
Bullying is a typical factor our college students face. We are able to train about it in speech remedy.
Why Communication Challenges Make College students Extra Susceptible to Bullying
If it seems like the scholars in your caseload usually tend to get picked on, the analysis backs you up. Research constantly present that kids with communication variations are at greater threat for peer victimization — and this has large implications for a way we help them.
- Language Delays = Social Danger: Youngsters with Developmental Language Dysfunction (DLD) or Particular Language Impairment (SLI) usually tend to expertise peer victimization and social isolation than their sometimes growing friends (Rathiram et al., 2022; Martin et al., 2021). When children battle to specific themselves or perceive social cues, they will develop into simple targets — and will have bother telling somebody what occurred.
- Autistic College students Face Heightened Danger: Analysis exhibits that autistic college students face a considerably larger probability of being bullied in comparison with neurotypical classmates. These with extra social communication challenges might not acknowledge bullying habits within the second or might battle to report it (Wang & Susumu, 2024).
- Fluency Issues Too: Youngsters who stutter should not solely extra more likely to be bullied but in addition in danger for being rejected or not noted socially (Davis et al., 2002). This makes it vital for us to assist them construct self-advocacy scripts and apply methods to confidently navigate tough peer interactions.
Why This Issues for Us as SLPs
All of this analysis reminds us that communication abilities aren’t nearly lecturers — they’re about security, connection, and resilience. By explicitly instructing college students establish bullying, communicate up for themselves, and search assist, we give them instruments that shield their emotional well-being and set them up for achievement past the remedy room.
Utilizing Movies To Train About Bulling
- What’s Bullying? for Youngsters:
2. Modeling Confidence & Bullying Prevention: This exhibits video modeling of confidence, self-advocacy behaviors and reply. Good concrete fashions.
Utilizing this video in speech:
• Pause after every mannequin and ask college students: What did you see? How did they use their voice/physique?
• Copy the habits: college students attempt to imitate posture, tone, wording.
• Use as rehearsal earlier than role-play: watch‐model-then apply. Nice for college kids who profit from seeing earlier than doing.
3. Actual Youngsters Discuss About Navigating Bullying: Youngsters sharing actual experiences. Empathy constructing + exhibits a wide range of responses.
Utilizing in speech:
• Use for inference, perspective taking: how did the children really feel, why did they reply a sure method?
• Examine completely different responses: which appeared efficient and why.
• Have college students role-play being one of many children and select a “subsequent finest step.”
Movies to Train Self-Advocacy Abilities
- Self Advocacy – Social Emotional Lesson: Particularly for particular training / social emotional studying: exhibits what self-advocacy can appear to be, together with stopping somebody from bullying you.
• Use sections as instructing moments — cease the video when examples come as much as focus on alternative of response.
• Immediate college students to consider alternate responses (scaffolding: verbal, AAC, gestures).
• Create a visible/self-advocacy guidelines primarily based on issues proven within the video (tone, physique posture, phrases).
2. Shield Your self Guidelines: Offers “guidelines” / methods for safeguarding oneself. Good structured steps.
• Train the foundations, then have college students design a “shield your self” poster with illustrations.
• Use pupil era: “What rule might you employ if ___ occurs?”
• For college kids with restricted language: use visuals + easy sentence frames.
3. Advocacy and Self-Advocacy: Actual-life examples / tales of self advocacy in bullying conditions; much less summary.
Bullying is a tricky subject, however the analysis is evident — our college students with communication challenges are at larger threat, they usually want us to assist them discover their voice. The excellent news? You don’t should reinvent the wheel. By utilizing participating instruments like YouTube clips, interactive video games, and role-play actions, you can also make self-advocacy apply a pure (and even enjoyable!) a part of your classes.
Keep in mind: each time you train a pupil to say “Cease,” use a powerful voice, or inform a trusted grownup, you’re giving them abilities that construct confidence, security, and resilience far past the speech room.
💡 Need a ready-to-go solution to get began?
Try my Self-Advocacy Resource inside my SLP Elevate membership — it’s full of scripts, visuals, and apply actions you should utilize tomorrow to empower your college students to talk up for themselves.


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