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Research
published in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine shows that
children with autism spectrum disorders, who typically have difficulty in
communicating and forming relationships, are far more likely to be bullied than
their non-autistic peers.
“I
would call it a profound public health problem,” said Paul R. Sterzing, lead
author of the new study and an assistant professor at the school of social
welfare at the University of California, Berkeley. “The rate of bullying and
victimization among these adolescents is alarmingly high.”
The
children at greatest risk, it turns out, appear to be those who also hold the
most promise for leading an independent life. The researchers found that the
risk of being bullied was greatest for high-functioning children who end up not
in special education programs, but in mainstream classes, where their quirks
and unusual mannerisms stand out and they are more exposed to bullies.
Many
parents of children with autism already are well aware that their children are
taunted and tormented at school, but the new study suggests the problem is
pervasive. Dr. Sterzing’s data, collected from a nationally representative
sample of 920 middle- and high-school students with an autism disorder, shows
that 46 percent have been bullied. By comparison, in the general
adolescent population, an estimated 10.6 percent of children have been bullied.
The
findings are based on data collected in 2001 from a larger 10-year study of
more than 11,000 special education students. Parents of autistic children and
school administrators were asked to report on instances of bullying that
occurred in the previous year.
