“They Just Want Us to Exist as a Trash Can”: Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Their Perspectives to School-Based Bullying Victimization

Abstract

Little is known about parents’ perspectives on school-based bullying victimization of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in China. This study began by interviewing 16 parents about their experiences with their children (7 to 15 years old) at school in China under the inclusive education policy. Most of the parents’ responses indicated the existence and the severity of school-based bullying victimization of their children with ASD. Our findings indicated that bullying victimization at school was a concern for children with ASD and their parents were frequently victimized. Parents reported that they dealt with bullying victims at school independently and tended to hold a pessimistic view about their bullying victimization. The study highlights the importance of incorporating parents’ voices in understanding bullying victimization of students with ASD and proposing potential implications in bullying prevention and advocacy with this group of students in mainstream schools in China.