[PIC]Advice from an autistic Terp
In this blog I will talk about online and offline bullying and what you can do about it. I have a lot of experience being bullied for having autism and other reasons. It happened in person from elementary school through high school and it has happened online in college. I have had people stalk me for years on different social networks. I have been taunted, pushed and called names and have had people talk behind my back for no reason.
I will talk to you about how to deal with bullies. One option is to block the bully online and report him to the social network. You can also tell him to leave you alone and threaten to block him if he doesn’t. If he tries to harass you again, call law enforcement. Explain your situation to the police. Additionally, if the bully says anything that’s untrue to anybody, try to sue him for libel and slander. Do not let bullies take control of your life, online and off. Try to protect yourself from them in whatever way possible, including using any legal means you can.
Now, I will tell you about my experience with cyber bullying. In late 2006, I was contacted by a person on AIM who told me they were a girl that went to my community college. Being the naive person I was, I talked to them about what was going on in my life for a few months. Then the person who I had been talking to on AIM hacked my Facebook. People started unfriending and blocking me. I found out my account had been hacked when I contacted someone and they responded that I was a horrible human being. I figured out the person who hacked my account deleted the messages they sent to my Facebook friends. The person then started deleting people off my friends list. I changed my password but they kept figuring it out.
A few years later, the person who hacked my Facebook account came back — this time on Twitter as a person from Columbia, South Carolina. They kept asking me questions and I kept entertaining them because I was trying to make them slip. After some other people came to my defense, I blocked the person. Sometime after, they disappeared from Twitter and started asking questions on my Formspring account. I blocked them every time they asked a question but they kept coming back. I finally put my foot down and told them to leave me alone. I have not been contacted by this person since.
In conclusion, you have to take action against bullies and people who are stalking you before it’s too late. They could ruin your life if you don’t.
In my next blog, I will talk about the different resources on campus for people with autism. I will be talking about Disability Support Services and how to get extended time on exams and tests, for example. I also will be talking about the Learning Assistance Service and counseling.
