I’m 13y old that was recently diagnosed with ASD. School is starting soon, they surely haven’t changed nor a little bit. They’re just bunch of idiots that like to express their pain and anger on others. Or just fool them for fun. Reporting them does nothing (have been doing that for almost 6 years). It’s like reporting system in CP (Club Penguin), no one is even sure if it even does anything. I never do anything to them, I just stare at them or do something else. That I have blank face or sound calm dosen’t mean that I’m calm. When I answer in short sentences that either means that I don’t have inspiration to talk or that I hold lots of emotions in me. And, about blank face… I ALMOST ALWAYS HAVE BLANK FACE. I almost never express my emotions on my face. So, should I just throw a tantrum without caring for consequences or act tought. Does entire community of ASDers need to act like douchebags just to not be an easy target for bullying?!
P.S I’ve posted this in c/autism because I feel like this problem is deeply tied with my personality. -medvedev-
Work out a lot, enough to be buff, muscle boy or girl People will treat you differently if you are in shape – no matter what you look or act like – and that’s not just high school
Imma be fully honest and I don’t truly condone this. This is a long time ago. But, I wasn’t bullied in elementary school but, back then I was into boxing. Then I moved and entered middle school which, is where I got bullied. I was bullied for a solid month or two till one day I just went screw this and I fought all of them (there’s just 3 of em) I won and they never messed with me again cause, they won’t bully you if they know their ass is about to be beat.
Isn’t 13 y/o a bit young to be lifting weights?
As long as you don’t go crazy, not at all. Start off gradually, don’t overdo it, but some moderate strength training along with regular cardio will not only help you look better and less appealing as a target, it can do wonders for mental health and emotional resilience.
Learning practical martial arts like boxing, muay thai, jiu jitsu, and/or krav maga might not be a bad idea either. Not to say you should go around fighting people who mistreat you, but it is good exercise, can build confidence, and if you are targeted with violence, you will be better equipped to deal with the situation. The best way to win a fight is to not have to fight in the first place, but there may come a time where you are not left with a choice.
if i ever have a kid, i’m totally going to encourage that they learn martial arts as soon as they’re old enough
Start training early and start learning yourself now if you haven’t already.
Yes. The gym folks would love to help a kid. Don’t just work out at the school. Find a gym that’ll help do it right.
Besides, I have a theory that half the people in the gym are on the spectrum and undiagnosed. Counting calories like crazy, obsess over bro science, headphones in and don’t talk to anyone. There’s lots of signs. Good chance to find people to relate to.
One of my MT teachers was definitely on the spectrum, super friendly but I wouldn’t fuck with him in a million years.
Montana teacher?
Muay Thai, never been to Montana but I like to think that Sam Elliot narrates everything in your head when you’re there.
I’m from there and yeah, he and Morgan Freeman split narration duty here.
Huh, I thought Morgan Freeman had South Dakota…
Oh wow you might be on to something
Respectfully, I don’t think you necessarily have to be buff; you just have to be able to handle physical violence if it happens to come your way, and confident in your ability to do so. Because if you know that you “can take 'em” then you will have less reason to care about what they think of you, and less reason to fear that their bullying might ever go that far. Thus, IMHO, something like training in martial arts can be a very effective substitute for “becoming buff”. But “buff” without necessarily looking it can also be good enough, in some cases.
I was never “buff” in school. In fact, from all outward appearances, I looked every bit the scrawny nerd that everyone always assumed I was. And I was a nerd… but I was also strong. I carried a book bag around throughout middle school and high school that contained all of my schoolbooks. I didn’t go to my locker; as I saw it, there was no reason to. I literally tore through bookbag after bookbag over the years. By about my junior year or so, it was a sports bag that held twice as many books as any backpack – because it kind’a had to be, since that’s just how many books the school had issued to me that year – but I was nonetheless easily manhandling that bag like it was paper mâché.
I don’t recall the rest of the context of the conversation, but I remember this one football dude commenting about my sports bag, something along the lines of, “Yeah, whatever… it’s not that heavy.” So I called him out on his comment; I said, “Feel free to pick it up.” Having received the challenge, he certainly wasn’t going to back down – especially not from the scrawny nerd. He puffed himself up, walked down the aisle between the desks until he was towering right over me, and wrapped his big ol’ hand around the handle. He stood up with it by his side and paused in that position for a moment. He then very quietly put it back down on the floor and walked away without another word.
(Morgan Freeman voiceover) It was that heavy.
But you don’t even have to be “strong” necessarily; in some cases, what matters most is confidence. Later that same year, another bully – not another football player, just a rando dude who had decided he didn’t like me for some reason – told me to watch myself, because he was going to follow me home and (oh, so trite, reflecting upon it now) “beat me up.” Well, I knew who I was and I knew what I could do. Without even a hint of fear or hesitance, I responded to him, “Okay. When and where?”
He didn’t show.
Bullies are all talk and no show, especially when they’re alone and especially when you can confidently call them out on their crap. If they’re “just” making fun of you, do your best to ignore it; it’s not worth your time or energy to give them even the slightest bit of attention. But consider making an effort to get to a point where you’re confident in what you can do, if you should ever need to defend yourself… and then, never show them fear. They will usually back down and leave you alone when confidently confronted. And if they don’t back down… well, you’re confident for a reason. Defend yourself if you have to – but only if they start the fight. There’s never any point in picking a fight yourself.