End Bullying With Compassion

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Students with ADHD are more likely to bully others.  In fact, they are four times as likely to do so. The ongoing question is: How do they interact with peers? The feeling is that it arises when you are confronted with another’s suffering.  ADHD characteristics pose huge problems. Almost 30% are involved in aggression. Fortunately, there are techniques to help people with ADHD to feel motivated to stop…Compassion. 

Compassion is the ability to feel for another living being. The sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings and misfortunes others can reduce aggression. This results in suffering together. 

Schools 

• Develop programs that address both the bullies and the bullied.
• Help bullied kids with social skills. 
• Help bullies to find each other. 

Parents  

• Enlist in using outside services. 
• Avoid the blame game (seek compassion).
• Lead team formation (school lacks authority).

Parents of students with ADHD often see themselves in adversarial roles with schools. Bullying often escalates the situation.  Aggressive rules and black-and-white policies make it difficult to improve the student’s behavior. Being “shown the door” as monsters return situations and challenges that come in the future.

Just like IEPs and 504 Plans, building a team is key. Parents should take a lead role. They have the authority to seek outside professionals. From there, seek school authorities. 

The collaborative group should build a safe school environment.  Create a community-wide bullying prevention strategy. Working together, the team can enforce rules. 

Independence 

Teens and young adults with ADHD should be responsible for ending the bullying cycle. Compassion is one part of the solution. The first step is to identify the meaning of compassion and how to integrate the skills to reduce bullying. Feeling that arises when you are confronted with another’s suffering and feel motivated to receive that suffering. 

• Honesty 
• Kindness 
• Tenderness 
• Empathy 
• Inclination 

Students who bully need real-world examples to follow (role models). It is important to compare and contrast  processes and techniques. A critical step is to provide general concepts of emotional feedback and social skills. 

Compassion reflects a strong desire to alleviate the suffering of others.  Use a community to facilitate understanding. 

Is your child a bully or being bullied?