Bullying and Autism

Personal Accounts

Parent

'He cannot go out alone. He has no friends. He is jeered at in public sometimes.'

(Source: Parent, Barnard J. et al, 2011)

Child with Asperger syndrome

'The other children laugh at me sometimes. I don't know why they tease me - I hide under the desk, because there are lots of boxes and that is a good place to hide.'

(Source: 11-year-old boy with Asperger syndrome, Simmons, 2008)

Parent of a man with Asperger syndrome

'He went to work in a restaurant but was bullied by the other team members, I guess because he was different. He then got a job in a horticulture firm. He was bullied here as well. His particular work ethos made it so he didn't take tea-breaks and tried to get the work done as quickly as possible. I tried to explain that the others wouldn't appreciate that as he would be making them look bad but he didn't understand.'

(Source: Parent of a young man with Asperger syndrome, Simmons, 2008)

Updated

29 Feb 2016