9:00 Welcome and Opening Remarks 9:10 Ice Breaker 9:20 Video of Bullying (Jonah Mowry) + Discussion 9:45

Overview of Bullying (Powerpoint #1) 10:15 Nutrition Break 10:30 Overview of Asperger Syndrome (Powerpoint #2) 10:35 Autism Self-Knowledge Quiz 11:00 Aspergers and Bullying (Powerpoint #3) 11:30 12:30 Lunch (on your own!) 12:30 Aspergers and Bullying (Contd) 1:00 Group Activity Social Stories 1:40 Prevention Strategies at the School Level Recommendations and Solutions 2:30 Concluding Remarks and Questions 2:40 Care Package provided to Educators

1. Everyone will get a card with a picture

2. The goal is to find the person with a card that goes together with your card. Ex: Peanut butter & Jelly 3. You have 2 minutes to find your partner!

A message...

Bullying is a pattern of aggressive behavior, with negative intent, directed from one child to another where there is a power imbalance (Olweus,1991).

Olweus identifies three critical conditions that distinguish bullying from other forms of aggressive behavior

1. POWER IMBALANCE: Teens who bully acquire their power (

self concept, control of others) through physical size and strength, by status within the peer group and by recruiting support of the other peer group (Pacer, 2007). by frequent and repeated attacks. It is a factor that brings about anticipatory terror in the mind of a teen being bullied that can also be so detrimental and have the most debilitating long term effects (Pacer, 2007).

2. FREQUENCY: Bullying is not a random act. It is characterized

3. INTENT TO HARM: Teens who bully generally do so with the

intent to either physically or emotionally harm the other child (Pacer, 2007).

It is a myth that bullies are insecure underneath their bravado. Research indicated that their self esteem is, on or above average. It appears that bullies tend to come from homes where aggressive strategies are used to resolve conflicts (Olweus, 1991).

PHYSICAL AGGRESSION: All physical acts meant to

hurt, degrade, humiliate and frighten the victim.

VERBAL AGGRESSION: Mocking, name-calling, giving dirty

looks and teasing are generic forms in school settings.

SOCIAL AGGRESSION/ALIENATION: Isolating or

alienating a victim from the social group. Gossiping, embarrassing, spreading rumors, deliberate exclusion, and setting up a student to look foolish are all forms of social aggression.

CYBER BULLYING: Hostile emails, gossiping in chat rooms,

websites constructed purposely to ridicule others, putting other peoples personal information on undesirable websites.

"Sticks and stones will break your bones, but names can never hurt you."

Victims of bullying often suffer lifelong problems with low self-esteem. They are prone to depression, suicide, and other mental health problems throughout their lives .

FAMILY FACTORS: A lack of attention and warmth toward the

child, together with the modelling of aggressive behavior at home, and poor supervision of the child provide the perfect opportunity for aggressive and bully behavior to occur.

INDIVIDUAL FACTORS: The best documented individual

factor in bullying is temperament. Temperament refers to basic tendencies by children and teens to develop certain personality styles and interpersonal behavior.

SCHOOL FACTORS: The social context and supervision at

school have shown to play a major part in the frequency and severity of bullying problems. While teachers and administrators do not have control of the individual and family factors which produce children who are inclined to bully, bullying problems can be greatly reduced in severity by appropriate supervision, intervention and climate in a school.

Returns from school with torn, damaged or missing articles of clothing, books or belongings

Has unexplained cuts, bruises, or scratches

Has few, if any friends

Appears afraid of going to school

Complains of headaches, stomach aches

Appears anxious And has poor self-esteem

 Victims of bullying are very unhappy children who suffer from fear, anxiety and low self esteem. They may try to avoid school, and to avoid social interaction, in an effort to escape the bullying. Some victims are so distressed that they commit suicide. Even when bullying does not drive victims to suicide, they often experience significant psychological harm which interferes with their social, academic and emotional development. Bullies tend to become aggressive adults who stand a much higher chance than average obtaining multiple criminal convictions (Santrock, 1993).

Generous praise for pro-social and helpful behavior by students.

Consistent and immediate consequences for aggressive behavior.

Better supervision during recess and lunch.

Specific class rules

against bullying

Awareness and involvement on the part of adults, with regard to bully-victim problems.

Serious and individual discussions with bullies and victims.

Olweus recommends implementation of some co-operative learning activities in school, teaching of social skills, and formation of a council of teachers and administrators to take the lead in
implementation (Olweus, 1993).

We cannot assume that bullying among young adolescents is a simple interaction between a bully and a victim.
Instead, recent studies and media reports suggest that there are groups of students who support their peers and sometimes participate in teasing and harassing other students.

It seems important for families, schools, and other community institutions to help children and young adolescents learn how to manage, and potentially change, the pressure to hurt their classmates in order to "fit in."