Food Allergy Bullying
Justin Bathon on Friday, April 3, 2009 at 9:56AM This post was written by Abigail Mack, a Master's student in one of my classes here at UK. When I do my YouTube Assignment, I try to find ways to reward the best work and I thought this post warranted publishing. Enjoy.
Allergy bullying occurs when one individual intimidates a person, usually a schoolmate, by threatening to expose that person to food that they are allergic to.[1] This phenomenon is dangerous and possibly deadly form of bullying for children with food allergies. Many parents were already concerned about peanut products in their children’s school lunches, but many schools have taken steps to protect students with peanut allergies. Some schools have a “peanut free” lunch table, while other schools have adopted various measures including making peanut butter sandwiches offsite or providing very young students with a 504 Plan for their allergy.[2] Despite these precautions, parents now have to be concerned that a bully will force their child to encounter a peanut product. Incidents of allergy bullying have doubled in the last five years, forcing some schools to ban peanut products on school grounds.[3] Incidents New York –During the spring of 2007 in Mastic, NY a group of girls harassed fourteen year-old Sarah VanEssendelft with peanut butter sandwiches when they decided they no longer wanted VanEssendelft sitting at their lunch table. One day they all brought the sandwiches to lunch so that VanEssendelft could not sit with them. A few days later, a boy in one of VanEssendelft’s class brought a peanut butter cup and ate it in class, which sent her to the hospital for four days. Since the incident VanEssendelft’s mother has applied for a 504 plan, the school banned eating in all classrooms, and the school will consider future allergy bullying as discrimination against a disability.[4] Kentucky- Officials arrested an eighth grade girl after she put peanut butter cookie crumbs in a classmate’s lunch box. The bullying victim did not eat the crumbs and she did not have an allergic reaction from exposure. However, the bully is now facing felony charges in juvenile court for wanton endangerment.[5] Legal Issues Allergy bullying falls under the terms of most state’s anti-bullying policies. As of April 2008 thirty states had adopted an anti-bullying policy aimed at defining, preventing, and outlining the consequences associated with bullying in school. Most of these policies encourage an early reporting system aimed at preventing initial incidents from continuing and escalating. State anti-bullying policies do differ. Some states do not define bullying categorically, meaning that their policies do not define harassment based on gender, sexual orientation, and other categories of discrimination. For More Information on Bullying and Allergy Bullying see: State-by-State Anti-Bullying Laws in the United States Word Spy. “Allergy Bullying.” Retrieved March 29, 2009 “Peanut Butter and Deadly Taunts:” “Bullying Case Grabs Attention:” Abigail Mack [1] Word Spy. “Allergy Bullying.” Retrieved March 29, 2009 from http://www.wordspy.com/words/allergybullying.asp [2] Karen Plumley, “Life Threatening Food Allergies in School: What Schools are Doing for Kids who are Allergic to Peanuts.” Retrieved March 29, 2009 from http://specialneedseducation.suite101.com/article.cfm/food_allergies_in_school [3] Lauren Cox,“Peanut Butter and Deadly Taunts.” Retrieved March 29, 2009 from http://abcnews.go.com/Health/AllergiesNews/story?id=4659705 [4] Ibid. [5] Claire Gagne, “Bullying Case Grabs Attention.” Retrieved March 29, 2009 from http://www.allergicliving.com/features.asp?copy_id=172
Reader Comments (2)
I wish so badly that when kids hurt me like that in seventh and eighth grade I had done something. but death threats about allergies are not the school's fricking problem, and I was told not to tell "under pain of death" so my parents still do not know most of what happened to me. what they do know made them have arguments that rattled the dishes in the cupboards.
if only I had told them everything so that they would have brought charges against these people who repeatedly hurt me, occasionally going too far, and then I would go to the office and ask for medication. the secretaries, of course, didn't believe me and went through the whole procedure of calling my mom to have her confirm that I really did need it while I stood there coughing painfully. once they made me wait twenty minutes and I couldn't get more than half a breath, the room was spinning and I could barely speak. I was reprimanded for "becoming hysterical for no reason."
oh, I wish I had gone to the police. especially after, on the last day of school, I was shown a peanut butter cup and told that they would kill me if I didn't go through the schools doors for the last time on my hands and knees like a dog.
I wish so badly that I had called the newspapers and the television stations. I wish I could have told the world. I wish I still could, but all that was last year. and in high school we were split up into different classes and I left most of the old bullies behind, but met some new ones. and now, the slightest hint of a threat, and I storm into the office and refuse to leave until they promise to do something. I am so sick of being a footstool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wish I had told everything, but I didn't.
Bullying is a big thing in my children school its gotten to the point to where my husband and myself want to home school our children. Our youngest daughter suffers from very bad seasonal allergies and shes on a nasal spray called Flonase over the counter which helps with here allergies. I have been noticing that her teacher though has been letting kids eat peanuts around her and she is allergic to these as well. School system needs to change for the safety of children. Theres no way another child should have the life of anther's at state in their hands.