Bullying of Students with Disabilities Puts School Districts on the Defensive

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While you might think that students with physical disabilities, students who are on the autism spectrum and with other needs might have protections against bullying, a recent case in Maryland underscores that this is not so. According to EdWeek, Jonathan Brice, school support network officer for Baltimore city schools, says that one-quarter of students who are bullied in the system are special education students. Earlier this year, Edmund and Shawna Sullivan sued their Maryland school district and two principals, charging that they had failed to address the bullying of their then-8-year-old son. He had suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was only 13 weeks old; the bullying he endured was such that he had to be placed in a psychiatric institution.

EdWeek reports that the case went to trial last week and a jury ruled in favor of the school district, citing a lack of evidence. Some jurors noted that the parents had not filed a state-mandated bullying and reporting form, which school officials said had been available to them for two years. But one of the principals showed what Ellen Callegary, an attorney and special-education advocate for more than 30 years, called a shocking “lack of empathy” for students with disabilities:

[The principal] …testified that although reports the boy and his sister were beaten and robbed “may have been mentioned,” “bullying has become a buzzword.”

The principal’s reference to bullying as a “buzzword” reveals a deep lack of understanding about the reality of bullying and the additional challenges students with disabilities face in telling teachers, administrators and parents about being bullied. Students with disabilities may already have communication challenges (some students, including my son, may have very minimal language or be non-verbal) or fear that no one will believe them, or fear repercussions from the bullies if they report what happens.

Bullying of Students on the Autism Spectrum

Students with Asperger’s Syndrome, who have numerous challenges in social interactions and reading social situations — and who may be mainstreamed without an aide, as part of an effort to be as independent as possible — are likely targets of bullying. The EdWeek article highlights another case in Maryland schools:

Marcus Harrell, a 9-year-old boy who suffers from attention-deficit disorder and falls on the autism spectrum, was beaten in the head Sept. 30 by a student in the cafeteria at Mary Ann Winterling Elementary School. He then started having nightmares, developed tics and needed heavier doses of medication, according to his grandmother and guardian, Loretta Barr.

He remained out of school for 35 days ”too scared to go back to the school he loved, she said.

“We tried to get him up to the school, and he kicked and screamed because he didn’t want to go in there,” a tearful Barr said in a recent interview. “I just couldn’t do it to him. So I said, ‘If they won’t protect him, I will.’”

Barr kept Marcus out of school because of real concerns for his safety. Marcus had actually had to visit the hospital as early as 2009 after being “stabbed up and down his back with a pencil by the same student.”

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Photo by Working Word

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roxane c.

5:48AM PST on Jan 3, 2012

Petition signed

send a green star

peggy p.

6:57PM PST on Jan 2, 2012

schools are not safe places

Brenda T.

10:46AM PST on Jan 2, 2012

The country seems to breed bullies.

sandra m.

10:30AM PST on Jan 2, 2012

I really think people need to protest the conditions and/or the mentality of our school systems!
It's NOT just kids doing the bullying or turning their heads!!!
American freedom & rights mean nothing if EVERYONE doesn't have them!!!!

Kathleen G.

6:04AM PST on Jan 2, 2012

That stupid principal should be expelled from school!!!BULLY a buzz word??? What is wrong with these people who are paid with our tax money to educate and protect our kids??Things have to change and they need to change fast, get rid of the do nothings in education FIRE them and hire people who care.Bulling of all forms must be stopped,too many children are damaged for life,some driven to suicide from the horrendous buuling that is done now days.Bulling is a crime,that should be dealt with as a crime.

Quanta K.

4:10AM PST on Jan 2, 2012

Thanks.

Danuta W.

1:20AM PST on Jan 2, 2012

Thanks for the article.

Crystal C.

11:34PM PST on Jan 1, 2012

I have family members who are slow, and had to be in special classes because they could not keep up with the paces a regular student makes in education on a daily basis. They were also victims of bullying. The school took measures, but not nearly ones that were drastical enough. I hope the laws they put in will make sure that students who bully will be dealt with, with serious consequences. I'm sad to hear that the system has failed in protecting those innocent kids mentioned in the article. I hope they get their justice. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

Helen T.

10:06PM PST on Jan 1, 2012

Bullying can come from any other person, who may know a weakness that the other person finds entertaining. Human beings are not necessarily humane doing. There are many people who do this for various reasons.

The adults at school should make it a safe place to be, with counselors who able to step in and solve the problem.

Chuck D.

9:07PM PST on Jan 1, 2012

I wonder how many of these "do-nothing" school administrators would react if it was THEIR kid getting viciously bullied...