By Eliz Coleman Dowdy, Staff Writer

The Precinct Reporter joined a national conference call recently detailing the spreading epidemic of bullying against special needs children. The subject has moved to the front burner recently because of children who were so traumatized by the ostracism they received that for them suicide was the answer.

Bringing media representatives together to interact with those on the front lines fighting for zero tolerance for those children who bear a greater burden of rejection, name-calling and acts of violence perpetrated against the special needs children. Hosting the call was Sheryl Young, CEO, Community Gatepath, an organization assisting parents and forming a network of resources to help them navigate the arduous path for equality for their children. Panel participants were actress Lauren Potter from the television show “Glee,” and her mother, Robin Sinkhorn. Twenty-year-old Lauren is a native of the Inland Empire; she grew up in Riverside, and graduated from Poly High School; she has Downs Syndrome. On the show she portrays Becky Johnson, a cheerleader who has Downs Syndrome. However, life has not always been kind to Lauren. She shared some of the mean acts she endured growing up as she stepped back into real life, remembering the inhumane acts of other children.

She shared a rather painful incident where her MySpace page was plastered with name-calling, using the “R” word (retarded) complete with descriptive posters. Her mother Robin was the first to see it and tried to shield it from her daughter. However, Lauren’s supporters flooded the page with positive comments that lifted her spirits.

Participating in the conference were Timothy Shriver, Chairman and CEO, Special Olympics, the organization founded by his mother to showcase the accomplishments of special needs individuals; Anthony Shriver, founder and Chairman, Best Buddies International; Congresswoman Jackie Speier, U.S. House of Representatives (CA-D12), and Tom Torlakson, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction. The three organizations, Special Olympics, Best Buddies, and Abilitypath.org, an arm of Community Gatepath, are in the process of launching a nationwide campaign, “Disabling Bullying.” It will engage a broad coalition of parents, educators, activists and policymakers to disable the practice that has escalated in recent years.

A report released by the Journal of Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology documents children with special needs, or a disability ten times more likely to be bullied than the typical “normal” student. Timothy Shriver stated this silent epidemic is spreading because no one considers it a problem. We have to awaken the public to the fact that many adults feel children with special needs should not attend their children’s schools. The children are acting out what they see and hear many times. As children, many adults were victims of bullying; they dealt with it, and feel that children today need to learn to deal with those problems, attributing it to “that’s the way life is, get over it”! The act of bullying today has escalated to a new level that includes cyber bullying, with other children gathering around the victim and taping the abuse--physical and verbal--and putting it on You Tube.

Congresswoman Speier thanked Sheryl for bringing the information into the public’s conscience, stating she was also pleased to hear Lauren and Robin going public with some of the atrocities that Lauren has endured before she became a featured co-star on the popular television show. The Congresswoman added that this is a wake up call to parents, educators, and the community in general that bullying, including special needs children, will not be tolerated. The problem needs to be addressed at the earliest age, 90% of children are lookers-on and do not intervene. She assured the participants that funding set aside to deal with bullying will also include children with special needs.

Congresswoman Speier joined the call from the floor of the House; she had to leave early because an important vote was advancing on the floor.

There has been a rash of incidents involving teachers and how they relate to children with special needs, especially children dealing with autism. Tom Torlakson thanked the team, and stated that bullying is a top priority for all California school administrators to stop the bullying process. We must establish a zero tolerance for bullying; all school personnel should be trained to stop bullying when they see it happening, he said.

Anthony Shriver stated his organization is working with middle and high school students interacting with special needs students, stating, “I think when people see the interaction they will drop some of their pre-conceived prejudices against those considered different. We need more special needs children out in the communities and in the schools.”

During the question/answer segment, the first question dealt with in-house training for teachers. Superintendent Torlakson answered that the focus has not been on the front burner where bullying of special needs children is concerned. Another question asked was why the problem has continued this long? The answer was that when adults don’t get it, the children don’t either. Public policy has made it acceptable to segregate. We have allowed society to minimalize this issue. Many of these children have not been main-streamed before because of the fears of non-acceptance and violent acts. The Precinct Reporter’s question was: At what point should parents consider filing a lawsuit against non-responsive school districts that do not take appropriate action to defuse the bullying process?

It was an area no one wanted to deal with, but one I believed was absolutely pertinent. The answers were: That is certainly an option when the system is totally unresponsive, however parents should explore other options first. If the teacher/local school administrator is lax in dealing with the issue, then parents should bring the issue to the board of trustees. If there is no change in the policies and their children are still afraid of going to school, then surely legal redress is an option. The legal issue revolves around the idea of when does teasing cross the line and become bullying; that some patience is required. However, if the school district is continuing to turn a deaf ear to the problem there is an 800 number at the Department of Education. It is 1-800-926-0648. There, parents can file complaints against lax policies that they are continuing to deal with in addition to trying to make sure their children are learning life skills.

This campaign is for all children, not just those with special needs; it includes mental illness, those on medication for attention deficit disorder; those whose linguistic skills may not have developed adequately and are fearful of speaking out in the classroom. All teachers must have sensitivity training to deal with all the special needs children that come into their classroom.

Lauren Potter will be making more public appearances to demonstrate the fact that just because some people have certain challenges that does not mean they are less than human, to be mistreated by those who consider themselves perfect specimens of humanity. The strong are to provide protection for the weak; not join the culture gangs meant to destroy their prestige, confidence, and devalue their humanity.