Dear (Next/Future) President,

The percentage of children with disabilities that have been, or are getting bullied is skyrocketing. These children and their families find it quite horrifying. We continue to see a proliferation of children engaging in the act of self-harming, due to the bullying they are subjected to. Additionally, bullying can lead to a lifetime of confidence issues. Lastly, it has been proven that bullying can lead to a disorder such as depression and anxiety. Mr. or Mrs. President it is up to you to step in and help these children in need.

Children with disabilities have a hard time in school, they fear their peers who hurt them either physically, mentally or emotionally, maybe even all of three. The Parenting Ideas by Michael Grose states that “There is no profile of a typical child who is bullied, however, the children with the following characteristics tend to be bullied more than others.” The children that are getting bullied are the ones that look different. For example, children with height issues, children that are overweight and also children with diseases like autism, hemiplegia, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and spina bifida. At some point, these children who are getting bullied are going to feel like nobody is on their side, and sadly something bad might happen to them.

An article written on stopbullying.gov lists the effects of bullying as depression and anxiety, health complaints and decreased academic achievement. As noted in the article, depression and anxiety leads to increased feelings of sadness and loneliness, changes in sleeping and eating patterns and lastly, loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy. These issues may persist into adulthood. Additionally, some children have health complaints due to the severity of the bullying. For example, headaches, stomachaches, dizziness, backaches, irritability and sleeping difficulties can accompany the bullying. Lastly, children subjected to bullying may experience a decrease in academic achievement. This can lead to a drop in grades, decreased participation in school activities and eventually may lead to children missing, skipping, or dropping out of school altogether.

All in all, you the new leader of our nation, should be concerned for the safety of these children. A solution that could be used to helping children in need is having more student and teacher mentors, to help guide the children through school and when they need someone to talk to. With your help these children can feel safe in their own school and community, all because of you.

Sincerely,

Hanna T.