Bullying and ASD: Addressing Victimization

Ryan E. Adams, a Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center faculty member, presents the Girls and Boys Guides to End Bullying free online curricula. He notes the importance of being able to recognize bullying and the benefits of self-efficacy and awareness. The speaker suggests that adolescents are allowed to take control of their situations and that parents/caretakers listen to youth and consider the social implications of bullying and peer victimization. He previews the online curricula created for students, teachers, and parents and provides examples of their use in various settings. Adams differentiates bullying from peer victimization, provides acknowledgments, and closes with a Q&A. 

Handouts for this webinar can be found online HERE
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In this webinar: 

1:10 – Background and agenda
2:55 – Studies – Rates of bullying in autism
5:14 – Outcomes of bullying
7:32 – Research implications
11:25 – Girls’ and Boys’ Guide to End Bullying Introduction
13:04 – Underlying principles
18:20 – Comprehensive and accessible
21:48 – Program aims and objectives
23:23 – Example – Skills for dealing with verbal victimization
24:13 – Self-efficacy
25:02 – Start Guide website walkthrough
28:15 – Bullying vs. peer victimization
35:01 – Website overview
36:20 – Module outline and other support materials
39:33 – Teacher and parent manuals
44:38 – Incorporating G/BGEB into schools
45:53 – Thanks and acknowledgments
46:35 – Q&A

Prevalence of bullying

Autistic youth report higher rates of peer victimization and bullying than individuals with other developmental disorders and other at-risk groups. Adams cites research that revealed 35% of teens with autism experience at least one form of bullying every day and 46% at least once a week (2:55). Bullying, he continues, is correlated and associated with internalized anxiety and depression, poor academic performance, and suicidal ideation and attempt (5:14). Given such statistics and outcomes, proactive strategies and solutions must be explored before bullying starts (7:32). The speaker suggests parents and caretakers ask adolescents about their lived experiences and perceptions and how/when they want to deal with a given situation. He urges viewers to consider social implications for youth to which parents/caregivers are not generally privy (9:30). 

Girls’ and Boys’ guide to end bullying

The speaker introduces the Girls’ and Boys’ Guide to End Bullying (G/BGEB), a web-based intervention library to help teens and adolescents develop strategies for dealing with and preventing bullying (11:25). Unlike other anti-bullying curricula, these programs are comprehensive and available to individual students, parents, and teachers free of charge (19:03). These guides are based on empirically tested anti-bullying principles and provide specific actions for specific types of bullying and peer victimization (20:20). The programs aim to empower students to take positive action, teach bystanders and victims proper strategies to stop bullying effectively, and develop student empathy and self-awareness to uphold their sense of self-efficacy in taking action (21:48). The presenter differentiates peer victimization from bullying, noting that peer victimization is defined by the victim instead of the characteristics of an imbalanced peer relationship (e.g., bullying) (30:47). 

Adams outlines the Girls’ Guide to End Bullying online modules, quizzes, and PDFs, highlighting tools for controlling emotions and how to talk to adults (36:20). He describes the teacher and parent manuals (39:33) and re-emphasizes the benefits of adolescents taking the lead in victimization situations and learning. 

Guide breakdown

The guide is organized into five specific bullying types: Physical, Verbal, Sexual, Relational, and Cyber. Information for each type of bullying is arranged into five sections accompanied by video representations and discussion questions: 

• Recognizing bullying
• What happens after the bullying
• What to do if you see someone being bullied
• What to do if bullying is happening to you
• Bringing it together with highlights and things to think about

G/BGEB is set up for individuals to use the parts of the curricula that suit their needs best. The curricula have been incorporated into women’s history classes, health/wellness/disease prevention, first-year orientations, and school counselor handbooks (44:38). Adams provides acknowledgments and thanks before the Q&A (46:35), where he discusses bullying related to gender and sexuality, curriculum language options, resources for younger kids, and much more.