Autism Puts Children At Risk For Bullying, New Study Shows

By: Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience Senior Writer
Published: 03/27/2012 01:17 PM EDT on LiveScience

Kids with autism spectrum disorders are three times as likely as their non-affected siblings to experience bullying, a new national survey finds.

The results of the survey, which are preliminary and have not been published in a peer-reviewed journal, hint at some troubling patterns for children who have autistic disorders, particularly those with Asperger's syndrome.

According to the survey of parents by the Interactive Autism Network (IAN) and Johns Hopkins University researchers, 61 percent of kids with Asperger's have experienced bullying. In comparison, 28 percent of children with autism and 37 percent of children with other autism spectrum disorders have been bullied, parents reported. [10 Scientific Tips for Raising Happy Kids]

About half of parents (52 percent) also reported that schoolmates deliberately tried to trigger autistic meltdowns in their children.

The mother of one girl reported: "Often kids try to upset her because they find it funny when she gets upset and cries. She is overly emotional, and they seem to get a kick out of this."

The autism spectrum includes a variety of developmental disorders, such as autism, marked by problems with social interaction and communication as well as by repetitive that are behaviors. Asperger's syndrome, is often characterized by a high IQ, obsessive, narrow interests, and a difficulty socializing with others.  

Bullies and the bullied

Unlike friendly teasing, bullying is long-term torment that doesn't occur between social equals. Research on bullying suggests that while many factors can put someone at risk of being a target, bullies tend to choose victims they know their classmates won't defend. Children who are anxious about social interactions are at particular risk, according to a 2011 study of fifth-graders.

The new IAN survey recruited parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) from around the country to answer online questions about their children's experiences with bullying. Based on the parents' answers, 63 percent of the ASD children had experienced bullying at some point, the researchers found. Of the 1,079 kids in the study who weren't home-schooled, 39 percent had been bullied just in the past month, compared with 12 percent of their non-ASD siblings.

Teasing was the most common form of bullying, with 73 percent of kids experiencing taunts. About half of ASD kids had been deliberately ignored or excluded by peers, and 47 percent had been called names. Thirty percent had experienced physical bullying, such as hitting. And in 53 percent of cases, parents reported that kids had tried to goad their ASD child into a tantrum.

Fighting back

Children with autistic disorders also were more likely than their non-ASD siblings to have bullied someone themselves (20 percent compared with 8 percent). This fits into a pattern in bullying relationships in which bully victims also bully, according to the researchers.

For children with autism, the bully label may be slightly more complex. Social deficits can mean that these children don't understand that they are being bullies, IAN reported.

"My son doesn't realize he is bullying," one parent explained on the survey. "He is trying to get other kids to pay attention to him, so he does it by grabbing their ball away from them or getting 'in their face' when they say to stop."

Another parent blamed the child's rigidity for his bullylike behavior.

"He has very set rules of behavior that he expects all to follow," the parent reported. "He doesn't see how his reaction to perceived slights or rule-breaking is sometimes bullying."

The study found that bullying peaks between fifth and eighth grade, with 42 percent to 49 percent of kids with ASD experiencing bullying during this time. For children with social difficulties, bullying can further isolate them.

"The bully made life a complete hell for my son," said one mother who ultimately withdrew her child from school. "He came home from school crying every day and begging to never have to go back."

You can follow LiveScience senior writer Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.

• 10 Facts Every Parent Should Know about Their Teen's Brain
• Fight, Fight, Fight: The History of Human Aggression
• Behind Bullying: Why Kids Are So Cruel

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Comments

[EileenRileyHall]

06:12 PM on 09/03/2012

I have taught in public school in NY state for over 15 years, and bullies are sometimes from rough families, but are often from families who have taught them to feel entitled, as if they are better than others. I believe it is a misconception that bullies always have low self-worth. The ones I have seen are full of themselves, often admired athletes, etc. Their parents have only reinforced a sense of competition and arrogance, not a sense of compassion or being responsible the less fortunate. It is true that mean and abusive parenting can create a mean child, but so too can the kind of parent who wants their child to climb the social ladder, and show reinforces how important it is to be wealthy, powerful, and top dog. Many bullies just have no empathy because their parents don't see empathy as important, and those kids have been told they are better than other people who are not worthy of their time or kindness. Parents are the problem either way.

