Abstract-Synthesis of three scholarly articles

1. Bullying and the Special
Education Student
BY LYNN BLACKMAN-PRADO

2. Overview
 The aim of the education field is to enable students to lead
satisfying lives despite their disabilities. Bullying hampers
their ability to do so

3. Overview
 “Students with medical, cognitive, learning or
psychological disabilities frequently draw attention
of bullies because they have readily identifiable
features that differentiate them from their peers”
(Rose et al., 2011, p. 122)
 “Students with special needs are at increased risk of
victimization” (Twyman et al., 2010, p.195)

4. Bullying involves repeated harmful physical, verbal, psychological, sexual, or
electronic media acts.
(Dempsey et al., 2009)
That Because of
 Threaten  Size of bully
 Insult  Strength of bully
 Dehumanize  Being outnumbered by several
 Intimidate another individual bullies
who cannot properly defend  Being less psychologically
himself or herself resilient than bullies

5. Effects of Bullying
 Children who experience
bullying across multiple years
may be more at risk for
developing psychological and
physical disorders than those
who experience limited
bullying
 Bullying undermines a child’s
fundamental right to learn in
a safe school environment
 Bullying can result in
irreparable harm to the victim

6. Survey of Bullying and Victimization Rates
(Rose et al., 2011)
Students without Students with Students with
disabilities disabilities in disabilities in
inclusive self-contained
settings settings
Bully 10.2% Bully 15.6% Bully 20.9%
Victim 12.0% Victim 18.5% Victim 21.7%

7. Bullying and the Special Education Student
 Being a member of a special needs group means being in a
situationally less powerful group
 Features that make students with special needs targets for
harassment include:
 Physical deformities
 Walking problems, including walking slower and unsteady gait
 Reading problems
 Speech and communication problems
 Hyperactivity
 Ritualistic behaviors
 Use of assistive technology such as audio books, phonetic software,
communication devices, switches and screen magnifiers

8. Effective Strategies Teachers Can Use to Counteract Bullying
 Model desired attitudes and behaviors
 Foster student-shared responsibility for the classroom’s social and physical environment
 Establish and communicate rules and sanctions regarding bullying
 Apply classroom rules fairly and consistently
 Identify and intervene upon undesirable attitudes and behaviors that could be gateway
behaviors to bullying
 Manage time and task so that students remain connected and productive and less likely
to engage in undesirable behaviors
 Teach students how to ask for help and how to report cruelty, bullying, and harassment
 Respond to requests for help
 Refer critical bullying cases to appropriate sources of support

9. Summary
 The consequences of bullying may be worse for the student with
preexisting mental and physical health conditions than those without
these conditions. Bullying may interfere with a student’s compliance
with treatment regimens. Students may view school as a place to
normalize their lives and bullying makes schools less desirable and
even places to be avoided. Students may amplify those aspects of their
condition that make them feel different from others if they are teased or
bullied and therefore they may feel further isolated and under more
stress. At a minimum a school’s responsibilities include making sure
that the victim and their families know how to report any subsequent
problems and conducting following-up inquiries to see if there have
been any new incidents or any instance of retaliation.

10. Resources
 Dempsey, A.; Sulkowski, M.; Nichols, R.; Storch, E. (2009). Differences
Between Peer Victimization in Cyber and Physical Settings and
Associated Psychosocial Adjustment in Early Adolescence. Psychology
in the Schools, 46, 125-136.
 Twyman, K; Saylor, C.; Adam, L.; Comeax, C. (2010). Comparing
Children and Adolescents Engaged in Cyber bullying to Matched Peers.
Pubmed, 13(2), 195-199.
 Rose, C.; Monda-Mmaya, L.; Espelage, D. (2011). Bullying
Perpetration and Victimization in Special Education: A Review of the
Literature. Remedial and Special Education, 32(2), 114-123.