoids. By being able to feel for others, and living through their experiences by some mystic group connection, one can easily prove that he is a human. Androids, on the other hand, were not capable of either, hence, they were considered as subhuman. However, as the narrative progressed, this central statement was questioned. It was eroded by the fact that not all humans were capable of empathy either, or at least they don’t immediately act upon it. It is safe to infer that empathy alone is not an accurate metric to gauge who is humans and which is android.

The discourse on humanity was present all throughout the story. As Deckard moves to retire all the rogue androids, he got erroneously arrested and detained because the policemen were unable to identify that he was a bounty hunter. At the station, he was accused as an android with implanted memories. The scenes at the police station were seminal in the narrative as Deckard reached an impasse. He started to ponder on the ethics of his line of work. Questions of philosophical nature also filled his mind as he grappled with the definition and value of life. What humanity is left in a bounty hunter who seeks out androids and mercilessly “retire” them? He was on the cusp of an identity and an existential crisis which may very well alter the way he sees the world. This personal dilemma was also a mantle the narrative was painted on.

It was not only Deckard’s moral crisis that underlined the question on humanity. How can one be called empathetic when he leaves the elderly, the weak, and the intellectually below-average (collectively called “chickenheads”) to a dying planet to be stranded forever? As one moves forward with the narrative, it cannot escape one’s notice how the androids have more emotional maturity compared to their human counterparts. The plausibility that the androids can possess emotions was underscored all throughout the narrative. It was this glaring dichotomy between between the protagonist humans and the antagonist androids that was the masterstroke of Dick’s prose. The androids, who exhibited more compassion towards fellow androids and even humans, can be seen as a reflection of a society whose humanity is in decline.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, however, does not reduce itself into an exploration into the definitions of humanity and life. It is a multifaceted narrative that explored a plethora of subjects such as the consequences of a nuclear war, and war in general. The World War Terminus has drastically affected the environment, resulting to the extinction of many animals. The impact was so adverse that owning real animals has become a status symbol and only the rich were able to afford them. Poor people were relegated to owning robot imitations. Deckard, for instance, owned an electric black-faced sheep and with the bounty money from the success of his mission, he was hoping to procure a live animal. Replacing the machine with an authentic Nubian goat will also bring comfort to Deckard’s depressed wife, Iran.

The discourse on the real and the unreal was one of the ideas central to the narrative. These discourses were further complimented by the exploration of subjects such as mind control, intelligence and mental deficiency, and decay and regeneration. The value of individualism against the collective was also explored. On top of these subjects, Dick also incorporated a discourse on the fundamental value of religion to the lives of mankind. This was portrayed through the rise of a new technology-based religion called Mercerism. Centered on a Messianic character named Wilbur Mercer, Mercerism was an offshoot of the rise of empathy and used “empathy boxes” to link users to a virtual reality of collective suffering.

What worked on the novel’s favor was the gradual buildup of pace. It was slow at the beginning but as the story moved forward, the pace started to increase. Dick managed to keep his readers on the edge of their seats. He further complimented the rising tenterhook with unexpected twists. He kept the readers invested and riveted with the story. This was one of the novel’s redeeming qualities as Dick’s writing, for the most part, was dull. He did a commendable job with the worldbuilding but there was a lack of lyrical quality to the prose. This can be owed to the fact that the novel belongs to science fiction. Whilst the characters were believable, the character development was lacking.

With many good things executed properly, it was lamentable that the narrative started to crumble as it draws to a conclusion. Dick provoked his readers with the plethora of questions he raised. He managed to answer many of them but he also left too many questions unanswered in the end. These plot holes could have been excusable if the novel had a sequel but it did not. It was a digression from the progress that Dick made in the narrative. The conclusion was also in wont of something greater. The loose ends were never tied properly. It was rather confusing and, overall, it felt like it was an abstract idea that was simply juxtaposed into the narrative without much of a context.

For all its flaws and monotone storytelling, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was nevertheless a powerful narrative. It was parts-scientific, parts-dystopian, and parts-philosophical, a novel that explored a plethora of subjects and themes that remain seminal in the contemporary. Its exploration and prognosis of the human condition was scintillating, especially with the exponential rise of technology and how it is adversely affecting mankind. The novel gave a haunting albeit realistic picture of a future Earth. Its philosophical facet sets it apart from the typical science fiction and makes it stand out.

