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Anti-Bullying ResourcesName-calling. Taunting. Pushing and shoving. Threatening texts. Demeaning posts on social media. Repeatedly being the butt of the joke. Bullying comes in many forms – physical, verbal, social, and cyber – but one thing is clear: these widely prevalent behaviors are harmful to students. In addition to physical injuries, they can make students fearful at school, gut their self-esteem, and result in trauma and serious long-term mental health issues. Bullying is generally defined as unwanted, aggressive behavior that involves a real or perceived power imbalance, and is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Autistic students are particularly vulnerable to bullying because they’re often perceived as different from their peers, and they may struggle with social skills. According to a 2012 study by the Interactive Autism Network, 39% of autistic children between 6 and 15 years old reported being bullied in the past month, while only 12% of their non-autistic siblings in the same age group reported being bullied. The children with ASD were bullied at a rate more than three times that of their non-autistic peers. Even this number may be an underestimate because autistic students who have trouble reading social cues might not even identify that they are being bullied. They also may be overwhelmed by the idea of reporting an incident — or even discussing it with a friend or a trusted adult. xMinds has developed this resource to help arm families with the information, strategies, and resources needed to respond should your child be subjected to bullying. Please know that help is available and that bullying must not go unchecked.
To address the issue, xMinds is partnering with the Autism Society of Maryland for a four-session "Anti-Bullying Speaker Series" this spring. Session 1: What I've Learned About Bullying: Autistic Self-Advocate Stephen Shore Speaks Out. If you missed it, watch the recording HERE on the xMinds YouTube Channel. Session 2: My Autistic Child is Being Bullied: What Can I Do? - Wednesday, April 24 @ 7:00 - 8:30 PM. Register HERE. Session 3: Virtual Vigilance: Safeguarding Autistic Students from Cyberbullying - Tuesday, May 14 @ 7:00 - 8:30 PM Register HERE. Stay tuned for more details about the series. We’ll update this site as plans are finalized and will also post details on xMinds' Facebook, Instagram, and X platforms. General ResourcesInitiatives and Organizations | Support for Students| Research Initiatives and Organizations
Support for Students
Research
CyberbullyingCyberbullying is rampant today, with personal attacks, threats, rumors, compromising photos, private information, and hurtful comments all flying through cyberspace. In a 2023 survey, approximately 55% of 13- to 17-year-olds reported that they experienced cyberbullying at some point in their lifetimes, according to the Cyberbullying Research Center. About 27% said they had been cyberbullied in the most recent 30 days. Here are some resources to help keep students safe on gaming platforms, social media, texting apps, and any other electronic platform:
Bullying & Students With DisabilitiesThe following resources are geared toward the families of children with disabilities. Among the resources, you'll find information about specific protections under federal law, which guarantee that students with disabilities have the legal right to a free appropriate public education. If a student with a disability is being bullied, federal law requires schools to take immediate and appropriate action to investigate the issue and, as necessary, take steps to stop the bullying and prevent it from recurring.
-- Tips on how students can self-advocate to address bullying -- PACER’s Peer Advocacy Model, which addresses bullying of students with disabilities by engaging, educating, and empowering their peers with advocacy skills. How to Report BullyingIf your child has been the victim of bullying, report the incidents to the appropriate authorities as soon as possible, using the methods below. (If there is an emergency or if a crime is in progress, call 911.)
