Bullying of Learners with Disabilities

Introduction

Disabled persons fall within the category of marginalized or underserved populations in many communities. In learning institutions, school-going children with such physical, emotional, or cognitive challenges find it hard to achieve their goals when there are cases of abuse. Bullying has become a systemic challenge that members of this minority population in educational centers continue to face. In the past, little studies have been completed trying to analyze and expose the nature of this predicament. This report presents a detailed literature review and an evidence-based intervention to help most of the victims of bullying in schools.

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Literature Review

Historically, scholars and policymakers have challenged the establishment and promotion of separate classrooms and schools for disabled learners. Within the past two decades, a transformative model has emerged in different societies to allow for inclusive learning environments for all children, including with disabilities. Øksendal et al. (2019) observed that most of studies completed between 1989 and 2003 revealed that bullying was higher among learners with various disabilities. In the same analysis, Øksendal et al. (2019) identified these major forms of abuse: teasing, verbal insults, threats, taking personal items, name-calling, and making fun. These issues tend to create tense environments for the affected individuals, thereby compelling them to have reduced number of friends while struggling with the challenge of staying alone. The nature of these challenges explained why there was a strong need for presenting proper guidelines and interventions.

In another report, Berchiatti et al. (2021) observed that bullying was a major challenge that affected the overall outcomes and experiences of children with learning disabilities and special educational needs (SEN). Specifically, the study revealed that 90 percent of the individuals included in the investigation reported different forms of bullying (Berchiatti et al., 2021). Consequently, these victims encountered numerous challenges in the learning environment, including reduced participation in social activities and disinterestedness. The ultimate result was that their academic scores and grades where poorer in comparison with their normal classmates. The absence of proper mechanisms to reshape child behavior was also seen as a major predictor for negative outcomes in learning environments with disabled individuals.

In another investigation, Falla et al. (2021) observed that a number of factors in different schools created numerous opportunities for increasing cases of bullying. For instance, the fact that some children had sensory, emotional, intellectual, physical, and developmental disabilities was the first determinant of the possible nature of bullying. Additionally, learners in intolerant educational environments were 2 times more likely to be being bullied than their counterparts in desirable classrooms (Falla et al., 2021). In the same study, Falla et al. (2021) reported that some of the children with different types of disabilities were observed to bully their classmates. These issues show conclusively that disabilities are directly linked to bullying in a wide range of learning environments.