Reply #5: I can only imagine what these kids endure...

[CoffeeCat]

...and I try to raise my two girls (ages 8 and 9) to understand that all human beings deserve respect and kindness.

I really like that my children's school mainstreams the children with mental and physical disabilities. There are
two kids in wheelchairs in my third-graders class. They have developmental and physical disabilities. This has
sparked some discussions at the dinner table about people with disabilities. How they are different, but also
how they are all human beings deserving of compassion and respect.

I imagine kids with autism are bullied. My two girls are very shy--and they've been bullied. It's one of the most
difficult things for me to deal with as a parent, mainly because the school does nothing.

When my daughter was in kindergarten, she was bullied by a little girl who had severe emotional problems. I suspect
that she was being abused. The principal told me that my child needed to be more assertive. I tried to help for
the few months that this went on. My child would come home with bite marks on her forehead. She was afraid to go to
school. The principal continued to treat it as a personality conflict between two friends. Very disheartening.

I hope our society, and our schools, make an effort to understand autism--and also to combat the bullying that these
kids, and other kids, endure.