Originally published in 1968, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? has proven Philip K. Dick’s innovativeness and imagination. The complexity of his prose and the depth of his analysis proved that he was ahead of his peers. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is, without a doubt, a tremendous product of the science fiction genre, one that will withstand the tests of time and one that every fan of science fiction must read.

Most parents worry about their child being bullied. While statistics vary across research studies, people with autism are undoubtedly victims of bullying at a much higher rate than typical peers.

Definition of Bullying

Although most people recognize bullying when they see it, there are multiple definitions and a lack of legal consensus on the definition.

• The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) does not provide a definition for bullying.
• Therefore, individual schools or districts may have their own definition.
• However, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services provides a definition per the 2013 Dear Colleague letter as follows: “Bullying is characterized by aggression used within a relationship where the aggressor(s) has more real or perceived power than the target, and the aggression is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Bullying can involve overt physical behavior or verbal, emotional, or social behaviors (e.g., excluding someone from social activities, making threats, withdrawing attention, destroying someone’s reputation) and can range from blatant aggression to far more subtle and covert behaviors. Cyber-bullying, or bullying through electronic technology (e.g., cell phones, computers, online/social media), can include offensive text messages or e-mails, rumors or embarrassing photos posted on social networking sites, or fake online profiles.”
• Additionally, the CDC defines bullying as repeated, unwanted aggressive behavior(s) that involves an observed or perceived imbalance of power.

Signs of Bullying

Bullying occurs most often when there is a perceived difference between people. Consequently, this leaves people with autism vulnerable to bullying. For example, poor social skills, slower problem solving, and an inability to defend oneself verbally or physically are just a few reasons why people with autism are at a higher risk of being bullied.

Because of this, parents and educators must be able to recognize the signs of bullying in order to intervene early and prevent further incidents from occurring.

The following is a list of warning signs that may indicate your child is being bullied:

• Unexplained bruises or other physical injuries
• Increased anxiety
• New or increased aggression
• New or increased self-injurious behaviors
• Depression
• Thoughts of suicide
• Acting angry, sullen, or having mood swings
• New or increased elopement behaviors
• Complaints of illness or faking illness
• Change in eating habits
• Difficulty sleeping
• A decline in schoolwork or grades
• Loss of interest in school
• School refusal
• Frequent visits to the school nurse or office to avoid going to class
• Lost or destroyed items such as clothing, books, electronics
• Loss of friends
• Avoidance of social situations

Laws That Provide Protection to Students with Autism

In some situations, civil rights laws protect students with autism against bullying. For example, if someone is bullying, teasing, or bothering your child because they have autism, the public school has an obligation to resolve the harassment under federal law. This is because civil rights protections emerge for victims who are targeted because of their race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, or disability. In such cases, bullying is considered discriminatory harassment, which is a civil rights violation.

Additionally, IDEA provides protections to students with autism against bullying. These protections apply when bullying interferes with a student’s access to FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education). So, if your child has an IEP/504, federal law requires the public school to intervene if the bullying results in a denial of FAPE.

However, it’s important to note that bullying does not need to overlap with discriminatory harassment to deny your child’s access to FAPE. Rather, the bullying simply needs to interfere with your child’s ability to achieve their academic/IEP goals. For instance, it is reasonable to argue that your child is being denied access to FAPE if the bullying:

• Prevents or inhibits their ability to pay attention in class.
• Interferes with their opportunity to learn with peers in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE).
• Triggers anxiety/behaviors that adversely impact their academic performance or attendance.

Reporting and Resolving Bullying at School

If your child is the victim of bullying at school, immediately send an email to the members of your child’s IEP team to report the bullying and call for an IEP/504 team meeting.

When meeting with your child’s team, prepare to discuss the following:

• Provide details about the bullying, in writing, such as:
  Frequency and intensity of bullying
  Number of students engaged
  Time and location of bullying
  Any changes in the student’s behavior
  Any changes in the student’s emotional state
• Whether or not changes need to be made to the IEP.
  If yes, what additional or different services does your need?
  Please note: the IEP team is responsible for deciding what, if any, changes are needed – not the district.
• Placement: the student should remain in the Least Restrictive Environment unless FAPE cannot be met.

Provide Documentation

When dealing with the school, it is important to know that proving bullying requires documentation.

