The Autism Society Event and Education Recordings Archive

In 2000, the U.S. Department of Education sent a letter to colleagues explaining the problem of disability harassment in schools. They suggest "creating a campus environment that is aware of disability concerns and sensitive to disability harassment" and "weaving these issues into the curriculum." While research is proving the benefits of inclusive classrooms, it's important to recognize the need for unilateral social support when establishing a student with an ASD in the culture of the classroom and beyond. We will begin by creating awareness of disability harassment. According to Jerome Holzbauer, Ph.D., there are three components in any harassment scenario: a target, a bystander, and a bully (or a person exhibiting bullying behavior). While 10 percent of the general population is prone to being victimized and 10 percent are likely aggressors, 80 percent are bystanders (Jane Finkenbine, The Ophelia Project). During the course of harassment, there is a clear power imbalance. However, by empowering bystanders with the proper social tools, that 80 percent can neutralize aggressors. In the realm of education, there is a clear mandate from the U.S. government regarding disability harassment. According to a letter issued to colleagues by the Department of Education (July 25, 2000), "Disability harassment can have a profound impact on students, raise safety concerns, and erode efforts to ensure that students with disabilities have equal access to the myriad benefits that an education offers. Indeed, harassment can seriously interfere with the ability of students with disabilities to receive the education critical to their advancement." Some of the effects of disability harassment on students include physical manifestations, absenteeism, detriments to social and emotional development, poor academic performance, and suicidal ideation (American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry; Stop Bullying Now!, Ted Schettler, M.D.; Tony Attwood, Ph.D.). Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (1973), and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990), schools have a responsibility to provide a free, appropriate education in the least restrictive environment. In the presence of disability harassment, this is impossible. According to the DOE, "The following measures are ways to both prevent and eliminate harassment: - Creating a campus environment that is aware of disability concerns and sensitive to disability harassment; weaving these issues into the curriculum or programs outside the classroom. - Encouraging parents, students, employees, and community members to discuss disability harassment and to report it when they become aware of it. - Widely publicizing anti-harassment statements and procedures for handling discrimination complaints, because this information makes students and employees aware of what constitutes harassment, that such conduct is prohibited, that the institution will not tolerate such behavior, and that effective action, including disciplinary action, where appropriate, will be taken. - Providing appropriate, up-to-date, and timely training for staff and students to recognize and handle potential harassment. - Counseling both person(s) who have been harmed by harassment and person(s) who have been responsible for the harassment of others. - Implementing monitoring programs to follow up on resolved issues of disability harassment. - Regularly assessing and, as appropriate, modifying existing disability harassment policies and procedures for addressing the issue, to ensure effectiveness." As we have sought to include children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in mainstream classrooms, we have neglected in many cases to provide the proper social support. Had this disability awareness and sensitivity training taken place at an early age when it's most likely to be effective, there may not have been as many violent episodes on high school and college campuses in recent years. Many of these cases have involved children with mental illness and/or ASDs. And lest we think this disability harassment only pertains to secondary and higher education, consider the case of Alex Barton in Florida. He was voted out of his kindergarten classroom by his typically-developing peers at the urging of the teacher. Clearly, providing social support is crucial to the prevention and/or elimination of disability harassment. While many districts understand the need to teach social skills to students with ASDs, they often forget to equip the bystanders - the typically-developing peers - with the tools they need to support their classmates with ASDs. As administrators and educators, we often assume children will adapt naturally to changes in their academic and social environment. And while adaptations will eventually take place, they may not be constructive and instead have harmful effects on students with disabilities. Some reports of disability harassment toward students with ASDs have included teasing stereotyped behaviors, pushing sensory buttons, playing games that exclude the child with an ASD by their nature, implementing "rules" to bar the child from playing, and purposely choosing the child last for group activities. Obviously, many of these acts take place outside the classroom walls. What is your school doing to create the campus environment the DOE describes? What kind of group moral code is being taught to students? Parents and educators should first check to see if there's an existing policy or position on bullying. How is it being enforced? What safeguards are in place to protect the reporting bystander? What assurance is there from staff that the target will be protected? What actions are being taken to prevent future episodes? Using an awareness-acceptance-empathy model as promoted by Good Friend, Inc., is an excellent way to begin the discussion about disabilities and differences. Because children in their social groups are likely to tease what they do not understand, creating autism awareness may prevent harassment of students with ASDs. Teaching acceptance versus tolerance of differences sends a clear message about our perception of disabilities. And fostering empathy for students with ASDs will go a long way toward correcting negative behavior associated with social interaction between typically-developing students and their classmates with ASDs. Teachers should encourage students to provide support to targets of disability harassment in one or all of the following ways: - physically (stand near the target or in the way of the child exhibiting bullying behavior) - verbally (tell the bully to back off) - tangentially (tell an authoritative person what's going on with the intention to stop the bully) - indirectly: refuse to participate in the maladaptive behavior (the bully only has as much power as other people feed him or her) Why is the school responsible for teaching this social model? In an article entitled "What Makes Us Moral?" (Time magazine; December 3, 2007), author Jeffrey Kluger asserts that we're born with a sense of empathy, and that comes from evolution. Marc Hauser, Harvard professor, says our innate sense of right and wrong is "useless until someone teaches you how to apply it." So all countries and cultures have moral codes that are taught by those around us; they are biological, universal to humanity. These are sometimes created and enforced through government. "But," says Hauser, "you don't need a state to create a moral code. The group does it too. One of the most powerful tools for enforcing group morals is the practice of shunning." We will incorporate an interactive exercise here to demonstrate the effects of shunning, then will review examples of inclusion and their positive effects. By measuring differences in degrees instead of as deficiencies, we will teach our children to be accepting instead of judgmental. As long as it is consistent with the ASA's policy on presentations, we will show the 16-minute DVD, "How Can I Be a Good Friend to Someone with Autism?", here. Providing social support has benefits beyond the classroom walls. Research points to improved academic performance (of children with IEPs and their typically-developing peers), better socialization, increased tolerance of differences in general, and heightened sensitivity to all disabilities. Schools can create an atmosphere of community, infuse a spirit of cooperation, and build self-advocacy skills and self-esteem. At this point, we will review the latest research and information regarding the benefits of inclusive classrooms - particularly that of Erik Carter, Ph.D., of the University of Wisconsin (Madison). Independent data collected to date on Good Friend's services will also be presented. Other resources for peer sensitivity (such as Easter Seals' "Understanding Differences" program) will be referenced. We will provide ample time for Q&A either during the course of the presentation or at the end, depending on the culture of the audience.

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