[ttsgw]

04:06 PM on 04/05/2012

But as long as it originate from religious believes it is fully accepted in America as bullying is a part of the American freedom of religion.

[addisonsteele]

04:38 PM on 04/04/2012

Of course autism puts children at risk for bullying. Autistics have empathy deficits, so they have difficulty understanding social interactions, primarily because social interactions have very few rigid rules. In addition, autistics have enhanced pattern recognition skills and can function best in a setting with rigid rules (i.e., with discernable patterns). Upsetting a pattern is usually traumatic to an autistic. So it is easy for bullies to upset an autistic.

[EileenRileyHall]

06:06 PM on 09/03/2012

Addisonsteele,

You are so wrong. People with autism do not lack empathy. I am the mother of two girls on the spectrum who are loving and tremendously empathetic. Empathy is a two part process- recognizing someone's feelings and then having an empathic response. Some people with autism don't always initially understand someone else's feelings, but when told or when they realize another person's feelings, they often respond with tremendous empathy and feeling. The key is with ALL children you need to make a point to teach empathy.

I have taught English in public high school for over 15 years, and empathy is there only if parents teach it and schools reinforce. I have taught poor or special needs kids with amazing empathy, and wealthy honors class kids with none.

Please stop perpetuating damaging myths about those on the spectrum!!!!!!!!!

[BSDebunker]

06:24 AM on 04/03/2012

I have no proof, but it seems to me that kids who bully must predominantly come from parents who bully. I'd like to see a program where when a bully is identified, the parents as well as the child must submit to counseling.

[Arlene La Hera]

07:16 PM on 04/02/2012

What do people teach their children at home and what must be done in order to breed this sort of compassionless ignorance? What kind of a society have we spawned? Isn't it about time we tried to TEACH children values and respect for others?

[BSDebunker]

06:19 AM on 04/03/2012

I am not sure that can be obtained to today's underfunded and overcrowded classrooms, especially considering that most parents have graduated from the same uninspired system.

[Ossit]

10:40 PM on 03/31/2012

“When I think of bullies I think of small dogs. I'm afraid of small dogs, they're always yippie and snippy and yappie and nervous

Some are, Parade Keegan. I have a Chihuahua. She's yappy in the house. Her nature is to be bigger than her size, but she's never bitten anyone. She was taught that as a puppy and it's not in her nature to be a biter anyway. Outside on a leash she's a little lady. Her breed is nervous naturally and Chihuahuas always shake. Does she bully my cat? I won't let her. I tell her to leave him and she stops. I constantly have to teach her her place in my pack. If you were in my home, leash or no leash, my girl won't bite. She'll bark at you, but if you ignore her, she'll see she's getting no pay off, come up to sniff you and run away. But she'd never bite.

There are some small breeds that act tough and bite because owners won't teach them not to. The Doberman, Rottweiler, Pit Bulls, and German Shepherd aren't cowards, and if they're taught that biting isn't tolerated, they won't. Dogs are the same as us in two ways. They have to be socialized and taught rules, boundaries and limitations just like in their pack.All dogs are all 'small' when they properly follow the pack rules of owners who know dog psychology.

All dogs when properly trained and socialized are easy going and mellow.

[BSDebunker]

06:21 AM on 04/03/2012

Do you have any kids, besides your 'pack'?

[thestarfish6393]

12:56 AM on 03/31/2012

I don't have aspergers or any type of autism but i have HORRIBLE anxiety and was teased in school in much the same way--people would try to psych me out so i'd have a panic attack and they thought it was hilarious. honestly, i think it's the same thing as tripping someone on crutches. what a sick society we live in.

[Ossit]

10:10 PM on 03/30/2012

Awful, just plain awful. Why can't we just teach our kids not to bully and stop bullying our own kids so they take it out on others who are weaker.

