Bullying
and
Special Needs Students
Little Silver Child Study Team
Carissa Bavosi, School Social Worker
Kathleen Mulcahy, LDTC
Michele Thompson, School Psychologist
“Bullying We’ll Stop It”
•
Video of Long Branch Middle School performing 'Bullying We'll Stop It'
This is their music video, directed by Grant Brown. (Video courtesy of Long
Branch Middle School Anti-Bullying Crew)
• YouTube: Bullying We'll Stop It
New Jersey’s Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights
Act
• Provisions of law took effect 9/1/11
• Highlights of the bill include:
1. Every school district must adopt a new
harassment, intimidation and bullying policy
to be in compliance with the bill by 9-1-11
2. Every school district must appoint an AntiBullying Coordinator. Every school must have
an Anti-Bullying Specialist and School Safety
Team
3. Every teacher must complete two hours of
instruction in harassment, intimidation and
bullying prevention
Anti-Bullying Coordinator,
Mr. Dennis Morolda
Markham Place School
Anti-Bullying Specialist,
Jen Peirson
Substitute,
Michele Thompson
School
Safety
Team
Point Road School
Bullying Specialists,
Julie Ford
Jen Egidio
Substitute,
Annamarie Clapp
School
Safety
Team
Harassment, Intimidation and
Bullying is Defined as:
Any gesture, written, verbal or physical act
or electronic communication
• Motivated by actual or perceived distinguishing
characteristic
• Takes place on school property, a school bus or school
sponsored function or off school grounds that
SUBSTAINALLY DISRUPTS or INTERFERES with the
orderly operation of school
• A reasonable person should know that the act will
physically or emotionally harm a pupil or will result in a
reasonable fear of physical and emotional harm
• Insults or demeans a pupil or group of pupils
• Creates a hostile educational environment for the pupil
Proactive
Prevention Initiatives
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Developmental designs-CPR
Responsive classroom-Morning Meeting
School safety teams
Pro-social groups
Respect week
Anti-violence week
Assemblies
Service learning
Point Road School Rules
1. Respect
yourself
2. Respect others
3. Take care of our
environment
Markham Place School Rules
1. Always have a
positive attitude
2. Be accountable
3. Make a difference
4. Be yourself
5. Persevere
Typical Conflict
vs.
Bullying Behavior
Typical Conflict
Bullying Behavior
Equal power
Imbalance of power
Occasional occurrence
Repeated negative actions
or covert actions
Typically accidental
Purposeful
Typically non-threatening
Threats of physical or emotional harm
Attempts to hurt through humiliation and/or
exclusion
Equal emotional reaction
Strong emotional reaction from target
Little or no emotion from bully
Typically not attention seeking or power seeking
Attempt to gain power and control
Remorse, takes responsibility for actions
No remorse-blames target
May manipulate situation
Makes effort to solve the problem
Denial of problem, no effort to help solve problem,
may challenge authority by denying involvement or
behaviors
Unique Challenges for
Children with Special Needs
• These children may…
– have low frustration tolerance
– have difficulty paying attention
– have difficulty reading social cues
– be less likely to stand up for themselves and have
lower self-esteem
– be unable to perform age appropriate motor skills
and/or have poor stamina
– have difficulty communicating
These unique challenges can, at times, overwhelm
children and their families
What Works for Children with
Special Needs?
Social and emotional
learning curriculums and
successful tools at home
5 Steps to Disable the Bullying of Children
with Special Needs
1. Educate: Change starts with each individual. Dispel myths
and stereotypes. Disability awareness. Celebrate diversity.
2. Ask questions: Many youth with special needs are not
aware they are being bullied. It may be difficult for them to
communicate when a bullying incident occurs because of
their speech/language delays. Caregivers and educators
need to frame open-ended questions that allow insight into
schoolyard or online activity
3. Speak up: If one suspects or witnesses a child with special
needs being bullied, speak up and notify educators. Do not
be a bystander
4. Build community: Children with special needs and their
families are important members of the community
5. Disable bullying: Share the strengths and successes of
people with special needs. Promote awareness and support
Tools for Students and Parents
• Planning skills
• Strategies (Stop, Walk, Talk
and ASSERT)
• Tips for parents
• If your child is bullying others
Planning Skills
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Brainstorm ways to avoid bullying situations with your child
– Travel in groups
– Sit with students who are friendly to you
– Stay away from places you feel unsafe
– If you notice a bully coming towards you, walk calmly and
safely away
– Stay away from people who make you feel uncomfortable,
anxious, scared, worried or nervous
– When walking in a public place, do not look at the ground
Look around
– Always let an adult or trusted friend know where you are
going
Strategies
• Reinforce your child’s 3-5 school wide rules
• Review what the school rules should look
like inside and outside of the classroom
• Discuss that students often exhibit problem
behavior outside the classroom for peer
attention
• Stop, walk, talk is a 3 step response to
address problem behavior
Stop
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Use stop when experiencing problem behavior or when
witnessing problem behavior
It is important to review appropriate use of stop, as children with
special needs may have difficulty identifying problem behavior
Appropriate uses of stop
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Johnny pokes Sally in the back over and over while in line
Susie teases Sally and calls her a name
Joey tackles Sam while playing two-hand touch football
Sam steals the ball from Fred when they are not playing a game that
involves stealing
Inappropriate uses of stop
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Johnny accidentally breaks the double-dribble rule in basketball
Kelly makes a suggestion for a game that Fred does not like
Sam steals the ball from Fred when they are playing basketball: a
game where stealing is appropriate
Walk
• Sometimes, even when a child tells others
to stop, problem behavior may continue
• If this happens, the child should walk away
• Remind the child that walking away
removes the reinforcement for the problem
behavior
• Model and practice walking away
Talk
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Teach children that even when they use stop and walk away,
sometimes a peer will continue to behave inappropriately toward
them
If that happens, they should talk to an adult
Children with special needs may have difficulty distinguishing
between talking and tattling
Talking
Tattling
Talking is when you have tried
to solve the problem yourself
Tattling is when you do not use
stop and walk away steps
before talking to an adult
You have used stop and walk
(Did you request stop? Did you
walk away?)
