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What Parents Can Do About Bullying
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There are many things for parents of a child with Autism to think about when it comes to social skills. Bullying is one particular topic that many parents of children with Autism unfortunately face. But, there are ways a parent can help their child to overcome and avoid bullying. One way to model, prompt, and reinforce pro-social behaviors is to schedule play dates with familiar peers. The first step is to identify what social skill deficits the child has, and how the parent can model and prompt those skills. Does the child initiate and reciprocate greetings? Does the child maintain reciprocal conversation? Does the child initiate a play statement like, "Do you want to play trains?" The play date should start in a comfortable environment, such as the child with Autism's home, and then can generalize to a park or other location once social skills are well established. This would be teaching social skills in the natural environment, and then the parent or therapist would work to generalize those social skills to the school setting. Parents can always capitalize on incident teaching in the natural environment by finding teachable moments at the store, the park, or in everyday life with siblings. Practice makes perfect - or as perfect as possible. The more opportunities the child with Autism has to practice appropriate social skills, across a variety of kids and a variety of locations, the more familiar he/she will be with those skills and the better able he/she will be able to use appropriate social skills to avoid being bullied!
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What Our Blog Readers are Saying...
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Did you know Steinberg Behavior Solutions is an approved practicum site for the Chicago School of Professional Psychology?
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Welcome to the Steinberg Behavior Solutions Newsletter!
Each month features a different topic on behavior and children. This month's topic is Bullying. Read on for more on this subject. We look forward to your questions and feedback.
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From Sarah, Our Director:
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I remember seeing Josh come home with tears in his eyes saying that the kids on the playground laughed at him and would not play with him. I wished that I could be the birdie in his ear during recess to remind him of things he could say when he wanted to join in or what to do with the ball when a kid did throw it to him.
So now that it is 20+ years later, my therapists and I are working hard to be that "birdie" on the shoulder of other "Joshuas" at recess. The articles you will read in this newsletter target a variety of social skills that parents and therapists need to hone in on and teach the child with Autism. Yes, we all also need to teach the other children at recess to be more understanding and patient to the "Joshuas" at recess, but it very important that we arm the children with Autism with the best possible chance for success no matter where they are; whether at a park or a birthday party, and with other kids they may or may not know.
So Josh, thank you for all you taught me and are continually teaching others. I hope this newsletter will provide many more birdies on shoulders and much fewer tears after recess.
Sincerely,
Sarah
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From Josh, the newest addition to our blog: First Day at a Blue School
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For anyone, going to school isn't exactly a bag of lollipops, whether it's Elementary School, Middle School, or High School. You have to get up at early hours, you have to go to a building with hundreds of other rowdy kids, you have to listen to lessons for hours on end all the way until the sound of the 3:00 bell.... and if you have autism, this could be even worse. But I'm here to assure you that it's not all bad. School can be a lot of fun if you let it be!
Let me even give an example from my own life. When I started my first day at Aliso Niguel High School, I was terrified. I was coming off a move from Auburn, California and was starting a whole new life. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared of out my wits! But I knew I had to trek on, no matter how much it hurt. For the most part, my first day ended up being somewhat enjoyable! The teachers were pretty cool, the cafeteria was vast and bigger than the one at my old high school, the kids were very energetic, and frankly, it was quite a lot of fun. Of course there were bullies, as would be with any school, and by having autism, I was somewhat of a target. Over time though, the bullying stopped and I even ended up becoming friends with a couple of the kids who used to pick on me. By the time I got my diploma and ended up going to Grad Night, I could look back on all the struggles I'd made for 12 years and realize that it was all worth it!
I can't say that my experiences will be the same for any kid, average OR with autism, but I CAN try to give some a big pointer on how to make the school year a bit more bearable. Talk to your child about what happens each day at school and ask them what they think. If they have a problem with homework or bullies, DON'T dismiss it. Address it head on and see what you as a parent can do to help remedy it. By doing so, your child will realize you truly do care about how their schooling is going and may even feel braver in the face of hardships.
I'm hoping some of my words are a big help to parents, teachers, and kids alike. School's a very important part of life and I want all of you to have an enjoyable experience. It can lead to intelligence, new skills, even making lifelong friends! That way, on the last day of the senior year, when you're going up to get your diploma... you can say proudly...
"I'd do it all over again if I could."
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| From Our Blog:
Teaching Social Skills to a child with Autism to avoid Bullying
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 For a child with Autism, social interaction skills are difficult. Most importantly, a child with Autism may have difficulty forming healthy relationships with peers, displaying socially acceptable behaviors and are often perceived as strange and thus isolated. This isolation and vulnerability because of a need to belong, often places children with Autism in a situation where they are more susceptible to bullying. Teaching a child with Autism effective social-emotional skills, play and leisure skills, theory of mind and perspective taking, or perhaps to "mind read" can help these children identify whether their friendships are fun and loving or a form of sarcasm and humor.
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In the News: AbilityPath.org- Walk a Mile in Their Shoes
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AbilityPath.org is an online hub and special needs community for parents and professionals to learn, connect and live a more balanced life - through all phases of a child's growth and development. The website combines social networking features with expert content from AbilityPath.org's team of educators, parents, therapists and medical professionals.
Walk a Mile in Their Shoes
 Julia Nimir, a young woman with Down syndrome and subject of the documentary "Walking in My Shoes," was bullied most of her life. She shared through her personal experience that the most important thing in ending the bullying of a child with special needs is "having people learn to walk a mile in their shoes."
The journey addressing the issue of bullying and children with special needs began when AbiltyPath.org identified the need to provide information to parents who all too often struggle to find ways to help their child with bullying. Over the course of several months, AbilityPath.org staff and writers interviewed experts, educators and parents regarding this escalating issue facing children with special needs. It became apparent that the demographic most vulnerable to bullying also had the fewest resources.
A voice for these families is missing from the national dialogue. This report and guide is an effort to make that voice heard. These children and parents are desperate for resources, advocates and awareness so the physical
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We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Steinberg Behavior Solutions Newsletter. Stay tuned for next month's newsletter .
Please forward on the newsletter (link at the bottom) to anyone else who would benefit from reading it.
We look forward to your comments and feedback!
Sincerely,
Steinberg Behavior Solutions, Inc.
6719 N. Sacramento Ave.
Chicago, IL 60645
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