Bullying among adolescents with autism spectrum disorders: prevalence and perception.
Teens with autism in special-ed schools often misread peer intent: high victim history plus poor mind-reading makes them call harmless acts ‘bullying’ and overlook actual bullying.
01Research in Context
What this study did
van Roekel et al. (2010) asked teens with autism in special-ed schools about bullying.
They also tested how well the teens could read others’ thoughts and feelings.
The goal was to see if frequent victimization or poor mind-reading changed how kids labeled bullying.
What they found
Many students said they were bullied, but they often got the story wrong.
Kids who were picked on a lot and who scored low on mind-reading called friendly acts ‘bullying’ and missed real bullying.
In short, being a frequent target plus weak social radar muddled their view of peer events.
How this fits with other research
Hodgins et al. (2020) later showed the same thing with videos: teen boys with autism understood bullying scenes less accurately than typical peers.
Maïano et al. (2016) pooled many studies and found youth with intellectual disability, including autism, face high victim rates, so the risk is real, not imagined.
Begeer et al. (2016) looked at both special and mainstream schools and saw no overall difference in bullying rates, hinting that setting alone does not explain the misperception Eeske found.
Together the papers say: these students truly are targeted, yet their own lens can still distort what they see.
Why it matters
If a student with autism reports bullying, first check the facts. Watch the interaction, talk to peers and staff, and teach the student to spot true bullying cues. Add mind-reading lessons to your social-skills plan so labels match reality and real harm is not missed.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study examined: (a) the prevalence of bullying and victimization among adolescents with ASD, (b) whether they correctly perceived bullying and victimization, and (c) whether Theory of Mind (ToM) and bullying involvement were related to this perception. Data were collected among 230 adolescents with ASD attending special education schools. We found prevalence rates of bullying and victimization between 6 and 46%, with teachers reporting significantly higher rates than peers. Furthermore, adolescents who scored high on teacher- and self-reported victimization were more likely to misinterpret non-bullying situations as bullying. The more often adolescents bullied, according to teachers and peers, and the less developed their ToM, the more they misinterpreted bullying situations as non-bullying. Implications for clinical practice are discussed.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2010 · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9604.1992.tb00445.x