Students with special needs, such as hemophilia and other bleeding disorders, are at a higher risk of being bullied. Kids with hemophilia may become a target when they use crutches, are limited to certain activities during recess/gym classes, have a visible PICC line/port, or miss several days of school due to bleeding episodes. But how exactly is bullying defined?
Stopbullying.org defines bullying as “unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children. It involves a real or perceived power imbalance and the behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time.”
The key takeaways are about the power a bully has (or he/she thinks they have over a victim or that the victim feels the bully has over them) and that it is a repeated (or could be repeated) behavior.
In 2006, the PACER National Center for Bullying Prevention founded National Bullying Prevention Month. Since then, schools and communities have spent each October raising awareness and education around bullying prevention. HFA has compiled this toolkit existing of the following:
- presentations (past webinars and slides)
- downloads (articles, blog entries, tools/documents)
- links to other resources
DOWNLOADS |
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HFA Community Voices: “Bullying: A Serious Problem for Kids with a Chronic Illness”: This article was published on the Hemophilia Federation of America’s website in October 2014. View now>>> |
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HFA Moms Blog: “Infusing Love”: “The Bullies Won the Battle; Not the War”: This blog entry was written in October 2013 by Infusing Love: A Mom’s View blogger, Cazandra MacDonald. It discusses the bullying her son experienced and the toll it took on their family. View now>>> |
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“Bullying and Harassment of Students with Disabilities”: This document comes from PACER and explores the top 10 facts parents, educators and students need to know about bullying and students with disabilities. View now>>> |
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“Bullying and Children and Youth with Disabilities and Special Health Needs”: This document comes from the United States Health and Human Services website, Stopbullying.gov and addresses bullying specifically concerning student with special health needs View now>>> |
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Heads Up: Stop, Click, Think from OnGuardOnline.gov: Cyberbullying is a growing trend in bullying. The document below is a great discussion piece to the Federal Trade Commission’s OnGuardOnline.gov video. Use these links and document to empower yourself as parents to discuss the issue of cyberbullying with your children. View now>>> |
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Montana State University Bullying: A Guide for Parents: This comprehensive guide from Montana State University offers a detailed explanation of what bullying is, how parents can talk to their children and tips for handling bullying when it happens to you…or if your child is the bully. View now>>> |
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American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry Bullying Resource Center: This website has a comprehensive listing of resources regarding bullying. |
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From PACER: Peer Advocacy: A Unique Bullying Prevention Model for Students with Disabilities: The PACER Center (Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights) is to expand opportunities and enhance the quality of life of children and young adults with disabilities and their families, based on the concept of parents helping parents. PACER created National Bullying Prevention Week in 2006 with a one-week event which has now evolved into a month-long effort that encourages everyone to take an active role in the bullying prevention movement. |
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Stopbullying.com, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services: This site provides information from various government agencies on what bullying is, what cyberbullying is, who is at risk, and how you can prevent and respond to bullying. |
Learning Central
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HFA’s Learning Central: One of the ways you can learn about bleeding disorders is to educate yourself with medically-vetted, accurate information, like the educational information found in HFA’s Learning Central e-learning platform. You may learn something new or brush up on facts or gain the information you need to help educate others about bleeding disorders. |
