Fear often leads to exclusion and derision, experts say.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(TIME.com) — A new study finds that children with autism spectrum disorders are bullied far more often than their typically developing peers nearly five times as often but parents of autistic kids think the rate is even higher than that.

In the study, about 46% of autistic children in middle and high school told their parents they were victimized at school within the previous year, compared with just over 10% of children in the general population.

Calling it a “profound public health problem,” lead author Paul Sterzing of Washington University in St. Louis told the New York Times that the “rate of bullying and victimization among these adolescents is alarmingly high.”

Many people with autism have trouble recognizing social cues, which makes them awkward around others. They also often engage in repetitive behaviors and tend to be hypersensitive to environmental stimuli, all of which makes kids with the disorder ripe targets for bullies who home in on difference and enjoy aggravating their victims.

About a third of autism cases are severely disabling those affected may suffer from low IQ and be unable to talk but most autistic people have average or high intelligence and many can function well, if their social and sensory issues are appropriately addressed.

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That may help explain why the highest functioning children in the current study were at greatest risk of being bullied. While their social awkwardness was more obvious because they actually interacted more with mainstream peers, this made their actual disability less visible, likely making their condition harder for their peers to understand.

Children with autism who could speak well, for example, were three times more likely to be bullied than those whose conversational ability was limited or absent.

Read more:
Why bullies target kids with autism

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