Coinciding with the World Autism Awareness Daythe parliamentary group of VOX in the Congress of Deputies has registered a Non-Law Proposition in which urges the Executive of Pedro Sánchez to take concrete measures to effectively combat bullying against students who suffer from this type of disability. 84% of children who suffer from some kind of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been subjected on some occasion to situations of harassment or bullying at school, according to recent studies.
Specifically, VOX asks the Government to prepare a National Plan for the Prevention of School Bullying “that especially addresses bullying of children with ASD and any other disorders that require a specific approach due to the characteristics of the children who suffer from them.” It also requests “to promote the collaboration of families with schools so that those who have children diagnosed with ASD can actively participate in initiatives to raise awareness against bullying.”
Likewise, it urges the Executive to «provide schools with the necessary resources to adapt tools for prevention, detection and combating bullying to the specific needs of students with autism”, and instruct the teaching staff, as well as the rest of the educational community, “to know how to act preventively and subsequently in cases of bullying of children with ASD.”
Autism in Spain: more than one and a half million people affected
He autism spectrum disorder It is a condition of neurobiological origin that affects the configuration of the nervous system and brain functioning. It accompanies the person throughout their life and fundamentally affects two areas of personal functioning: communication and social interaction, and flexibility of behavior and thought.
Currently, and although “no two people with ASD are the same” (since they all have their own interests, abilities and needs, even if they share the same diagnosis), it is estimated that In Spain there are more than 450,000 people with autismmore than 1,500,000 people are linked to ASD (taking into account their relatives), while worldwide, the disorder occurs in 1 in every 100 births (1%).
In its explanatory statement, VOX emphasizes that, according to the latest data available, «The number of students diagnosed with ASD has increased by more than 200% in the last decade“In the 2020-2021 academic year, there were more than 60,000 students, the majority enrolled in ordinary education (80%).” Furthermore, they are different studies and the guides that show that students with ASD are more vulnerable to bullying. Thus, the probability of suffering abuse is two to four times greater than the rest of the students.
In its NLP, VOX states that «It is essential to take the initiative again and tackle an obvious problem in our society such as bullying, especially in children with ASD.. In this way, it will be possible to improve the well-being of children with these disorders, their inclusiveness in educational centers, the tranquility of their families and the education of potential aggressors, since in this preventive work we must not only act with the victim but also with the harasser, to prevent him from becoming a future criminal.
VOX questions to the Government
In addition to presenting this Non-Law Proposition, the VOX parliamentary group has formulated several written questions to the Government in relation to this problem.
Specifically, the party chaired by Santiago Abascal asks If “the Government has prepared any study regarding the real incidence of bullying in children with autism, and what are the factors that make these students more likely to suffer bullying?”«.
He also states “How are material resources going to be planned? and how the protocols are planned to be updated to achieve effective inclusion of students with autism”, and “how the Government will promote the incorporation of bullying prevention and coexistence programs in educational centers with students with ASD.”
The representative of VOX, Rocio de Meer, has stated that “people with autism spectrum and behavioral disorders face many difficulties. Today we wanted to put the focus on bullying because of the stark figures it presents. We politicians should not be there to put on a little blue ribbon and commemorate this day without further ado, but rather to work so that no child and no family has to live through an ordeal without us doing absolutely anything.«.