Today is national Unity Day and thousands of people will be wearing orange to show that they stand united against bullying. For CEA, this is a big topic. Bullying disproportionately affects families living with autism, 63% to 88% report bullying at some point in their child’s life, compared to 20% in the general population. The affect this has on our kids who already struggle with social issues can be devastating. And too often parents feel powerless when looking into the face of such stark statistics. So I was happy to see my son’s school embracing this day big time. All staff are wearing orange Unity Day shirts, and they were handing out orange ribbons to all the kids that entered the building this morning. It speaks directly to how addressing bullying depends completely on a climate and culture change that is global across the community.
We’ll be talking about this and practical things that parents living with autism can do to protect their child from bullying at any age with the community on Saturday, October 25. Join us!
