I seem to come across the same thing every new term at school where my daughter is verbally abused by a child (who is much younger)…… Whether being dyslexic does make my daugther more sensitive I do not know but it always to be the same child saying you cannot play with us or only unless you do this!! I shall be going back into the school yet again (2nd year in a row to complain yet again!!)….. My daugther gets very frustrated why one minute they want her to play and then go away and calling her names like stupid….. and other names. I have now told her to say “you are what you say” meaning if they call her fat (which she isn’t she is very slim!! - the other child is definitely now slim!)… trying to tell my daughter to keep away from the child is very hard over and over again we have been through this! All the teachers say is play with someone else (and the dinner ladies at school in the lunch time break!). Amy likes playing with the other 2 girls but not this child and that leaves Amy alone and trying to find someone else!! She has been pushed over in the mud this week and pushed into a wire fence…… I will await until after the Easter holidays and see. Amy is not the only child to get bullied by this girl so it is noted but it was with a boy this time (and a friend of mines son) the school didn’t seem to do anything as well!!!
HELP!
Any idea????? I am desperate with this one. Thanks.
Janis
Re: social skills of a 9 year old with dyslexia and dyscalcu
Sara,
Thank you for your points which I will take up with my daugther and the school. The only problem is that all the teachers seem to think that Sophie (the bully) is such a nice child and she is actually very crafty and does it to my daugther without getting caught. The last time I mentioned this they said “oh no Sophie is not like that and put a lot of the blame to my daughter”…… perhaps I may be going about this the wrong way!! anyway I will keep an eye on your points and take account of the matters. Many thanks
janis
Are there other children out at recess that she likes? Are there other children in her class or other classes that she would be interested in being friends with? Or do you of other children in her grade who might be good playmates?
I’d suggest trying to cultivate other friendships. Even trying to cultivate friendships with the “other 2” after school and on weekends. Inviting the other two (separately) over to the house to play and inviting other children from her class as well.
School friendships can not only be fostered at home, they can be built at home. Sometimes it takes an active campaign to build a network of friendships for a child in school.
As to the physical bullying, I just don’t get it when schools don’t do anything. The child who pushes another hard enough so that someone ends up on the ground or in a fence needs to be counseled. The child bully is a sadly common thing and schools should work to address the needs of this situation. A guidance counselor should be working with the bully and teachers should be keeping an eye out for these things to speak sternly and reprovingly to the bully. Playgrounds and recess shouldn’t be a free-for-all.
Schools can’t accomplish miracles but they can take some action. Rather than complaining, perhaps you could outright ask… what is your policy on this? How do you handle these situations? They ought to have an answer to that.