Teenagers and adults victim of bullying and diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome: Mindfulness based strategies

1.5 Stress, anxiety and depression Anxiety, depression and psychosomatic symptoms are most frequent among bully-victims and bullying should be seen as an indicator of risk of various mental disorders in adolescence (Kaltiala-Heino et al. , 2000). In a study conceming peer-victimization and posttraumatic stress in adolescents results provide evidence that peer victimization is associated with lower self-worth and higher posttraumatic stress and that those adolescents with an extemal locus of control may be at greater risk of psychological problems (Mynard et al., 2000). Stress is a feeling created when reacting to particular events, it's the body's way of rising to a challenge, preparing to meet a tough situation with focus, strength, heightened alertness. If stress levels become out of control there are some problems: blood pressure rises, breathing become more rapid, digestive system slows down, heart pulse rises, immune system goes down, muscles become tense and there's a heightened state of alertness. It is common for people with Asperger's Syndrome to become emotionally vulnerable and easily stressed. Stressful situations , in addition to bullying, are like wanting to play with another child and not exactly knowing how, being judged with grades, hearing children laughing just around you and not getting the joke, trying to follow lessons but not understanding what is being said by teachers. School has a meaningful role and often is one of principal stressors (Adreon & Smith Myles, 2001): moving from elementary school to middle school and later to high school are difficult experiences even for many neurotypical youths and many charges such as a larger school with departmentalized teaching worry many students about doing ali well. Those with Asperger's are not multitasking and they don't know how to approach a complex task, e.g. breaking a homework assignment into more manageable parts, so often they spend a substantial amount of time worried, without beginning the task and budgeting their time in the wrong way. Often difficulties begin when integrating leamed material because while students memorize sets or facts, for a person with an Asperger's such lists often remain unconnected like bits of informations. Furthermore, social expectations increase considerably and peer relationships become more complex: it is required to interact with a larger broader community demanding social competence. Concurrently, onset of puberty and physiological changes can be stressors and many adolescents teeter between childhood and something akin to greater maturity. 15