How to Protect Special Children from Bullying?

Bullying is an increasing problem in schools and cannot be ignored. Though there is lot of awareness about it today, but lot needs to be done. The gravity of problem becomes grave when it is in concern with special children. Children with special needs are more likely to get bullied as they become easy prey for the bullies. Special children lack in social skills, verbal and non verbal cues and they don’t understand the ways to cope with the situation. They have trouble correctly interpreting the bullying situation and they fall easy as the  target. 

Children with Special Needs are at Greater Risk

They are vulnerable but can be easily provoked. Such children often find it hard to distinguish between socially appropriate and socially awkward behavior. They are not able to gauge what’s right or wrong.

Bullying can be termed as an aggressive behavior that is often repeated over many times. It can take many forms such as hitting, kicking, or shoving (physical bullying), teasing or name-calling (verbal bullying), intimidation through gestures or social exclusion (nonverbal bullying or emotional Bullying) etc.

Children with medical conditions that affect their appearances like cerebral palsy, muscular Dystrophy etc, are more likely to be victimized by their peers. Also, there is higher risk of obese children for being bullied in the age group of 11-16.

Ways to Ward Off Bullying

Parents of children with special needs have hard time dealing with day to day challenges related to their special kids. Bullying is one such major problem and parents need to be vigilant about it. So what can parents do? How can they protect their child from being bullied?

Caution your Child: Teach your child, how to spot a bully. Tell your child exactly what he should do when bullying happens. Be very specific, even giving him the exact words to say, like, "Stop teasing me!" or "Leave me alone." Or, tell your child to say nothing and simply walk away.

Keep Watch: Stay in close contact with your child. Talk to your child’s special education teacher, school counselor and other kids in the classroom. Whenever possible drop your kid to school and also pick him up several times. Engage in frequent conversations with your child ask him – how are things going on and look out for signs like depression or negative feelings, if child fails to express or hesitant to share.

Altogether, Successful anti-bullying strategies require group effort from school officials, early childhood professionals and students involved in bullying as targets or aggressors. Teachers and other staff should also be trained on how to cope with to bullying, while victims and bullies need training in special social skills.

Raising Children With Special Needs

Parents raising children with special needs face significant challenges from time to time. For some it may be equivalent to nightmare. The moment they discover that their child has a disability or a chronic illness, their immediate response surfaces in the form of sadness, irritation and confusion.  It takes a while for parents to accept the news. Their next biggest challenge is to cope up with demanding parenting tasks.

Generally, parenting is regarded as joyful, rewarding but exhausting experience. It becomes a double ordeal when you need to cater to the requirements of a special child. You face hardships like frequent trips to hospitals and pharmacies; your juggle visits to doctors and therapists etc. Along with that the parents need to learn to deal with their emotional highs and lows with regard to their child.

Create A Loving Environment

It is important to create safe and loving environment for the child where he feels secure and loved. Parents must at any circumstances avoid nagging, lecturing or bribing the child. Rather, they should motivate the child to make wise decision about food and medication. Also, families nurturing special children need to be resilient, flexible and open-minded.

Manage Your Stress Levels

It is natural that families raising children with disabilities often experience a higher stress levels. But, it is advisable for parents to keep a tab on their anxiety and anger as it may lead to negative impact on the child. You may seek help from counselors who can guide you appropriately. Parents need to help their child cope well with challenges, comply with medical requirements and live a hope-filled life.

Reach Out To The Community

The utmost fear what many parents feel is that they along with their child would be marginalized from the mainstream society. It is important to relieve yourself with this concern and try to reach out to the community.  Chances are, there may be some activities and support groups for children similar to your own, which will benefit you in huge way. Try and speak with other parents and see if you can sit down together. This will help you to provide essential information. By helping the community to know your kids you will create deeper understanding and acceptance for them.

Be Informed 

It is vital to be informed about your child disability or illness. Read as much as you can about it. Do extensive internet research about it and collect information about latest therapies and medication available. Several parents are successful in gleaning knowledge about their child's illness just by internet research. At times other families are a great resource.

Therefore, parents of children with special needs face gauntlet of added obstacles which can be resolved by proper guidance and counseling. It is therefore no secret that special needs children indeed need special parents!!