To be bullied or not to be bullied – is that the question? Many Adder children suffer from being bullied and as it turns out a high percentage of bullies have ADHD. This might seem confusing, but if I take a moment to think about it, no, I guess it is not that confusing. Adders have trouble in school with both the standard educational side and the social side. I bet the inattentive adders are probably more likely to be bullied and the hyperactive types are more likely to be bullies. However, it could probably go either way, but inattentive’s usually try to stay out of the way and in the background when possible.
Because Adders stand out, even if they don’t want to, they could become targets of many forms of bullying and may decide to lash back under the frustration. It’s not easy being a kid and it is almost impossible to protect a child from hurtful things other kids say. For Adder children hurtful things get said to them more than to kids without ADD ADHD or another learning disorder. For many this leads to depression, low self-esteem, and worse. I think it is very important to understand and recognize this as a problem. We seem so shocked when there is violence in school and in some cases the violence is deadly.
Parents who have close contact and understanding for their child are setting up a good defense. It is very important that a child can speak openly to his or her parents and for parents to understand as much as they can about their child, the way he or she thinks and have extensive knowledge about ADD ADHD. In today’s world when both the mother and father usually work, it is much harder to give children the quality time they need and yet it is no less important. For single parents it is even that much more difficult.
I have collected links concerning this subject for you:
http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/1595.html
http://www.aspeneducation.com/Article-ADHD-bullying.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070517100417.htm
~Bryan
