Research
Students with special
needs face a number of challenges in our nations’ schools and communities. Although
students in general and special education experience bullying, there is little
research investigating bullying (i.e., as a bully, victim, or bully–victim)
among students with disabilities. A study
published in the Journal of School Psychology found that students receiving
special education services for behavioral disorders and those with more
noticeable disabilities are not only more likely to be bullied than their
general education peers, but are more likely to engage in bullying behavior
themselves.
Participants in the study were 816 students, 9 to 16 years of age,
from nine Midwestern elementary and middle schools in one school district. From
this total group, 686 were not receiving special education services
(categorized as “no disability”), and 130 were receiving special education
services (categorized as “observable disability,” “non-observable disability,”
and “behavioral disability”). Data on students’ involvement in bullying, office
referrals, and prosocial behavior were collected. Self-report measures were
used to assess students’ experiences with bullying and victimization and how
often students engaged in various aggressive and prosocial behaviors.
The results indicated that
students with behavioral disorders reported the highest levels of bullying
others and being bullied themselves. The study also found that students with
observable disabilities (e.g.., language impairments, hearing impairments, and
mild intellectual disability) were more likely to bully others and to be
victimized compared with students in general education. As the authors comment, “The observable nature
of the disability makes it easy to identify those students as individuals with
disabilities, which may place them at a greater risk for being the easy target
of bullying. Being frustrated with the experience of victimization, those
students might engage in bullying behavior as a form of revenge.”
The study also found that
students with non-observable disabilities, such as a learning disability, reported
similar levels of bullying and victimization as students without disabilities.
They also reported significantly less victimization compared with students with
more outward behavioral disabilities. While both boys and girls engaged in
bullying, there was no significant gender difference in both general education and
special education students when it came to the behavior. Although fifth grade
students in general education reported much more victimization than sixth-,
seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders, there was no difference for students in
special education.
What are the implications of this study? The authors offer several suggestions
for school-based bullying prevention and intervention programming. For example,
anti-bullying interventions emphasizing prosocial skills should be implemented
for students, regardless of their ability. Students in general education could
help the process by serving as prosocial role models for students with
disabilities. Teachers may also provide reinforcement for prosocial behavior or
assign students in general education with students in special education in
small groups to work on class projects together to promote positive
interaction. For students with both behavioral and observable disabilities,
providing support and teaching strategies to cope with peer victimization are
important. Helping students with observable disabilities become better
integrated into general education classes may help prevent them from being
bullied. "Programming should be consistently implemented across general
and special education, should occur in each grade and should be part of an
inclusive curriculum," the authors recommend. "A culture of respect,
tolerance and acceptance is our only hope for reducing bullying among all
school-aged youth."
Implications
Lee A. Wilkinson, PhD, is
author of the award-winning book, A Best Practice Guide to Assessment and Intervention for Autism
and Asperger Syndrome in Schools. He is also editor of a text in the
American Psychological Association (APA) School Psychology Book Series, Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children and Adolescents:
Evidence-Based Assessment and Intervention in Schools. His latest books include, Overcoming
Anxiety and Depression on the Autism Spectrum: A Self-Help Guide Using CBT and A
Best Practice Guide to Assessment and Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder
in Schools (2nd edition).
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