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Children with Both Autism and ADHD Often Bully, Parents Say |
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From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Children with both autism and attention deficit or attention deficit hyperactivity disorders are four times more likely to bully than children in the general population, according to a study released today in the journal, Ambulatory Pediatrics. However, the researchers caution against labeling these children simply as bullies. "This is the first nationally representative study of bullying behaviors among children with autism. The majority of parents of children with autism and ADD or ADHD were concerned about their children's bullying behaviors, but there is much we do not yet understand. The study pulled data from the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics. They hypothesized that that children with autism may bully more often because they are more often male (who are more likely to bully); they are more likely to be bullied (and victims are more likely to bully); and many children with autism require treatment for aggression (which potentially includes bullying). But the researchers did not find that children with autism had a higher rate of bullying -- unless they also had ADD or ADHD. This poses an important opportunity for health care providers who see children with autism and ADD or ADHD, which occurs in about half of children with autism spectrum disorders. "It would be helpful for clinicians to be aware that so many parents of children with both autism and ADHD are describing bullying behaviors," said Jill Halterman, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of Pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical Center and second author of the paper.
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