More than half of children with special needs have been called names at school and more than 40 percent have been bullied, a poll released yesterday by the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families (TCTF) showed.
The poll found that more than 30 percent of children and teens said they felt that children with special needs were a bother for others, while about 47 percent of children and teens said they were reluctant to be paired with children with special needs for activities.
About 51 percent of children with special needs had been given offensive nicknames, while 46 percent had been bullied, the poll found.
Photo: Chen Chia-yi, Taipei Times
The survey showed that 92 percent of children and teens consider their views toward children with special needs to be heavily influenced by their parents, highlighting the importance of home education, the TCTF said.
The results show that despite two decades of inclusive education, discrimination still exists, it said.
One of the children interviewed for the poll said she was hurt by verbal bullying and discrimination by her classmates.
The abuse started in elementary school and lasted until high school, when a teacher helped open communication channels with her classmates, they said.
They suggested that children with special needs look to those by their side for help and companionship, saying: “Opening up to others is a perfect way” to gain acceptance.
The K-12 Education Administration’s Teenager Counseling Committee student representative Wen Ying-zuo (聞英佐), who is a high-school student, shared his experiences interacting with children with special needs.
Teachers usually tried to help students understand a special needs classmate’s life story and the obstacles they had to overcome, Wen said, adding that students who were moved by the story would be empathetic toward people with special needs and work on how to interact with them.
Wen said teachers tried to kindle empathy, not pity, as pity would not help create a friendly interaction.
Kao Shan-feng (高山峰), parent of a child with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, said parents need to collaborate with teachers to help facilitate a more accepting environment for their children.
“We cannot passively rely on other people’s understanding or expect that others will respect our children,” Kao said, adding that some efforts must be made to teach children how to express themselves and make themselves more approachable.
TCTF chief executive officer Chou Ta-yao (周大堯) said understanding and acceptance are needed to create a friendly society with no discrimination, adding that parents must take point and set an example for their children on how to treat children with special needs.
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