– The bully has issued threats of violence – The bully has sent sexually explicit images or pornography – The bullying has engaged in online harassment or stalking – The bullying includes anything that constitutes a hate crime – Electronic communications are used to cause a minor physical or emotional distress, including inducing a minor to commit suicide. (Grace's Law in Maryland) MCPS Procedures for Handling Reports of BullyingThe Investigation | Consequences| Interventions and Support Services When a formal report of bullying is filed with MCPS, it triggers an investigation, possible consequences, as well follow-ups and supports. The InvestigationMontgomery County Board Policy JHF specifies that after a Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Report Form (MCPS Form 230-25) is filed with an MCPS school:
MCPS Regulation JHF-RA specifies that these conferences should occur within two weeks after the investigation and that another follow-up conference or conversation will be held with the targeted student four weeks after the initial follow-up conference to determine if the bullying, harassment, or intimidation has ceased. Should the act of bullying, harassment, or intimidation necessitate police assistance, timelines and community notification procedures may need to be adjusted to accommodate police investigation. Consequences and Remedial Actions
Interventions and Support ServicesMCPS offers a number of interventions and support services to students who were bullied and to bystanders, as well as to students who are alleged to have bullied others. Items mentioned in Montgomery County Board Policy JHF include:
In some cases, MCPS will work with the student and family to develop a Supportive Measures Plan, outlining specific supports, such as:
How to Address Bullying in an IEPIEP Suggestions | Related Resources If their child is being bullied, parents have the right to request an IEP or 504 Plan team meeting. At the meeting, you can advocate for changes to the IEP or 504 Plan to thwart bullying and help your student develop protective skills. As a starting point, work together with the team to determine what may be making the student vulnerable to being bullied. For example, is it the child’s inability to read social cues, inability to respond effectively, or inability to self-advocate? To be clear, it's not the student's fault for being bullied, but by identifying specific issues, the IEP team can develop goals and objectives to strengthen those areas. Be sure to also ask about aids, services, and supports that can help the student work toward their goals as well as establish safety measures. Specific examples of ways to address bullying in the different sections of an IEP include: Measurable annual goals and objectivesThe student will:
Supplementary aids and services
Related services to help student who has experienced bullying, harassment
Counseling services
Programmatic supports and modifications
Related Resources
Montgomery County & Maryland ResourcesMCPS Resources
Maryland Resources
xMinds & AUSOM Anti-Bullying WebinarsComing Soon! |
Evidence-Based School Prevention Programs
- Al's Pals — Making Healthy Choices. Al’s Pals is a social–emotional learning curriculum designed for the specific needs of preschool children. It focuses on helping young children make healthy decisions, resolve conflicts, manage their feelings, and build positive relationships. Includes original songs that reinforce lessons and core concepts and puppets and puppet scripts to engage preschool children. Audience: preschool, kindergarten, 1st grade
- Botvin Lifeskills Training. Offers a range of materials (videos, teacher's guides, activity cards, student handouts) to help students learn how to prevent bullying, what to do if they are bullied, and what to do if they are a bystander to a bullying incident. Audience: K – 12
- Bully-Proofing Your School (BPYS) is a comprehensive, school-based intervention designed to reduce bullying and school violence, and increase knowledge about school safety for students and parents. BPYS is implemented in a classroom setting and includes three major components: 1) heightening awareness of bullying; 2) teaching protective skills for handling bullying, resisting victimization, and helping potential victims; and 3) creating a positive school climate by promoting a “caring majority” that focuses on bystander behavior. Audience: grades 3 – 5.
- Center for Violence Prevention (CVP) at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. CVP partners with the School District of Philadelphia and Maryland's Anne Arundel County Public Schools to provide bullying prevention programs. Programs include Preventing Aggression in Schools Everyday (PRAISE), which offers a 20 session classroom-based bullying prevention program to 3rd – 5th grade students that teaches problem-solving, perspective taking, and how to be a positive bystander. Audience: Elementary school
- Safe School Ambassadors® Program focuses on developing student leaders who can help prevent and stop bullying. Selected students participate in a two-day interactive training along with several adults who serve as program mentors. The training gives student Ambassadors the skills and tools to resolve conflicts, defuse incidents, and support isolated and excluded students. After the training, small group meetings of Ambassadors are held every few weeks. The Safe School Buddies Program is available for younger students, grades 1 – 3. It prepares younger students to become upstanders and to become Safe School Ambassadors when they enter fourth grade.
- Olweus Bullying Prevention Program has over forty years of research and successful implementation in schools all over the world. OBPP is a comprehensive, sustainable, systems change, whole-school program that focuses on changing the school climate through school, classroom, and individual levels and includes methods to reach out to parents, after-school programs, and the community for involvement and support. Audience: ages 5 – 15
- PeaceBuilders is a science-based, research-validated violence prevention curriculum and professional development program for grades pre-K to 12. Its essence is a common language - six principles, taught, modeled and practiced. These same principles set behavioral expectations, reduce aggression, and transform the climate and culture of any environment to one which is cooperative, productive, and academically successful. Audience: preschool, elementary, middle/high school
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Peer Advocacy is a bullying prevention model geared toward helping students with disabilities. A peer advocate program creates a formal process that identifies, trains, and supports a designated group of students who watch out for students with disabilities. This model is promoted by PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center.
- Stop Bullying Now, a project of the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC), provides training for educators and parents, as well as programs for students, including assemblies, curricula, and peer leadership training. Audience: K – 12
- KiVa is an antibullying program that has been developed in the University of Turku, Finland, with funding from the Ministry of Education and Culture. Audience: elementary, middle school
Please note that inclusion of any organizations, services, products, or classes on this page does not constitute an endorsement by xMinds. This content is general in nature and should not be considered as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. We welcome recommendations of additional resources. The reader of this information assumes the sole responsibility of evaluating the merits and risks associated with the use of any information before making any decisions based on such information.