"My eight year old is being bullied by other students, and his teacher seems unwilling or unable stop it. Other kids make fun of his speech, and even the teacher has called attention to his learning disability in front of other students. Now he doesn't want to go to school. Is there anything I can do to stop this?"

Bullying is a horrible experience for children, and special education students are sometimes victimized because of their disability. Left unchecked, bullying can have negative consequences. The victim may:

• suffer from long-term emotional harm and severe depression;
• be physically injured;
• be attacked on the Internet via cyberbullying;
• develop low self-esteem or school phobia; and
• need counseling to recover.

Undisciplined bullies may also have long-term consequences. They may:

• develop long-term sociopathic or criminal behavior;
• become involved in the juvenile and adult justice systems;
• Cause physical injury to others and damage to property;
• become abusive at home, in romantic relationships, or workplace; and
• become abusive parents.

Fortunately there are things that you can do as a parent to protect your child and promote positive change in the school. Start with a discussion with your child's teacher and school principal.

Be prepared to provide and keep records of evidence. Include:

• written details on bullying incidents;
• lists of witnesses;
• written descriptions and photos of injuries, broken objects or property damage;
• print images and copy of the html files of Internet pages and email that threaten your child (include the header information of emails that show the path of the email and the addresses of webpages containing negative information); and
• threatening phone messages and records of caller ID information.

Follow up your meetings with school administrators with letters recapping the details of your meeting and stating any agreements you may have reached to resolve the problem. Keep a copy of the letter and any correspondence you receive from the school and of your communication. Document who you spoke with, what was discussed, the time, and the date. Keep a written record of all of your child's experiences. If the problem persists, talk with the district's superintendent and director of special education. Often these problems can be resolved locally.

If you still get no support, there are several options available to you consider:

Filing aformal complaint with your state's education agency.

Filing charges with the local law enforcement agency. If your child has been seriously injured or threatened with serious injury, this is a must.

If your child is being victimized because of his disability, you can file a formal complaint with the US Department of Education Office of Civil Rights.