PLUK News feed

Study Finds Special-Needs Kids More Often Victimized

Link: Study  Children with special needs are more often the subject of bullying and exclusion, an area study found. Researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina and The Citadel surveyed nearly 300 children aged 8-17 at clinics in the Charleston region. "Parents often under- reported bullying and ostracism concerns," said lead author, Dr. Kimberly Twyman, a researcher in MUSC's Department of Pediatrics. She stressed the importance of asking children directly about these problems. Children with learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, behavioral health problems and cystic fibrosis were compared with a control group of children with no diagnoses. Nearly a quarter of elementary school students with behavioral health problems reported significant victimization, compared to 4 percent of the control group. In middle and high school, 41 percent of the autism group reported significant victimization, as did nearly 25 percent of the attention deficit/hyperactivity group, compared to 4 percent of the control group.

sciencedaily.com: New Tactics To Tackle Bystander’s Role In Bullying

Link: sciencedaily.com
A new psychodynamic approach to bullying in schools has been successfully trialled by UCL (University College London) and US researchers. CAPSLE (Creating a Peaceful School Learning Environment) is a groundbreaking method focused more on the bystander, including the teacher, than on the bully or the victim.

sciencedaily.com: New Tactics To Tackle Bystander’s Role In Bullying

Link: sciencedaily.com
ScienceDaily (Jan. 27, 2009) — A new psychodynamic approach to bullying in schools has been successfully trialled by UCL (University College London) and US researchers. CAPSLE (Creating a Peaceful School Learning Environment) is a groundbreaking method focused more on the bystander, including the teacher, than on the bully or the victim.

Bully Prevention in Positive Behavior Support

Link: Bullying Prevention
An electronic manual for teaching positive behavior as a preventative method against bullying.

Website for Information on Cyberbullying

Link: Resource

Cyberbullying is emerging as one of the more challenging issues facing educators and parents as young people embrace the Internet and other mobile communication technologies. Cyberthreats are a related concern. A cyberthreat is online material that threatens or raises concerns about violence against others, suicide, or other self-harm. There are two kinds: Direct threats are actual threats to hurt someone or commit suicide. Distressing material provides clues that the person is emotionally upset and may be considering hurting someone, hurting him or herself or committing suicide.

What Parents Can Do About Childhood Bullying

Link: Bullying

If you’re a parent concerned about bullying, it’s important to recognize the signs that a child is a bully, as well as the signs of one who is being victimized. This is especially true if your child has a learning disability (LD) or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), conditions which make kids more vulnerable to bullying. Being alert and observant is critical, since victims are often reluctant to report bullying.

Effects of Bulling Can Continue into Adulthood

Link: Bullying

Adolescent victims of social bullying in school may continue to feel the effects of depression and anxiety as early adults, according to a University of Florida study published in the journal Psychology in the Schools. "Even though people are outside of high school, the memories of these experiences continue to be associated with depression and social anxiety," said lead author Allison Dempsey.

MSNBC: With help from friend, woman overcomes bullying

Link: MSNBC

abrielle Ford was 20 years old and hiding in her room, driven there by the abuse of vicious bullying she had suffered in school because of a degenerative neuromuscular disease. She asked her mother if she could have a dog, because she desperately needed a friend.

Ford not only got a faithful companion, she also got an entirely new and wonderful life.

Because of Izzy, the coonhound she got, Ford has become a highly sought-after speaker who travels the country in her wheelchair, talking to school assemblies and classes about ways to stop bullying.

globeandmail.com: Both bullies and victims may have greater risk of mental disorders

Link: globeandmail.com
August 7, 2007
NEW YORK -- Boys who bully or are victims of bullies may have a higher risk of mental health disorders as young men, a study published yesterday suggests.
The findings, published in the journal Pediatrics, are based on a group of 2,540 Finnish boys. At age 8, the boys were asked whether and how often they bullied other children, were targets of bullying, or both. Parents and teachers also answered questions about any psychiatric symptoms the boys may have had.

Special Needs Children More Likely to be Bullied

Link: Bullying

Children with special health care needs are more likely to be bullied, according to a new study. In “Bullying and Peer Victimization Among Children With Special Health Care Needs,” researchers used National Survey of Children’s Health data of more than 102,000 households with children, ages 6 to 17, to measure associations between children with special health care needs (approximately 21 percent of children in the study) and the likelihood of them being bullied, bullying other children, and being both a bully and a victim of bullying.