New research reveals the serious extent to which girls with autism are victimised at school.
The study found that up to 71 per cent of girls with autism – almost three in four – had become victims. They were subjected to sexual and physical assaults, verbal bullying, social exclusion and attacks on their property.
Campaign group Yellow Ladybugs, which fights for the rights of autistic women and girls, carried out the research in Australia. However, its findings are significant for countries such as the UK, where there should be an equivalent study. The UK’s Anti-Bullying Alliance pressure group says that studies in 2012 estimated that between 40 per cent and 82 per cent of both sexes with autism had been bullied at school.
Campaigner: Monique Blakemore helped to submit the findings on the bullying of girls with autism to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Huge challenges
Yellow Ladybugs said that just 20 per cent of girls have access to an autistic female peer group. This was despite them having to face huge challenges.
The research found more than half of girls (51 per cent) had no early intervention. Nearly as many (48 per cent) had gone through repeated re-assessments in order to find professionals who understood how girls present with autism.
Figures show that professionals are four or five times more likely to give an autism diagnosis to boys.
Katie Koulas, the founder of Yellow Ladybugs, and Monique Blakemore, who works as an advisor for the group, submitted the research to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in October.
Girls have a low-level sense of belonging
The conclusion to their research reads: “Autistic girls have a low-level sense of belonging, where bullying is their normal experience and accessing the community and health services leaves them ‘coping and managing’ or completely overwhelmed. Their voices are silenced in mutism, meltdowns and shutdowns.”
Yellow Ladybugs said the repeated re-assessments, leading to late diagnoses, were due to several factors. The causes included a lack of professional training and delays in observing child development progress.
Up to 18 per cent of parents had been unable to access education for their daughter. This was due to schools suspending, excluding or sending them home.
Yellow Ladybugs said that nearly half (48 per cent) of the girls had suffered from verbal abuse. Some 20 per cent had been physically abused, while 12 per cent had their property damaged. Classmates had socially excluded more than half (52 per cent) of them. The research also refers to sexual abuse in school, with some having been touched inappropriately by boys.
The study was based on responses from 1,974 autistic girls and their parents.
Published: 21 December 2016
