Do Non Verbal children get bullied in mainstream?

[rommymummy]

My child starts school in September, she has EHCP and allocated mainstream, we are appealing for a SEN school but also being realistic.

My child is non verbal, though is starting with single words now, but more like naming things such as ‘cat’ or ‘red’, no conversation and very little understanding.

she vocally stims all the time and jumps, flaps etc.

I'm wondering if there will be issues with bullies. Right now she wouldn’t notice if she was getting bullied. My DH is very concerned.

The mainstream school is very good. I don’t know if they will cope with my DD or if my DD will get much education. But I am hopeful she will at least be happy and I honestly need the respite.

Bullied - not normally. Most children can see when a child is very different to them. They may give comments that are unhelpful and may upset as she grows eg. "she's a baby" or "she's not clever."

Much education - this will very much depend on the school and on the EHCP. Some children with complex needs get a fantastic education in mainstream and others get a really poor deal. The same is true in special schools though.

Thanks for your reply, this was my thoughts.

gives me some hope with the mainstream route

I don’t think there is a blanket answer for this. Many aren’t bullied. Some are. I think bullying is more like with older DC than in reception. I wouldn’t let this overly worry you.

Thanks for your reply. It’s hard to imagine her going to school. I agree it’s more of an issue with older kids