By Mia Ingui
Children with disabilities, such as physical, developmental, intellectual,
and emotional disabilities, are at an increased risk of being bullied. Any
amount of factors including physical vulnerability, social skill challenges,
or intolerant environments may increase the risk of these children being
exposed to intolerance from others. Another issue stems from recent
research, which also suggests that some children with disabilities may
bully others as well. It is imperative to create a safe environment for
these children, and all children, to prevent unnecessary intolerance and
bullying. Special considerations are needed when addressing bullying in
youth with disabilities. Disability harassment has many different forms,
including verbal harassment, physical threats or threatening written
statements. If the bullying occurs in school and the school learns of the
disability harassment, the school MUST investigate the incident promptly
and respond appropriately, by law. Bullying behavior is considered,
“disability harassment,” which is prohibited under Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990. This is reassurance that children with special needs are
protected against those who may harass or bully them. There are also
many other resources to help kids with disabilities who are bullied or who
bully others, and there are Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or
Section 504 plans that can be useful in creating specialized approaches
for preventing and responding to bullying.