By Daniel Gottlieb, Author of Letters to Sam
Dear Sam,
Because of your autism and because you are very small, you are at high risk of being bullied. My guess is that you're going to meet up with bullies at school. You're also going to meet them later on. Learning to deal with them now will help you then.
There are things I want to tell you about recognizing bullies. But the most important thing is that dealing with bullying at this stage is something you and your parents need to do together. So this letter is for your mom and dad as well as you.
You first.
It might help you to know a little bit about the kids who do the bullying. People who feel good about themselves and their lives don't try to dominate other people the way bullies do. Psychologists say that it's hurt people who are most likely to try hurting others, and I certainly think that's true with bullies. When they try to push other people around, they are really trying to make themselves feel more secure. Of course that doesn't work. But they keep pushing -- harder and harder.
When you encounter one, I'll bet your first reaction will be fear. Then you will either feel ashamed of yourself or get angry. But when you're dealing with a bully, fighting back rarely helps and often makes things worse.