[VirgoLinnea]

07:28 PM on 03/31/2012

Parents who are abusive/bullies teach their children only one thing. And there are plenty of abusive adults out there!

[Ossit]

02:29 PM on 04/03/2012

Darn tootin', VirgoLinnea. In schools, bullying is called bullying. At home, abusive bully parents call it 'discipline'.

[Carmen DA]

08:24 PM on 03/30/2012

duh

[Felps]

04:12 PM on 03/30/2012

If only we could privatize our education system alongside similar efforts within our prisons maybe we'd be on to something... Betcha we'd get rid of all those pesky bullies or at least find a feeder program if they decided "not" to go to college.

The Ultimate high school reunion!

Test-drive in Louisiana first?

[cadawa]

04:11 PM on 03/30/2012

Everybody is at risk when the dominant culture favors violence, rewards aggression and blames the victims. Where commerce trumps compassion and where every decent human impulse is mocked.

[TFT]

02:39 PM on 03/30/2012

America is the bully country. Americans are the bullies of the world (universe?).

And you wonder why we raise bullies? We revere them, while we hate them.

We are about as confused on this issue as a society could be. Even though there seems to be no confusion that bullying is bad.

We have work to do.

[anneeger]

05:38 PM on 03/30/2012

I did not grow up in the States and every time I read about these bullying problems I try to remember if there were any bullies in my schools. And I cannot remember one single one. I also remember that we were especially reminded to integrate children who were different in some way.
I think that it might be a result of the enormous competitiveness which already starts in Kindergarten with awarding stars, etc. Look at Huffpost, even here people go for badges though nobody knows each other. I have not met such competitiveness in other countries.

[Ossit]

10:14 PM on 03/30/2012

Bullying has nothing to do with competitiveness, anneeger. It has to do with parents who bully kids, who bully other kids because they can't get their parents, or it's because non bullying parents just don't teach their kids the Golden Rule. Treat others as you would have them treat you. Huffpost is an interesting example with posters. People backbite people here because it's safe. Say what they say out in the world to some people, they'd get smacked. No one competes for badges. We get 'em or we don't. We sign up for 'em or we don't.

[killerbee256]

02:03 PM on 03/30/2012

Bullying has been around forever, so I wonder why has this become such a huge issue now?

[tbone99]

03:56 PM on 03/30/2012

Slavery and arranged marriages have also been around forever, but with equality for all people are seen to be practices that no longer serve humanity

[Ossit]

10:15 PM on 03/30/2012

Publicity, killerbee256.

[eskinature]

05:34 AM on 03/30/2012

A family member who has autism and doesn't talk can be very mean in their own right, as I have witnessed many times. Hitting, pushing and other similar behaviors are common. He's probably pretty annoyed with others, who don't understand what he wants. I have absolutely no idea where he learned those things, but his baby-sitter had to abandon their duties when he repeatedly hit them while they were watching him on the weekend. What I do when I'm dealing with him and he starts acting up is to call his name, which he always responds to by looking at whoever's calling him, and tell him to be nice, frowning the whole time. The expression on his own face often becomes "Uh-oh." He understands a lot, and especially when he's in trouble, which happens often.
As a family, we started taking part in the autism awareness walks about eleven years ago, the summer after he was diagnosed. Our local walk has obviously grown since then, so I got to see first hand just how prevalent autism was becoming. It's one thing to hear or read statistics, but until you've seen a practical application of those numbers, it really doesn't sink in. Then, there are those in my area who take advantage of charity events to obtain undeserved goodies, stealing snack donations from vendors, but on that I'm not going to say anymore.

[Parade Keegan]

04:20 AM on 03/30/2012

"Different" is bullied, always.

[Ossit]

10:21 PM on 03/30/2012

Not always. Some bully because they just love picking on others and then when they're bullied, they run way screeching never expecting what goes around comes around, especially when you're bigger. Ever see two bullies pick on each other? Never. They look for meaner. And you know what? People stand around watching bullying as if it's Pay-For-View.

[Parade Keegan]

10:42 PM on 03/30/2012

Bullies are horrible, weak people and I don't think they recognize themselves.