The following is a list of items that provide evidence of bullying:

• Assessments
  Social-emotional assessments
  Functional behavior assessments
  Mental health services evaluations
• Documentation of progress towards goals
  Progress slowing or regressing may indicate bullying
• Incident reports
• Student documentation
  Use interviews, written statements, or pictures
• Witness statements
  Ask witnesses to write what they observed

Prevention and Education

Ultimately, the goal is to stop bullying behavior before it starts. Even though prevention programs cannot totally eliminate bullying, it is important to remember that actions such as a bystander speaking up, reduces bullying behavior by 50%.

The following is a list of proactive strategies for preventing and confronting bullying.

Parents

• Model kind, respectful, and appropriate behavior at home.
• Talk to your child about bullying:
  What is bullying? Why is it wrong?
  Give examples of both bullying and acceptable interactions.
  Use social stories.
  Here is an example social story about bullying.
• Role-play situations involving bullies.
• Likewise, practice with your child reporting an incident using their preferred method of communication.
• Arrange for your child to stay near a teacher/supervisor during lunch and recess.
• Set up a buddy system with a trusted peer during recess, lunch, or times of transition.
• Do not send your child with valuables or money.
• Also, don’t forget to build their self-confidence and help them develop friendships:
  Enroll your child in classes, extra-curriculars, or activities geared toward their interests.
  Seek out positive, fun ways to practice Social Skills.
  Help your child develop and maintain a network of support by Facilitating Friendships.

IEP Team

• Include goals for self-advocacy, social skills, and problem-solving in your child’s IEP.
• Provide individual or group counseling.
• Create a plan to monitor and address bullying.
  Remember, the IEP team can only discuss issues and strategies specific to your child. Parents are not privy to actions taken with other students involved in the incident.
• Last but not least, add more or compensatory services to provide FAPE (if needed).

School District

• Create a culture of respect.
• Implement a school-wide bullying prevention program rooted in positive behavior supports.
• Create a voluntary school climate survey for students and parents.
• Revise anti-bullying policies to develop staff protocols in an effort to increase administrative response.
• Provide staff and parent anti-bullying training.

In Conclusion

Bullying is a significant issue within the autism community. Because of this, parents, teachers, schools, and the community must work together to decrease bullying. Ultimately, IEP teams are responsible to take action if the bullying behavior interferes with a student’s ability to access FAPE and/or violates their civil rights.

