Valerie Brincat has three children. Her twin 10-year-old daughters have communication impairments which make reasoning and storytelling difficult for them. It’s therefore challenging for them to talk about incidents that have happened during the day.
Her son has sensory impairments, which have made him an easy target for bullying. He was miserable at school and communicated this through behaviour, resulting in temper tantrums at the front door of the school before entering, meltdowns during his class time and challenging behaviours. She tells her story.
The government should launch an awareness campaign
“Since my children have communication difficulties, I would not know about their experience in detail if I had not actually seen it myself. Also, other children have reported it to me. One of my children has been spat at, intimidated in a way that made his sensory impairments unbearable and also suspended from school once due to his behaviour. That, too, to me is bullying, since he has a condition which often presents challenging behaviours.
“I reported these incidents to the higher authorities and we did have an urgent meeting to discuss the matter. When another child is bullying mine, I tell their parents or carer to take note and to stop them immediately. I speak for my child as he has very little speech capacities.
“There were signs that gave it away for me. These were unexplainable injuries, torn clothing, frequently losing personal belongings or avoiding going to school by faking an illness. The children would often be sick due to the stress and fear. I also saw declining grades at school or even just avoiding socially interacting with their peers.
“It has been hard to help them cope. I can explain to my girls what bullying is and if anything of the sort was to ever happen to them, I want them to tell me or their teacher. My son finds it harder to understand. In his case, I prepare a simple social story since he is a visual learner.
“I do not feel that there is a cohesive anti-bullying policy in Maltese schools.
“Schools should be teaching students that bullying is wrong and what forms of bullying there are. Conduct assessments should take place in the schools to determine how often bullying occurs, where it happens, how students and adults intervene and whether the prevention efforts are working. Also, there should be a safety committee within the school to plan, implement and evaluate the school’s bullying prevention programme. We need to establish a culture of acceptance, tolerance and respect in school.
“I also think that the government should launch an awareness campaign to make the objectives of an anti-bullying strategy known to the schools, parents and community members. They should establish strict rules and harsher punishments for the bullies.
“We need to get the message out that bullying is unacceptable and we should respect each other as we are. We are all human beings who want peace and happiness in our life. Anyone aware of bullying.... Speak up!”