10 Practical Bullying & Autism Strategies For A Safer Learning Environment

Can you remember a time when you realized you were the target of someone’s joke? If you’re honest with yourself, you can think of at least one moment. The embarrassment, shame, or anger that followed likely taught you how to navigate similar situations in the future.

Reflecting on these moments helps explain why October is National Bullying Prevention Month. It’s also the perfect time to raise awareness and take meaningful action to ensure every child – especially those with autism – feels safe and supported at school.

The Reality Of Bullying For Autistic Students

Bullying often begins as early as elementary school and can worsen in middle and high school, making it a particularly painful and complex experience for children with autism.

Research from the National Survey of Children’s Health shows that autistic students who experience bullying are significantly more likely to develop anxiety or depression. Another serious problem here is that bullying is not always obvious.

Some children with autism are teased or confronted with physical aggression. Many other children face social exclusion, manipulation, or “jokes” at their expense. But because reading social cues and responding in expected ways can be difficult, children with autism may be more vulnerable and less likely to report what’s happening to a trusted adult.

The effects of bullying can have long-term effects. Beyond the immediate hurt, bullying can lead to:

• Increased anxiety
• Reluctance to go to school
• Lasting impacts on mental health

When learning environments like the Springtime School apply practical strategies rooted in compassion, awareness, and evidence-based practices, it’s easier to make learning safer and more supportive for students with autism.

1. Teach Social Skills & Peer Awareness Through Role-Playing

Research shows that role-playing and game-based interventions are effective in teaching children social skills. That’s why we have students rehearse social interactions in controlled settings. They are then able to practice responding to teasing, exclusion, or aggression.

At home, use role-playing to help your child learn how to stand up for themselves, seek help, or walk away.

2. Use Visual Supports & Social Stories

Social stories or visuals like pictures and cue cards help clarify:

• What bullying looks like
• Appropriate private versus public behavior
• How to respond to or report bullying

These supports make abstract social rules more concrete.

How To Use PECS To Communicate About Bullying

A Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) gives children with limited verbal skills a structured way to report bullying, express emotions, and ask for help by breaking down the issue into a few steps.

Identify the problem: Children can hand over cards that show “bully”, “mean words”, or “pushed me”. Custom visuals might include someone laughing, taking a toy, or blocking a path.

Express feelings: Cards for “sad”, “scared”, “angry”, or “hurt” allow children to share emotions and build simple sentences like “He hurt me and I’m sad” or “She yelled and I’m scared.”

Request help: Cards such as “help”, “teacher”, or “stop” signal a need for support. With sentence strips, children can expand to “I want help” or “Stop bully.”

Practice in advance: Role-playing with teachers or therapists helps children rehearse giving a “Stop” or “Help” card, preparing them for real situations.

Build self-advocacy: As skills grow, children can use cards like “I don’t like that” or “Leave me alone” to assert boundaries and advocate for themselves.

3. Incorporate Positive Reinforcement For Prosocial Behavior

When children with autism show kindness, include others, speak up, or avoid being bystanders, token economy systems can help reinforce these positive behaviors. You can reinforce wanted behaviors immediately through:

• Token rewards like stickers, points, or tokens that can be exchanged for a prize
• Verbal praise by saying something positive right after the behavior happens
• Access to fun activities that let them do something they enjoy as a reward
• Social attention like high-fives, hugs, smiles, or other positive attention
• Immediate feedback that acknowledges the behavior and guides them to repeat it

Over time, these tools make it more likely that positive behaviors will be repeated in the future.

4. Establish Clear Reporting & Safety Plans

It’s important to know that your child may not fully trust all of the adults in their lives, making it more difficult for them to communicate their needs. Instead, listen carefully to your child to help them identify the adults that they do trust to feel safe around.

Whether at school, childcare, or in after-school clubs, work with your child to create a plan of what to do if bullying happens. This should include where to go, who to tell, and scripts they can use for guidance.

Where to go: Go to the school counselor’s office, a trusted teacher, or a safe room

Who to tell: Teacher, school counselor, or after-school program supervisor

What to say:

• “I need help. Someone is being mean to me.”
• “Please stop. I don’t like that.”
• “I want to speak to my teacher now.”

