Raleigh, North Carolina – The Autism Society of North Carolina (ASNC) will be unveiling its anti-bullying toolkit geared towards fighting bullying in elementary and secondary schools throughout the state.
The toolkit, which will be made available online, will serve as a guide through which parents of children on the spectrum can obtain valuable information that can help them learn how to both identify and prevent bullying when it occurs. Because youngsters with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often display behaviours that differ from those seen in neurologically typical children, studies indicate that they are more likely to be bullied by their peers.
Hence, certain ASD symptoms including repetitive speech patterns, limited interests, clumsiness, poor eye contact and the inability to correctly interpret nonverbal cues often results in children with autism being shunned, ostracized and in many instances, bullied.
The ANSC is therefore hoping to provide families of children with autism with a useful tool that can assist them in coping with bullying if and when it occurs. However the organization not only offers the toolkit, the ASNC also endeavors to provide general support and services to families as well. The organization therefore assists school administrators in providing children on the spectrum with a safe environment to learn in and thrive both socially and academically as well.
The online toolkit can be found here