A kid with Aspergers (CONSTANTLY BULLIED AND INTIMIDATED UNTIL BEING EXPELLED)

Australia
February 9, 2007 11:14pm CST
There was a kid who attended a high school where he was constantly bullied, harrassed, made fun of, pushed around and teased by a lot of older and younger students. The reason? This person was different. The school psychologist believed him to have Aspergers syndrome. He was never 'officially' diagnosed with anything at his parent's own wishes, because they insisted they didn't wish him to be 'labelled.' If you watched this person, you could easily see he stuck out from the crowd. Simply in the way he walked, watched things, the way he spoke. The sort of things bullies can pick up on very easily. He was also very easily agitated by things, so a student would merely have to pull a face at him or pretend to punch the air in front of him for him to become VERY annoyed by the behavior. I think his inability to ignore the behavior of the bullies contributed to the amount of bullying he recieved. I think this, along with the reason given by high school teachers, "there are simply too many people from EVERY grade who bully him for us to stop it," was their reason for justifying the bullying. But is this at all fair? According to a councellor, this person had also been bullied throughout all of his primary school life, but had resorted to silence and keeping all his anger inside him. He would feel too intimidated to respond to the bullies. He was encouraged by his parents and those close to him to stand up for himself, however when he did so (in the only way he knew how) he was more or less blamed for creating a larger problem. One distinct occassion happened when this person was sitting in the library, and then two other boys decided to sneak up behind him and try to press the 'reset' button on his computer a good five or ten times, while laughing and teasing him, ending in him telling them loudly to stop it. The teacher in the library, however, asked this person who was being bullied AND the students who were bothering him to both leave. Another occassion occurred in the administration office where some other kids were making fun of this person. The office ladies could be overheard grumbling that this person (the one with aspergers) was in their office, so they'd better deal with him quickly before any drama occured. The drama, of course, referred to his RESPONSE to being bullied by others. This person with aspergers had never caused a disruption or yelled angrilly without being provoked from someone else. The bulllying even extended to physical abuse during sporting lessons where he was laughed at and teased for his running abilities. The school did nothing. People all over the school in various grades could be heard laughing or spreading jokes or stories about this person with aspergers. Almost everyone knew who he was, and everyone was aware of what was going on, but no-one made any move to punish the people who were making his life hell, or to stop them from doing so. One day after a class lesson, another student was bullying him. This time there was a violent reaction. The person with aspergers had taken out a compass point from a maths set and tried to stab the kid, yelling that he was sick of it, and wished he were dead. The teachers responded to this event by expelling the person with aspergers because he was "a risk to the school and to the safety of other students." Can ANYONE describe this as fair? A school who was unwilling to see the risk bullies posed to this person, suddenly came to life when the person who had been kicked around and bullied for so long actually RESPONDED? Do you think what the school did was reasonable or unreasonable? What course of action do you think the school should have taken? Would you simply say that because of his disability he shouldn't have been at that school, and therefore there was nothing to be done to stop the bullying? What do you think SHOULD have happened?
4 people like this
9 responses
• Canada
13 Feb 07
Clearly that school did not see the boy with Aspergers as 'normal'. They probably thought that he deserved the teasing because he was 'odd'. I have a child with Aspergers, and it makes me really mad to think this happened. No one there stood up for that child, and he was punished for responding to being mistreated. That is very sad. Aside from the Aspergers, ALL children deserve to be safe in school. this school failed to protect this child, and failed to respond when he needed help. Every school needs to have a non-tolerance policy to bullying - not one of 'nothing can be done'. Bullying can be stopped, and needs to be stopped.
• Australia
14 Feb 07
I agree. I also think all students in their first few grades (and upper grades as well) should have anti-bullying awareness programs which teaches other students to step in and help out anyone being bullied. The message that it's wrong really needs to get across.
1 person likes this
@adidas7878 (1891)
• United States
10 Feb 07
oh i got picked on alot and i been bully around alot too, most of the time i stood up for myself i fighted my own battle, just because i am different than the people i go to school with, i am not saying i look dumb or anything, it just because i am the same color as they are, i get pick at all the time, most of the time i just ignor them. few time i want to punch some one than i figure i am better than that. my school never really do anything neither but i stuck up for myself, i feel sorry for that kid though
1 person likes this
• Australia
14 Feb 07
I just wish people in authoritive positions took bullying far more seriously.
