Prevention of absenteeism and school failure in students with ASD: Improving the transition from primary to secondary school

Studies speak of a 44% prevalence of bullying in students with ASD (Montes and Halterman, 2007), while in other studies it is said that 77% of the sample has been a victim (Cappadocia and Weiss, 2011).

Bullying and cyberbullying is somewhat difficult to handle for people with ASD due to the variety of behaviours that may be involved and the variables that affect those behaviours, which sometimes go unnoticed by boys and girls with ASD (such as it could be, the tone of voice, the context ...). Often people with ASD are not aware that they are being victimized (Dubin, 2007)

Autistic children and young people can be more at risk of being bullied than their peers because of the different ways they communicate and interact with others. Their peer group will often notice these differences more and more as they get older.  

It is also hard to read facial expressions and body language, and they cannot tell when someone is being friendly or if they are trying to hurt them. This means they may misunderstand the intentions of their peers. They can also be easy targets in the playground as they sometimes prefer to play alone. 

As a result, other children find it easy to pick on them as they do not have a support structure around them. Other children may also pick on them if they see them doing 'odd' things such as hand flapping or making inappropriate comments. 

Autistic children and young people can also display some bullying behaviours. They may become aggressive when a game is not being played the way they want and then try to control the situation. They may also become frustrated at being 'left out' in the playground and try to 'make' children become friends with them.