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Bullying and Students With Disabilities
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Bullying and Students With Disabilities
Strategies and Techniques to Create a Safe Learning Environment for All



October 2013 | 152 pages | Corwin

Does your bullying policy protect all students?

A 2007 study uncovered a shocking fact: 80% of children with learning disabilities are bullied at school. As schools implement bullying policies, are they doing enough to address the unique needs of this 80%? 

Drawing on extensive studies on bullying in schools, Barry McNamara provides a research-based overview to understand bullying. Additionally, this book shows how to identify bullies and victims and implement an effective and inclusive bullying prevention program.
Readers will discover:

  • What research says about bullying against students with disabilities
  • How programs typically fail to serve this population
  • A roadmap for an inclusive schoolwide program
  • Special intervention and coping strategies

Start down the road to create an inclusive and tolerant school climate where every student feels safe and valued.

“It has long been known that students with disabilities are targets for bullying or exhibiting bullying behavior. This book provides information on how teachers, paraprofessionals and parents can address bullying with students with disabilities within the schoolwide program to meet the individual needs of the child and create a safer school environment.”
— Barbara Hayhurst, Special Education Teacher
Lakevue Elementary, Nampa, ID

“Bullying of students with disabilities is often unaddressed in many schools. This book shines a light on a problem that often goes unnoticed and provides sound advice and guidance to all school-based staff.”
—Mary Reeve, Educational Administrator
Gallup McKinley County Schools, NM


 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Author
 
1. What is Bullying?
What is Bullying?

 
Who are the Bullies?

 
Who are the Victims?

 
Schools and Bullying

 
What Causes Bullying?

 
What About the Rest of the Students?

 
Gender Differences

 
Prevalence

 
Summary

 
Test Yourself

 
 
2. Why Are Students With Disabilities Targeted?
Introduction

 
The Nature of Disabilities

 
Classification of Students With Disabilities

 
Non-Categorical Approach

 
Classroom Placements

 
Summary

 
Test Yourself

 
 
3. How to Identify Bullies and Their Victims
How to Identify Bullies

 
How to Identify Victims

 
Types of Victims

 
Early Identification

 
Assessing the Problem

 
Summary

 
Test Yourself

 
 
4. Creating a Schoolwide Program
Components of an Effective Program to Reduce Bullying

 
Evidenced-Based Programs

 
Including all Students in a Schoolwide Program

 
Needs Assessment

 
Differentiate Content and Delivery

 
Vary the Method of Presentation

 
Use a Variety of Reading Material

 
Vary the Level of Difficulty

 
Teach Attending Skills

 
Teach Memory Skills

 
Managing the Collaborative Classroom

 
Summary

 
Test Yourself

 
 
5. What Every Teacher Must Do
Know Your District’s Policy

 
Modify the Schoolwide Program

 
Provide Instruction for Dealing With Bullies

 
Create a Kind and Caring Classroom

 
Provide Resources for Your Students

 
Collaborate With Families and the Community

 
Address Cyberbullying

 
Summary

 
Test Yourself

 
 
6. What Every Paraprofessional Should Know
Roles and Responsibilities

 
How to Intervene

 
Paraprofessional Handbook

 
Roles and Responsibilities in Bullying Prevention/Intervention

 
Confidentiality

 
Summary

 
Test Yourself

 
 
7. What Every Parent Should Know
Signs Your Child Might be a Victim

 
What Should You Do?

 
What To Do if Your Child is a Bully

 
Be a Good Role Model

 
Provide Social Skills Training

 
How to Deal With Cyberbullying

 
Use Your Child’s IEP

 
Use Section 504v of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

 
Best Practices for Parents

 
When to Seek Professional Help

 
Summary

 
Test Yourself

 
 
8. Teacher Supports And Techniques
Utilize the Existing PBS

 
Utilize a Collaborative Teaching Model

 
Create an Empathetic Classroom

 
Differentiate Instruction

 
Include Social Skills and Bully Prevention Into the Curriculum

 
Summary

 
Test Yourself

 
 
References
 
Index

“It has long been known that students with disabilities are targets for bullying or exhibiting bullying behavior; this book provides information on how teachers, paraprofessionals and parents can address bullying with students with disabilities within the school wide program to meet the individual needs of the child and create a safer school environment.”

Barbara Hayhurst, Special Education Teacher
Lakevue Elementary, Nampa, ID

"This book is a must have for all schools. Bullying of students with disabilities is often unaddressed in many schools. This book provides sound advice and guidance to all school-based staff. It shines a light on a problem that often goes unnoticed."

Mary Reeve, Educational Administrator
Gallup McKinley County Schools, NM

"Dr. McNamara provides an excellent reference for teachers, administrators and parents regarding bullying in schools. His thoughtful discussion of the implications for students with disabilities offers significant insights into how and why a youngster's disability may make them a target for bullying as provocative victims. Educators and parents alike will benefit from the subtle yet important distinction between a provocative victim and their bully."

Patrick Harrigan, Deputy Superintendent
Half Hollow Hills Central School District, Dix Hills, NY

"McNamara addresses classroom and playground teasing, taunting and physical aggression aimed at atypical students. 'There is a very limited but emerging body of research that suggests that students with disabilities are more likely to be victims than their general education peers,' McNamara writes. 'Why are students with disabilities more likely to be targeted? The most obvious reason is their vulnerability.'

The book goes on to suggest how to create a schoolwide bullying prevention program, detail what every teacher should do and outline intervention and coping strategies."

Beth Whitehouse, Writer
Newsday
Key features
  • Provides an overview of the research on bullying in schools and explains the key concepts of bullies, victims, and bystanders
  • Discusses the research regarding the incidence of bullying against students with disabilities
  • Explores the basics of typical schoolwide bullying prevention programs and demonstrates how these programs typically fail to serve as a helpful resource for students with disabilities
  • Presents a roadmap for implementation of a truly inclusive schoolwide program that serves the needs of all students
  • Includes examples of ways to modify the content and language of typical bullying prevention programs and use differentiated instructional strategies to create a prevention program that reaches all students
  • Provides teachers with guidance on specific intervention strategies and includes templates and checklists for program implementation and follow up
  • Describes the roles and responsibilities of paraprofessionals as they relate to bullying
  • Explains methods and techniques for teaching specific coping strategies to students who are victims of bullying

Sample Materials & Chapters

Table of Contents

1. What is Bullying?


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