Thursday, February 26, 2009

BULLYING AND DYSLEXIA

BULLYING

Children with disabilities, such as dyslexia may be at a higher risk of being bullied than other children.

What is bullying?

Bullying among children is aggressive behavior that is intentional and that involves an imbalance of power or strength. Typically, it is repeated over time. ( Dan Olweus )

Many children do not tell their parents or teachers at school about being bullied. It is important that as a parent you watch out for possible signs of bullying.

Bullying is a serious problem in schools in Turkey .However very little research has been done on this subject.We need to raise the awareness of students, teachers, school principals, and parents to the problem in Turkey !!! In other countries there are central policies and guidelines concerning bullying.

Students Who are Bullied -
can suffer these types of effects , which can last long into their future:
· Depression
· Low self-esteem
· Health problems
· Poor grades
· Suicidal thoughts

Warning signs ( from the stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov leaflet)

Possible warning signs that a child is being bullied:

1. Comes home with torn, damaged, or missing pieces of clothing, books, or other belongings;
2. Has unexplained cuts, bruises, and scratches;
3. Has few, if any friends, with whom he or she spends time;
4. Seems afraid of going to school, walking to and from school, riding the school bus, or taking part in organized activities with peers (such as clubs) ;
5. Has lost interest in school work or suddenly begins to do poorly in school;
6.Appears sad, moody, teary, or depressed when he or she comes home;
7. Complains frequently of headaches, stomach aches, or other physical ailments;
8. Has trouble sleeping or has frequent bad dreams;
9. Experiences a loss of appetite; or
10..Appears anxious and suffers from low self-esteem.

What to do if you suspect that your child is being bullied?
If your child shows any of these signs, this does not necessarily mean that he or she is being bullied,but it is a possibility worth exploring.

What should you do? First talk with your child and then you will need to discuss the problem with the staff at your child's school.

For a very useful article about dyslexia amd bullying see :
http://www.dyslexia-parent.com/bullying.html

For general information on bullying:
http://stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/

For a very good brochure about bullying in Turkish:
go to Google type in‘ Zorbalık nedir kocschool.net’

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi there, appreciate the cause that this blog supports. Would just like to inform you about a recent Hindi film - "Taare Zameen Par" which is centered around the story of a boy who is dyslexic. I got to know about this word only through this movie. Just thought if this movie could be of any help for your campaign, so I mentioned it. You can get more info on the movie through imdb.com.

Betul / Ann said...

Thanks for writing !! I assume you live in India ... It was useful to learn about the film.I have researched it and I have placed an article about it on the blog.Very interesting that the film has made such an impact on improving awareness of dyslexia in India.We could do with something like this here in Turkey !!!!!