The summer edition of Communication has an article on page 43 on bullying. I was rather shocked by this because it simply divided bullying into three main categories (physical, verbal and indirect) and then proceeded to offer advice for dealing with conventional bullying.
My perception of bullying where people on the spectrum are the victims is rather different from this. I wondered if other contributors felt the same way or disagreed.
In my perspective, people on the spectrum are usually bullied by people taking advantage of their vulnerabilities arising from autism - sensory overload, difficulty understanding social interaction and metaphorical or humorous remarks, special interests and manerisms that attract attention. I also perceive the bullying to involve a wider spectrum of individuals in a class, not just the usually identified bullies.
People on the spectrum may be seen as entertaining. Sensitivity to environment - sudden noise, people in close proximity, sudden movement, intimidatory atmosphere is enough to trigger considerable distress and possibly a meltdown. Other kids quickly realise that "pushing the right buttons" - mainipulating the vulnerabilities of people on the spectrum, could be managed as collective entertainment.
Being seen as different, not fitting in, having different interests, having unorthodox mannerisms, all make people on the spectrum more likely to be targeted. They may be hurt or disturbed by joking remarks or jibes that NT kids would recognise for what they were, but could cause great anxiety to someone on the spectrum.
I rather felt, from reading the Communication article, that it was as if people on the spectrum were just overly sensitive to conventional bullying and just needed to hear the conventional advice. But for someone with communication difficulties "fogging" and saying "No" can just add to the entertainment value as this would come over differently.
I was also concerned that after 50 years NAS seemed not to have grasped that bullying at school is one of the fundamental damaging experiences fior people on the spectrum, and this needs research, not platitudes.
