School Bullying: A Problem for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students? Insights & Strategies

Bullying is an ongoing method of mistreating, dominating, hurting, frightening, and/or browbeating another person by an individual or group. Bullies use physical, verbal, and psychological methods to humiliate, embarrass, and overpower others. Bullying by boys and girls can happen at any age, but it peaks in the middle school/junior high school years. The bullying of deaf and hard of hearing students is surely at least as common as bullying among hearing students. Bullies of deaf and hard of hearing students can be deaf, hard of hearing, or hearing. For some resilient students, incidents of bullying pass without lasting psychological damage. But for other students, bullying results in lifelong emotional damage and/or attempts, sometimes successful, at suicide. Studies show that students who are chronically victimized by bullies are at increased risk for depression, schizophrenia, self-concept problems, anxiety disorders, social withdrawal, and long-term victim status identification. Occasionally bullying results in murder. This article provides insights on bullying and some counseling strategies.