National Bullying Prevention Awareness Week is Oct. 21–27, 2007

This week is National Bullying Prevention Week.

The Autism Society of North Carolina Bookstore has a few key recommended titles on the subject of bullying. We would like to highlight a few of those titles here to alert parents and professionals about the resources we have available on this important topic. The titles we're featuring include a DVD and three books.


Being Bullied: Strategies and Solutions for People with Asperger's Syndrome is a 30-minute DVD program based on a presentation by Nick Dubin on the effects of bullying in school on children with Asperger Syndrome (AS). His presentation is primarily aimed at teachers and administrators, in order to give them ideas on the steps they can take to minimize the incidence of bullying in their schools. He provides sobering statistics on the number of children bullied each year, and he also offers constructive, encouraging advice on how to break down the culture of "bystander apathy." In addition, he introduces strategies for empowering the bullied child as well as the bully, so they can utilize their energy for more constructive purposes. His presentation is interspersed with clips of people with AS giving their thoughts on how bullying has affected their lives.


Gray's Guide to Bullying is an issue of The Jenison Autism Journal that features a series of articles on bullying written by educator and internationally known author Carol Gray. This publication is devoted to helping children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) deal with circumstances in which they encounter bullying. Gray, the creator of the Social Stories™ method, published this series of three articles in response to numerous questions she received about helping children with ASD who are bullied in various situations. This issue combines those articles on ASD and bullying into one useful guide that can be used by adults who live and work with children who have ASD.


Perfect Targets: Asperger Syndrome and Bullying is also an excellent resource on bullying. As the author notes, children and adolescents with Asperger Syndrome (AS) have a lack of social understanding that can lead to bullying by their classmates. These children are not only hurt emotionally and sometimes physically, but they are also deeply confused because they cannot make the distinction between manipulation and friendliness. This practical resource examines the social phenomenon of bullying and the social challenges and needs of children with AS. The author provides many insights and effective strategies for creating a bullying prevention program, and she also discusses specific environmental factors that foster bullying behaviors. The book also includes a chapter that offers a variety of personal perspectives on the subject. Written for parents and professionals, this book focuses on a whole-school approach to bullying prevention that involves administrators, teachers, parents, and students.


We also carry a children's book about bullying. Titled Nobody Knew What To Do: A Story About Bullying, this beautifully illustrated book for readers ages 4 to 8 tells the story of how one student gained the courage to deal with bullying. Ray, a student, is frequently the target of bullying. The other students don’t like it, but they are afraid to inform their teachers. One day, after having been beaten up the day before, Ray does not come back to school. A classmate hears the bullies talking about their future plans for Ray, and he gains the courage to tell his teacher. When Ray returns to school, the teacher and principal intervene, and the classmate tells of his pride in learning to stop bullies by working together with others. On the last page of the book, there are bullying prevention tips for educators and parents.