Experiences of Bullying and Exclusion among Autistic Students in Ireland
A new report published by the DCU Anti-Bullying Centre highlights the experiences of school-based bullying and exclusion among autistic post-primary students in Ireland.
Why is this important?
Autistic students are more likely to experience bullying than their non-autistic peers and are more likely to report experiences of bullying in mainstream than in special educational contexts. However, data on the lived experiences of bullying among autistic students is rare. Given the evidence linking bullying to adverse outcomes for student wellbeing and mental health, we need to know more about the school-based bullying experiences among autistic students.
What the study found:
Eighteen post-primary autistic students and their parents were interviewed about their school experiences more generally. Nine of the students interviewed reported experiences of school-based bullying and social exclusion. These students and their parents also described a lack of teacher and institutional support during and after experiences of bullying, misconceptions among peers and teachers regarding autism, and a negative impact of bullying and exclusion on students’ emotional and mental health.
What the findings mean:
Commenting on the findings, Dr Sinéad McNally (Associate Professor at the DCU Institute of Education and Study Lead at DCU Anti-Bullying Centre), said:
‘This report shines a light on social exclusion as a particularly damaging experience shared by several of the autistic students interviewed in our research. It is notable that these experiences came up even though we were not specifically asking about bullying or exclusion. Our findings suggest that safe school cultures in which diversity is valued and deficit-views of autism are actively challenged will be particularly important for supporting the inclusion of autistic students and preventing bullying.
Our findings also show the importance of including the voices of autistic students in the development of anti-bullying policies as an important and necessary step in preventing the types of bullying and exclusion identified by students in our study and in the wider literature.’