At the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, I finally became sick because of COVID-19. I didn’t want to catch the coronavirus, and I didn’t catch it when the mandates and the restrictions were in effect during the so-called pandemic, but at least now I know what it feels like to have this disease. In my case, the first symptom that appeared was diarrhea. This happened during the night. Then other symptoms appeared. I had loss of smell and taste, headache, fatigue, coughing, muscle and joint pain, and fever. I would say that COVID-19 is a slightly more severe disease than the cold. If you catch it, you definitely have to stay at home for at least a week. While the virus isn’t very deadly, it’s still not a pleasant thing to be affected by it, and I guess that if an old person or a person with certain health problems continues to exert oneself while being sick with COVID-19, that person can die. In my case, COVID-19 didn’t leave me with any long-term complications, but I did get an ear infection three weeks after the symptoms appeared. Because of this, one of my ears ached and couldn’t hear. An ear infection has to be treated as soon as possible because if the infection spreads from the ear to the brain, a person can die. So, this is how the COVID-19 virus, which was probably created at one of the American biolaboratories in Ukraine, affected me. It took about a month for me to fully recover from the disease. In general, this year has been a very important one when it comes to my health. Not only did I get sick with COVID-19 for the first time, I also realized that I’m autistic. I found out that I’m a person with autism very recently. I’ve never been diagnosed with autism, but it’s now obvious to me that autism has been an extremely important part of my life. I realized that I have autism when I was reading about it on Wikipedia. After doing this, I read some articles about how autistic people act and about their problems. When I did this, I became amazed that until now I didn’t know that I have autism, which is a very big deal for any person that has it. Why didn’t I know that I’m autistic before? Well, first of all, no one has ever told me that I have autism. My parents didn’t know. My mother, who was definitely concerned about my health when I was little, didn’t know. She took me to see doctors many times, but none of them diagnosed me with autism. Well, it’s not like she took me to see top experts. Let’s not forget that I grew up in a poor family, and few of the doctors that I got to meet were helpful. When it comes to my father, I don’t even have to say anything. My so-called father is a typical Russian monster, and I’ll leave it at that. So, although my mother wanted to improve my health when I was little, she didn’t find out about the two most important health problems that I have. I had to find out about these two problems almost entirely on my own, after I became an adult. Second of all, I realized that I have been able to conceal some of my autistic traits in order to appear like a normal person. Since my intelligence is normal, maybe even above normal, I’ve learned and taught myself to behave like a normal person most of the time, although acting like a normal person isn’t natural for me. Acting like a normal person is stressful and exhausting for an autistic person such as myself. Well, now I know why I prefer to sleep for at least 10 hours every day. Moreover, I don’t just prefer to do this. I need to do this in order to have the energy to get through the day. When important changes to my lifestyle have to be made, or when I simply have to think about making changes to my lifestyle, I have to sleep even more. Going out of my routines is a difficult thing for me. Perhaps sleeping for at least 10 hours every day is also the reason why I look very young for my age. People sometimes tell me this. Nevertheless, after reading a lot about autism for the last week or so, I realized that I still often behave in an odd way and that I still sometimes can’t control my outbursts, since I’m autistic. Before I found out that I’m autistic, I attributed my odd behavior and my inability to socialize well to my character. Most of the time, I ignored the fact that I’m not normal and simply plowed ahead through life. I guess that there’s a reason why autism is called the invisible disability. Still, I don’t like to think of myself as a disabled person or as a person that’s not normal. It’s not easy for me to accept that I’m autistic because I’d like my life to be normal, but it’s clear to me now that I’ll probably never be able to overcome some of my autistic traits. I have many autistic traits, but I’ll mention only a few here. Like some other autistic people, I walk faster than normal people do. Even before I found out that I have autism, I tried to walk slower, but I don’t always remember that I should do this. I also don’t always move parts of my body, especially my hands, like normal people do. I can’t speak very well, and it’s difficult for me to express myself by speaking. Therefore, most of the time, I try not to speak. And, of course, it’s difficult for me to maintain eye contact with people. I’ve read that most autistic people don’t marry and don’t keep friends. Will I be able to marry and perhaps to keep friends for a long time? This remains to be seen. I hope that I will, but, at this time, I’m not sure. The thing is that for the last several years I’ve been learning to deal with that other health problem of mine that I’ve had for my entire life. And now it turns out that I also have autism. That other health problem of mine can be overcome. Sure, it affects my health and my intelligence, but at least it can be avoided. Autism, however, can’t be avoided. Autism doesn’t affect my intelligence, but it does affect my behavior and my relationships with people. Anyway, this post isn’t meant to be a sob story. What I did realize recently, after reading a lot about autistic people, is that autistic people need understanding and support because their lives are difficult and problematic. I can testify to this since I now know that I’m autistic. Autistic people make up only about 1% of the population, but they’re still there.

