Autism Soccer: How to Handle Bullying to Prevent Children's Harassment

Bullying often happens in public settings, like schools.

Children tend to play rough by giving each other monikers, or playing handheld games which are, sometimes, part of their normal behavior. But what happens when those names and ‘friendly jokes’ are more mean-spirited? In those situations, when a joke stops being equal and it turns into a humiliation, it’s called “bullying”.

While this is a mild concern for most parents, for the ones with children with special needs, this is one of the most constant worries. What if their child’s life drastically change because of that targeted attack? It is known that one of the most frequent causes for kid’s psychological problems and bad behavior are bullying or harassment they might be receiving from other children.

What’s defined as “bullying”?

It’s defined as a targeted attack towards another person with an intention to harm, whether it is physical or psychological. In fact, ignoring a particular person is also recognized as a form of bullying. These behaviors can be shown by one or a group of kids and, most of the time, this happens without adults seeing it directly. Sometimes, children lead bullying to high levels and this might turn into targeted violence, which often leads to a long-lasting trauma for the ones who receive the attacks.

How to handle bullying or harassment?

As parents and caretakers, your obligation is to teach your children that they can ask you for help if they are being attacked. While teachers and other students see what happens in real time, it’s your job to identify the signs of your child is being bullied. Some of those are:

Personal items lost without explanation.
Sleeping problems.
Changes in personal habits.
Decreased appetite.
Loss of interest in personally enjoyable activities.
Faking illness.
Lesions (bruises and such).
Diminished self-esteem.

How to help them face bullying?

Once you’ve been able to identify the problem, it’s time to take action. Parents need to give alternatives to their children that will help them feel safer and more trusting of each of their companions at school or other activities. For that reason, it’s important to get to the root of the problem by identifying the bully and knowing why they are acting that way. That’s why it’s vital to get the help from professors and psychologists. In fact, most of the time, when this happens, children that are expressing aggression towards others were harmed that way in the past, or they are reflecting behaviors from home.

What can you do to help them?

Teach them they can count on you.
Let them know it’s ok to seek help.
Help them overcome the fear and show confidence.
Teach them to stand up to bullies the right way.
Involve bullies' parents.
Get assistance from professionals (professors and psychopedagogy).

You, as a parent, need to prepare yourself to deal with children when it comes to their personal safety. Make sure to have the right skills to help them deal with bullying, and help them overcome those situations. One of the things that might help your children overcome that frustration and bad emotions is playing a sport. That’s why you need to contact Autism Soccer. They have a team of people who help children reach their full potential regardless of their condition and, also, they help them gain trust and confidence to face the world after that stressful period.