Tattling is when your goal is to
get the other person in trouble
The ASSERT Formula
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A – Attention: Before you can talk about and try to solve a problem you are
having with someone else, you need to get his or her attention. For example:
“Sean, I need to talk to you about something. Is now a good time?”
S – Soon, Simple and Short: Speak up as soon as you realize your rights have
been violated. Look the person in the eye and keep your comments brief and to
the point. Example: “It’s about something that happened in the hall today”
S – Specific Behavior: What did the person do to violate your rights? Focus on
the behavior, not the person. Be as specific as you can. Example: “I didn’t like it
when you pushed me against my locker. I dropped my books and you kicked them
across the hall”
E – Effect on Me: Share the feelings you experienced as a result of the person’s
behavior. Example: “It was embarrassing and I was late for class. I had to wait
for the hall to clear before I could pick up my books”
R – Response: Wait for a response from the other person. He or she might try to
brush you off with “What’s the big deal?” or “Don’t be a baby” or “Can’t you take a
joke?” or “So what?” Don’t let it bother you. On the other hand, the person might
apologize.
T – Terms: Suggest a solution to the problem. Example: “I want you to stop
bothering me in the hall. If you don’t, I’ll report you to the teacher”
The ASSERT Formula may seem awkward at first. Model, role play and reinforce
this with your child.
Bringing Out the Best in Children:
Tips for Parents
• Have regular home meetings with your child
• Show an interest in your child and what they are
doing on a regular basis
• Make an effort to spend more positive time with your
child
• Monitor the TV your child watches
• Reduce your child’s exposure to violence on TV,
video games and computer games
• Supervise your child’s whereabouts and activities
• Involve your child in community activities
• Utilize available community resources when needed
If Your Child is Bullying
Others
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Talk with your child – your child may not be aware that their
behavior is bullying
Do not blame but make it clear that bullying is NOT okay
Reassure your child that you still love them. It is the bullying
behavior you do not like
Talk with your child’s teachers and get the facts about their
behavior
Ask the teachers to keep you informed and communicate your
efforts at home
Work with the school to modify your child’s behavior
Apply reasonable, age appropriate and developmentally
appropriate consequences for bullying behavior
– Removal of privileges
– Time-outs (Take A Break)
– Assigning extra chores
If Your Child is Bullying
Others
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Talk with your child about how the bullying affects the
victim
Help your child learn and practice positive ways to handle
anger, frustration and disappointment
Model for your child how to handle those feelings
Model how to appropriately respond to stop, walk or talk
– Stop what you are doing
– Take a deep breath and count to 3
– Go on with your day
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Good examples of responding to stop, walk, talk include
– Responding appropriately even when you do not think you
did anything wrong
– Responding appropriately even if you think the other student
is just trying to get you in trouble
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Praise your child’s efforts to change (try 5 positive
comments for every negative comment)
Have You Filled a Bucket
Today?
Thank You!
Thank you for being a great audience
Please visit our Resource Table
References:
Videos
Bullying We’ll Stop It, Long Branch Middle School
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-X3Pu20w24 (4 minutes, 59 seconds)
Books
Have You Filled a Bucket Today? A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids, Carol McCloud (Northville,
Michigan: Ferne Press, 2006)
The Bully Free Classroom, Allan L. Beane, Ph.D. (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Free Spirit
Publishing, 2005)
Guides
Walk A Mile in Their Shoes: Bullying and the Child with Special Needs, A Report and Guide from
AbilityPath.org
Bullying Prevention in Positive Behavior Support, Scott Ross, M.S., Rob Horner, Ph.D. and Bruce Stiller
http://www.pbis.org/common/pbisresources/tools/pbsbullyprevention.pdf