Since some of my followers usually ask me to recommend films to see, this is what I’ll do because I’ve seen a number of films in the last several months that are worth recommending. I’ve already made many videos with lists of films to see, but, for some people, this isn’t enough, it seems. No problem. First of all, the teen film genre was in bloom in Hollywood in the 1980s, and this genre is one of my favorite genres because it produced many stylish films that I find appealing. There are dozens of teen movies from the 1980s that are worth seeing. I did make a video, which can be found on my blog, about the best teen movies, but I can recommend more. Additional teen movies that I’ve enjoyed seeing are Youngblood (1986), Footloose (1984), The Prince Of Pennsylvania (1988), Modern Girls (1986), My Science Project (1985), Class (1983), Vision Quest (1985), Heaven Help Us (1985), Fresh Horses (1988), Less Than Zero (1987), All The Right Moves (1983), and the sequels to The Karate Kid, particularly The Karate Kid Part III (1989). Some people praise The Last American Virgin (1982), but, after seeing it, I found it to be pretty dull, even by today’s standards. The Last American Virgin was released by The Cannon Group, and perhaps this is the reason why some people like it. For some weird reason, many films by the The Cannon Group, which was a film machine notorious for pumping out unintentionally funny and enjoyable turds, have developed cult followings. Well, I’ll admit that I enjoy watching the American Ninja films starring Michael Dudikoff. But this is the case only because I got to see the first three American Ninja films in a marathon on television when I was little. The marathon ran late in the morning and in the afternoon on one sunny day in the summer, and I got to see the first three films, which I found to be very enjoyable at that time, almost without getting up from the couch. Well, I think that I did get up a few times to make tea because the kitchen was right next to the living room, where the television set was located. Therefore, because of so-called nostalgia, I can watch the American Ninja films without cringing. As for the films that I got to see lately, I can recommend Betrayal (1983), Blue Tiger (1994), Electric Dreams (1984), Ghost (1990), Farewell My Lovely (1975), Micki & Maude (1984), Tron (1982), Half Moon Street (1986), Outland (1981), Chicago Deadline (1949), Code Of Silence (1985), Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (1973), Lost In Space (1998), The Running Man (1987), Death On The Nile (1978), The Bad Seed (1956), A Stitch In Time (1963), The 3,000 Mile Chase (1977), The Bad Seed (1985), Psychic Wars (1991), A Flash Of Green (1984), Forced Vengeance (1982), Lionheart (1990), Predator 2 (1990), and Flatliners (1990). The films that I enjoyed seeing the most in the last several months are The Running Man and the two Bad Seed films. The one from 1956 is highly acclaimed and it was somewhat of a hit. But I enjoyed seeing the one from 1985 just as much, perhaps more. As for The Running Man, I can say that it’s very entertaining and uplifting, though, obviously, this wasn’t the first time that I got to see it. The other films in which I liked the performances of the cast are Betrayal, A Flash Of Green, Ghost, and Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams. Although I didn’t see many new films in 2023, I can say that I’ve tried to see as many big budget movies during this summer movie season as I could. When it comes to entertainment, Hollywood usually delivers in the summer. What’s kind of funny is that I pointed out in one of my posts that in the summer of 2022 Hollywood released few films that are worth seeing. Well, I can say that in the summer of this year Hollywood has so far released too many films that are worth seeing. Few of them have been excellent, but almost all of them are enjoyable to watch on the big screen. In fact, there have been so many big budget movie releases so far this summer that most of them haven’t been able to make much of a profit. In May and in June, there were simply too many big budget movies to see. I’ve tried to go to theaters as many times as I could this summer, but even I haven’t yet seen every new film that I’d like to see. This year has already been a very good one for superhero movies. Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse and Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3, which are terrific films, became hits in theaters. Fast X turned out to be one of the most enjoyable superhero movies of this summer for me. In this tenth main installment of the Fast & Furious superhero franchise, Dominic Toretto and his team of superheroes (called Family) face off against the latest supervillain that drives in and interrupts their lives, the villainous Dante Reyes, who cooks up a plan that’s just as complicated as Lex Luthor’s plan from Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016). Sure, Fast X is ridiculous and bloated, but it delivers the laughs and the action. In fact, for about half of the film’s run time, I couldn’t stop laughing. It was that good. This year also saw the release of two enjoyable films by DC Studios – Shazam! Fury Of The Gods and The Flash. If Walter Hamada is the man that’s responsible for the DC Studios films that got released in the last few years, he deserves praise, in my opinion, because I enjoyed seeing almost every DCEU film that got released from 2019 to 2023. The Flash, in particular, is my favorite film of this year so far. Sure, it’s not as good as, let us say, Across The Spider-Verse, but it affected me the most. The Flash is admittedly silly at times, but almost everything else in this film works well. It’s clear that plenty of effort and money went into making The Flash. After The Suicide Squad (2021), The Flash is my favorite film in the DCEU. First of all, the cast, especially Ezra Miller and Michael Keaton, delivered good performances. The Flash does seem like a star vehicle for Miller. There are a few scenes in the film that are actually moving. This is something that can be said about only several superhero movies that got made in the last decade because most of them attempted to deliver only laughs and entertainment. But The Flash still features some effective comedy. One of the reasons why The Flash is often effective is because it features a good music score by Benjamin Wallfisch. What’s also worth mentioning is that The Flash is kind of like a comeback for the American flag. The American flag is in the film for a bit and it looks glorious when it appears. The American flag hasn’t looked this good in a film for about a decade or more. Sure, the American flag isn’t a very good actor. The performances of the American flag are mostly stiff and of one note. But the American flag doesn’t get cast in films because of its acting chops. It gets cast because of its good looks. There were rumors that the American flag had turned to drugs, and perhaps this is the reason why it looked bad in the films in which it appeared in the last decade. But I’m here to tell everyone that the American flag is back! Not since the 1990s has the American flag looked this good on screen. Perhaps the American flag has been spending time at the gym and consuming dietary supplements. Anyway, I’ve got to say that before 2022 I was indifferent to the superhero film genre, but, in that year and for some reason, some of the films from Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe changed something in me. Since then, I’ve been looking forward to almost every new superhero movie release, and I realized that this film genre now has plenty to offer, mostly thanks to Marvel Studios, after about five decades of releases of varying quality.