Culture of bullying special needs children in school

by priscillamooney - none Tue May 18, 2010 21:59 priscilla.mooney at upcmail dot ie 7437624 085

i am not a bit surprised to hear a teacher say autistic children are a drain,if you have an autistic child in an irish school they dont stand a chance.my son is 11yrs old,in fifth class at st.louis rathmines and has been bullied for 4 yrs,the staff are not capable of dealing with bullies,you go in to complain when your child is bullied physically,verbally and mentally,the principal has a "chat" with the bullies,they stop for a while,then they start again! the bullies parents dont seem to know what their children are up to at school,my son was attacked in school after an operation,damage done to his ear,i just found out last week that the principal didnt even tell his parents what he did!!this happened before xmas.its time for irish schools to take a proper stand against the bullies,who wants bad children running the school,its the adults job,not the bullies.two lovely young girls phoebe prince and leanne wolfe took their lives because the powers that be in this country wouldnt get up off their lazy backsides and protect our children.there should be laws to protect them in school,grown ups in employment have rights in this country,but they can take up for themselves,some children cant.any teacher in irish schools who doesnt do her job properly and protect her students from bullies should be sacked and prosecutedprotection is actually more important than education.how can a child learn in an atmosphere of fear and humiliation.one of my sons teachers told him to stop "spinning tales"when he reported bullying in the classroom.my sons current teacher told me "im not listening to this crap"when i explained to her that my son threatened suicide on a few occasions,she actually turned on her heel and walked away from me !! to any young person in ireland who took their own life because of bullies we as the adults owe it to them to speak out,shout it out loud and clear that bullying is abnormal and cruel.

by M Cotton Mon Nov 27, 2006 16:45

http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/education.html

The link above will take you to some useful advice on strategies for children/adolescents with ASD/Asperger syndrome. Much of it could be applied in other circumstances.

by Justin Morahan - Peace People Sun Nov 26, 2006 15:48

Anti-Bullying Ireland is a non-commercial website offering free help, advice and action for victims of school bullying in Ireland, also ideas for school boards of management on how to prevent bullying in schools. It includes a full and detailed description of the Box and Interview method (for prevention of bullying) for managers and principals.

by eif Sat Nov 25, 2006 17:32

One mainstream teacher actually said 'autistic children were a drain and she had no time for them'

To be fair, this is a very valid comment if interpreted in the way I did.

Children with many demanding special needs would indeed be a drain -on scarce resourses- for mainstream schools. and having no time means having no time! It does not imply the teacher is not 'bothered', but rather that special teachers and extra resources are necessary.

Most authistic children require a lot of time, energy and attention to reach their maximum educational potential, and putting this burden on a mainstream teacher with a full class of children benefits no one.

by W.Finnerty. Sat Nov 25, 2006 13:53

Some may wish to know that an experimental web site is being developed to help both the victims and the perpetrators of bullying (of all kinds).

Further information can be found at:
http://www.bullyingandbeyond.com/