Autism group calls for action on bullying

World Autism Awareness day takes place for the seventh time on Tuesday April 2. Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affects many families in Northern Ireland.

It has been reported that as many as 40% of children with the condition have experienced bullying. Children with ASD tend to have difficulty understanding social boundaries, how to express emotions and understand communication. Bullying is such a divisive matter for any child and many programmes have attempted to tackle it. When a child has Autism however the problems can be more complex.

Dale Mitchell is a service manager at Autism Initiatives at Clooney Terrace. He said that a number of elements within the Western Health and Social Care Trust as well as voluntary agencies provide support for families.

“There are now Trust Adult and Children’s ASD teams, ourselves at Autism Initiatives, Autism NI, National Autistic Society, Circle of Support and Cedar.”

The issue of bullying was put forward to the European Parliament recently. It was felt more needs to be done to help families and educate the younger generation. Central to the discussions where how all forms of bullying are unacceptable but those based on Autism are particularly damaging.

Mr Mitchell commented on how we live in an age where information and communication is overwhelming.

“It is no longer confined to schools or workplaces, it is now far reaching, studies have outlined that one in five kids have been bullied online.”

It is more problematic for an ASD sufferer due to a vulnerability aspect. Dale further mentioned how much the bullying issue has occurred on a more localised setting.

“It would be accurate to say that we have come across many examples of service users getting bullied. The effects of this can have a long lasting impact with their future development, it also heightens levels of social isolation,” he said.

As a parent of a child with Autism the fear of him coming to tell me he is being bullied is unnerving. The thought of someone inflicting pain upon such a vulnerable child brings dread and fear. It is likely that a lot of the anxiety parents go through is emanating from their own mind. Blowing things out of proportion and scrutinising every detail when leaving him or her at school. There is however that possibility that they are going through hell, not understanding how to convey their feelings. Dale concluded that a lot of positive work is being done to address issues like bullying locally:

“Through our One Stop Service, we provide one on one support integrating individuals back into their communities. We provide a safe environment at Autism Initiatives, recovering impacted self-esteem levels. We hope our service will be seen as a gateway to enable confidence and social skills to be improved.

It must also be said that the attention to detail and contemporary approach of schools should reassure parents. There are many schemes and facilities in place that not only deal with bullying, but also maintain academic progress

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