This gives children a simple, step-by-step guide they can follow when they feel unsafe. Laminate a couple of cards with your child’s information and talk to the adults they trust to help you execute the plan.

5. Encourage Open Family Communication

It’s just as important to stop bullying behaviors at home among family members as it is to put an end to them in public with strangers. Because families play a central role in bullying prevention, it helps to:

• Calmly problem-solve with your child, even when they’re frustrated
• Educate siblings about bullying children with autism
• Encourage siblings to speak up for siblings and others who are being bullied
• Establish that teasing, name-calling, or hitting is never acceptable
• Model respectful communication by showing kindness, patience, and active listening in everyday interactions
• Praise positive behavior such as sharing, inclusion, and helping others
• Step in early when conflicts with siblings escalate to prevent repeated patterns

These conversations may not be easy to have, but they’re necessary.

6. Strengthen Home-School Partnerships With Specialized Programs

There are simply not enough trained educators to adequately teach every child with autism. However, choosing a facility like the Springtime School provides highly specialized, hands-on programs that are far more effective and engaging than standard alternatives.

When students receive one-to-one support like they do at our Springtime School, it allows experts to focus on their individual strengths, challenges, and goals. This personalized approach makes every lesson and activity meaningful and tailored to each student’s learning style. By combining individualized instruction with consistent collaboration between home and school, families can feel confident that their child is supported and understood in every environment.

When schools take practical steps to recognize and address bullying among all students, they create a supportive learning environment that reaches beyond these specialized programs. You can help by encouraging schools to provide basic guidance and resources about autism traits so staff can recognize potential bullying. This helps to promote policies that include protections for neurodiverse students while providing simple strategies for response when incidents occur, even if full training is not possible.

7. Monitor The Digital World

Your child depends on you to teach them how to use the Internet responsibly. Leaving them alone for too long can expose them to cyberbullying. One study revealed that 15% of children with autism have experienced cyberbullying. Whether through gaming chats, text messages, or social media, cyberbullying can be deeply harmful and harder to escape. Help your child navigate the digital world and:

• Teach digital literacy and safe online boundaries with clear examples and visual supports
• Encourage open communication and regular check-ins about online experiences
• Use parental controls and supervised access while teaching self-advocacy skills

Bullying doesn’t stop at the classroom door. In addition to monitoring your child’s digital world, open up the conversation about cyberbullying to address any challenges together.

8. Use Behavioral Interventions During Unstructured Times

Recess, lunch, and similar transitions are high-risk periods for bullying. However, it’s also a good time for your child to practice buddy systems and structured or group play to help them navigate real-world interactions with other students.

Teachers and aides can provide gentle guidance during these times to model the desired social behavior. Repeated practice in these settings helps your child build confidence and social problem-solving skills that carry over into the classroom and elsewhere.

9. Brush Up On Anti-Bullying Policies

Your child should see that unkind behavior is addressed every time. But first, gain clarity  on the policies at your child’s school or daycare that address and prevent bullying, including plans to:

• Report and document all bullying incidents right away
• Respond immediately using a calm, supportive approach
• Meet with students involved to discuss what happened and repair relationships
• Use restorative practices to teach accountability and empathy
• Inform and involve families in follow-up plans
• Review incidents regularly to improve prevention and ensure safety

Use this anti-bullying checklist to confirm policies that don’t solely focus on punishment, but help rebuild trust and teach accountability through rules paired with restorative practices.

10. Build Community Connections

Nonprofit organizations often host workshops and training to strengthen local support networks for autistic children and adults. Community events like Potential’s car show or Trunk-or-Treat event, however, have the unique power to foster awareness and connection through family-friendly activities that welcome the entire community.

READ RELATED BLOG: How To Help Your Child Embrace Halloween

The Lasting Impact Of Prevention

We can reduce bullying with thoughtful preparation and collaboration. For more guidance, resources, or strategies, our Springtime School is here to help.

“Small actions, taken together, can transform a child’s school experience and create an environment where every child feels safe, respected, and included.”
— Kristine Quinby, Founder, President & CEO of Potential

Together, we can create learning environments that are not only safer but stronger for all. Explore our resources and connect with the Springtime School today to start making a difference for your child.