1 person likes this
@lvhughes (545)
• United States
22 Feb 07
all school bully just as bad as the student. bulling isnt considered a problem. i have seen it through out life. i hate bullies and fill they should be put out of school every time they are caught treating people in this manner. rather or not the person being bullied have problems or the people are just being mean. the child should have been protected by the school and it should have never gotten that far. i have noticed most people that bully other kids go on in life to become teacher and stuff. and usually they still bully poeple.
1 person likes this
@ronaldinu (12422)
• Malta
11 Sep 08
I partially understand the parents that dont want their child to be labeled however its their fault cos they are doing more harm than good. They are not helping their son to develop into a sound person. Instead of helping him in his weakness they have left him on his own. In case of severe bullying parents should be there to seek help from the school administration. They should develop a common strategy to stop this from continuing at school. Apsergers are vulnerable children and its the duty of the parens/teachers to stop bullying from continuing while at the same time empowering these kids to develop strategies not to be easy targets for bullies
@Cephoozee (373)
• United States
22 Feb 07
First of all, I don't believe in this Aspergers thing you speak of, sounds like another made-up something or other for a kid who is simply bullied. Second, the kid did the right thing in trying to stab that kid. Obviously verbal protectin wasn't good enough. I hope some bully reads this story and is a little scared of the "weird kid" in class. These kids, in case you are mentally disabled, are the ones who shoot up schools, but it's not like they woke up one day, dreaming of shootin up a school, that happens when someone gives them a reason to shoot somebody. The school should not have expelled this kid, which will wind up making him even more alienated by other kids and insecure, they should have expelled the kids, or at least punished, who were picking on him. I think the best thing to have done is to gather up all those bullies and have them apologize to the one being bullied, I guarantee that would have a much bigger impact on all children involved, and for the better.
1 person likes this
@dbcraff (162)
• United States
14 Feb 07
I have a son with Asbergers. He gets teased everyday and bullied everyday. Last year he was teased by the principal as well as the students. I feel terible about what has happened to this boy. The school did not follow correct procedures or the law. This boy should have had a bahovoir specialist come in the first time there was a problem and evaluate the situation and come up with a behavoiral plan for this student. They also shouldn't have allowed the teasing from the other students. Alot of times the teasing that the adults who are in charge think is no big deal Is a vary big deal to a child with Asbergers. It makes them feel worthless and unloved. It gives them a feeling of despair. And no matter what they do it isn't the right thing. This is why I really believe that these kids should be in a class with other asberger children so that they have the support of each other. They are all going through the same kind of thing. It is really heard for kids with asbergers to make friends because of there AS. Therefor they feel alone but, when they are put in with a group of kids who are going through the same frustations they have each other and can understand each other. I know alot of people disagree with my opinion. They feel that every kid should be tuoght the same regardless. And that these kids need to learn to deal with teasing and bullies because they are going to have to deal with it eventually. Well I say why not give them the tools and self esteem they need to deal with it first. By giving them each other to leen on. I know I had my friends that I could leen on and talk to when I was being teased in school. These kids quite often don't have to many friends if any. That is where my son is right now. He is 11 and is on meds for depression. Which is the result of him being in a mainstream classroom.
1 person likes this
• United States
13 Aug 07
my sister had a problem simular to this but her son in grade school He had had trets and adhd his teacher was even hurting him at school by pinching hi9m to make him sit still and listen and was saying hewas a problem it got to the point my sister talked to a lawyer and threatened to sew the school unless the founf a way to deal with his problems and for the teasing to stop Guess what they did to and he has now graduated high school
• United States
2 Jan 08
It is better he doesn't go to that school anyways. He should go to a different school but this time not reveal what he has because they might make fun of him. If that doesn't work he can be home schooled.
@Fratey (37)
• Sweden
12 Aug 07
I have Aspergers Syndrome, and I've been diagnosed since I was 11. Personally, I think that school's really need education. For example, the principle didn't let a student go to the school ball because he had Aspergers Syndrome. (In another school.) I read SEVERAL times in newspapers, that people with Aspergers Syndrome are more agressive and anti-social. This is as much bull as it can get. Anyone else that get annoyed of this kind of stuff?