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Imagine this
true-to-life story.
Can you relate?
BY ASHELEY WOODRUFF
Caleb had been legally blind as
far back as he could remember.
Born with a genetic disorder
affecting his eyes, Caleb
had poor depth perception
and was unable to focus his vision on
specific objects. Even with corrective
lenses, his eyesight was 20/70 at best.
Despite the visual challenges he faced,
Caleb’s parents were determined to help
him live as independently as possible.
When Caleb was 5, his parents
enrolled him in kindergarten at their
local elementary school. Caleb was
placed in special education classes where
he was guaranteed to receive additional
help from a trained worker. He learned
to read and write using braille tablets,
and quickly showed an aptitude for
math. Caleb was so skilled in math that
when he reached the sixth grade, he was
allowed to take advanced math classes
with the rest of the student body.
Unfortunately, some of the other students
in Caleb’s advanced math class
were not accepting of his visual impairment.
Whether they were intimidated by
his ability to do the problems in his head,
or because they just didn’t like him, two
of the boys in the class began to bully
Caleb. Sometimes it was something
small and irritating, such as moving his
backpack. Other times it was more intrusive,
such as hiding his braille tablet or
talking calculator. Every day the two boys
would find some way to make Caleb feel
as if he truly was handicapped.
Frustrated and angry, Caleb withdrew
socially. He brought home poor report
cards and finally asked his parents if he
could drop the advanced math class. Concerned
about his welfare, Caleb’s parents
questioned him about school. Caleb
admitted that he was unhappy because
he was being bullied. Caleb’s parents
immediately called the school to request
a meeting with administrators to discuss
the bullying that was taking place.
After an action plan had been implemented,
the school counselor recommended
that Caleb attend a week of blind
camp at Leoni Meadows, one of the National
Camps for Blind Children. The counselor
felt that Caleb would benefit from being
around other children who were also visually
impaired and that it would provide
opportunities to boost his self-esteem.
Caleb was enrolled and quickly made
friends with other kids at the camp. He participated
in archery, canoeing, horseback
riding, and even climbed the high ropes
course. His camp counselor taught him that
if he could ride a horse, then he could “do
just about anything” he wanted to.
Are We Surrounded
by Bullies?
It seems almost monthly now that we
hear reports of severe bullying in the
news. It comes in many forms: children
bullying teachers, teachers bullying
children, and children bullying each
other. We learn about these events
because someone recorded them on
their phone and then posted them to
YouTube or Facebook. There are dozens
of cases of bullying, however, that go
unreported every day across the nation.
As a parent I wonder what more can be
done to help protect our children.
Childhood is supposed to be a time of
learning how to socialize, and developing
creativity. It’s when we, as parents,
take a few steps back and give our children
the freedom to discover the world
around them. As a mother I want my
children to be safe, but I also want them
to be curious and independent. When I
see reports of bullying occurring in our
schools, it makes me wonder what steps
can be taken to ensure my children will
be both empowered and protected.
It’s estimated that thousands of kids
experience some form of bullying every
day in schools across the nation,
whether it’s physical, verbal, or social.
According to the National Bullying Prevention
Center 1 and the American Academy
of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2
about one quarter to one half of all children
are bullied. If the child has a disability,
particularly one that is easily
noticed, then the child is two to three
times more likely to be bullied regularly.
Consider the case of Caleb, a child like
any other except that he is legally blind.
His visual impairment made him a target
for the bullies in his school. Caleb did
not know how to cope with the bullying
he received, and as a result he suffered
emotionally and academically. Caleb’s
parents were not aware he was being
bullied until his grades began to suffer.
Because bullying can occur in many
nonphysical forms, it may be hard for
adults to recognize when a child is
being bullied. In the case of children
with special needs, the removal of helping
aids, social exclusion, and verbal
teasing are typical. Usually the type of
bullying depends on the child’s gender.
Boys tend to favor physical forms of
coercion or intimidation, while girls
tend to use social tactics such as verbal
abuse or social exclusion. Both types of
bullying can be extremely hurtful to the
victim on the emotional level.
As if this wasn’t enough, cyberbullying
is on the rise. The Journal of Adventist
Education points out that cyberbullying
allows bullies to harass their victims
beyond the boundaries of the school
building and school hours. Cyberbullying
allows the perpetrators to use an
“invisible” attack that parents and
teachers may not know about because it
takes place via texting or on social net-
POSITIVE WAYS TO BULLYPROOF YOUR BLIND CHILD
www.AdventistReview.org | June 27, 2013 | (587) 27