Essay Example on Bullying of Disabled Children in Schools: Negative Impacts on Learning

Introduction

Bullying is a common phenomenon in most institutions of learning. It is also a negative social phenomenon that is largely subjected to children with disabilities. Past researches have evidenced that children with learning disabilities face a heightened risk from bullying compared to children with no disabilities. Subsequently, the stated victimization of such children negatively impacts their learning process, an occurrence manifested through poor grades in the students' examinations. The identification of the factors that trigger bullying towards children with disabilities is imperative in cultivating a safe learning environment for them, where they can excel in their academics and develop healthy social relationships with their peers.

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Discussion

Children with disabilities are in most cases vulnerable to bullying in school because they are perceived to be "different' by the majority of the other children (Maciver et al., 2018). Particularly, children with special needs are more vulnerable to bullying due to their imbalance of power or performance ability between themselves and the more typical children (Maciver et al., 2018). Traditionally, the stated victims of bullying in the learning environment are the children that are remarkably shy, those that are not assertive, and those that appear to be physically small (Rubin, Coplan & Bowker, 2009). Ordinarily, children with learning disabilities, in most cases, lack motor coordination, have low proficiencies in sports, and portray a social challenge marked by very few friends (Jeoung, 2018).

There are a number of ways through which bullying behavior is subjected to children with learning disabilities in the learning environment. Among such ways include verbal bullying, characterized by the use of abusive words towards students with disabilities (Shetgiri, 2013). Other forms of bullying that may be subjected to disabled children in the learning environment include cyber, physical, sexual, prejudicial as well as relational aggression bullying (Shetgiri, 2013). As such, it would be essential for interveners, such as teachers and parents, to identify the root cause and form of bullying in order to adopt effective interventions to address the behavior

Repercussions

There are several repercussions that are associated with bullying children with special needs. Past research has ascertained that bullying children with special needs make them have traumatic experiences that are long term and which could affect their social relationship development during their adulthood (Waseem, Ryan, Foster & Peterson, 2013). Also, disabled children subjected to bullying in school manifest a decreased rate of academic achievement in the standardized test scores or GPA, and they also portray minimal academic projects' participation than a majority of other students in the same learning level. Particularly, such students are highly likely to skip school, miss lessons, and at times drop out of school.

Childhood bullying in school may also make students with learning disabilities develop depression and anxiety mental health conditions (Hong, Espelage & Rose, 2019). Particularly, that is true if such students are subjected to bullying for a long time. Additionally, such a state for the victimized children can be manifested through characteristics such as poor sleeping and eating habits, loss of interest in children sporting activities, as well as feelings of sadness and loneliness (Hong, Espelage & Rose, 2019). Collectively, such negative repercussions if not addressed by the parents or teachers of the concerned children with disabilities can adversely affect the life of such kids in and out of their learning environment.

Recommendation

Citing the identified evidence that confirms the prevalence of bullying towards children with disabilities in learning institutions, there is a great need to adopt effective measures to create ideal learning environments that deject bullying. Such effective strategies are inclusive of the early detection of bullying subjected to children with learning disabilities by teachers (Menesini & Salmivalli, 2017). Additionally, the imposition of severe punishments to students caught harassing their peers with disabilities can also be measured to be an effective deterrence strategy for discouraging bullying in institutions of learning. Examples of severe punishments that could be used include the imposition of school detention and in extreme cases of bullying, expulsion from school.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the identification of the factors that trigger bullying towards children with disabilities is imperative in cultivating a safe learning environment for them. Particularly, that is an environment where such students with disabilities can excel in their academics and also be in a position to develop healthy social relationships with their peers. Furthermore, from research executed in this project, it is evident that children with special needs are more vulnerable to bullying in school. Additionally, that is due to their imbalance of power or performance ability between themselves and the rest of their peers. Nevertheless, there are effective interventions that can be employed to prevent the perpetration of the negative social behavior of students with disabilities. Among such effective bullying control strategies include early detection of bullying behavior by teachers in the school environment as well as the imposition of school detention or expulsion of bullies from learning institutions. Ultimately, such stated interventions focused on preventing bullying must be implemented. Additionally, that is because bullying children with disabilities can have critical repercussions for the affected kids. Among such repercussions include the development of long term traumatic experiences as well as the emergence of mental healthcare issues like depression and anxiety on the victimized children.

References

Jeoung B. (2018). Motor proficiency differences among students with intellectual disabilities, autism, and developmental disability. Journal of exercise rehabilitation, 14(2), 275-281. https://doi.org/10.12965/jer.1836046.023s

Hong, Jun S., et al. "Bullying, Peer Victimization, and Child and Adolescent Health: An Introduction to the Special Issue." Journal of Child and Family Studies, vol. 28, no. 9, 2019, pp. 2329-2334.

Maciver, D., Rutherford, M., Arakelyan, S., Kramer, J. M., Richmond, J., Todorova, L., Romero-Ayuso, D., Nakamura-Thomas, H., Ten Velden, M., Finlayson, I., O'Hare, A., & Forsyth, K. (2019). Participation of children with disabilities in school: A realist systematic review of psychosocial and environmental factors. PloS one, 14(1), e0210511. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0210511

Menesini, Ersilia, and Christina Salmivalli. "Bullying in schools: the state of knowledge and effective interventions." Psychology, Health & Medicine, vol. 22, no. sup1, 2017, pp. 240-253.

Rubin, K. H., Coplan, R. J., & Bowker, J. C. (2009). Social withdrawal in childhood. Annual review of psychology, 60, 141-171. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.60.110707.163642

Shetgiri R. (2013). Bullying and victimization among children. Advances in pediatrics, 60(1), 33-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yapd.2013.04.004

Waseem, M., Ryan, M., Foster, C. B., & Peterson, J. (2013). Assessment and management of bullied children in the emergency department. Pediatric emergency care, 29(3), 389-398. https://doi.org/10.1097/PEC.0b013e31828575d7