CAIRNS - DEALING WITH BULLYING AND BUILDING RESILIENCE

Bullying causes considerable distress to the individual being bullied, his or her family, the school community and the person who is engaging in bullying. Early intervention has been advocated to combat the effects of bullying as targeted interventions can build resilience (the ability to cope with adversity) and social competence (the ability to adapt socially) in the individual being bullied, the person who is identified as engaging in bullying and in the school community. For a student with ASD, resilience and social competence are major areas of difficulty because these areas rely on social and emotional skills and behaviours that students with ASD have trouble learning. Therefore, we need to be “smart” about giving these students the “smarts” when it comes to breaking the cycle of bullying. This workshop will take a community approach to bullying and resilience, focusing on developing resilience and social competence for the individual who has been ‘bullied’, the person engaging in bullying and the school community as a whole. Practical strategies will also be given to enable bullying to be dealt with effectively when it does occur.

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