Adolescents with autism spectrum disorder at risk for bullying

A new study suggests an estimated 46.3 percent of adolescents with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were the victims of bullying. The study originated at the Brown School and is part of a pioneering program of research on adolescents and adults with autism led by Paul T. Shattuck, PhD, assistant professor. Lead author Paul Sterzing, PhD, assistant professor at the School of Social Welfare of the University of California, Berkeley, completed this study when he was a student at the Brown School.

Schools need to focus on bullying ‘hotspots,’ not just the bullies

In the battle against bullying, school officials and parents usually focus on the behavior of the bully, but to get to the root of the problem, they also must look at the physical structure of the school, says Ronald O. Pitner, Ph.D., school violence expert and assistant professor of social work at Washington University in St. Louis. More…