Beyond Bullying: A Celebration

By Nancy Nikt

It was gut-wrenching to watch my little girl, who was considered well-adjusted and able to relate to adults and children by her caregivers, turn into a defensive, angry, sullen, and depressed child because of the way she was treated by school officials and bullied by other children. I was discounted and negated because I was a single parent and didnt know my own child. This is a story of my daughters struggles through her school years and the efforts I made to help her get through it. Finally, this book is a celebration of the woman she has become because of it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Nov 9, 2016
• ISBN: 9781504357685

Nancy Nikt

Nancy Nikt found out when she was sixty-five that she is actually autistic. In spite of this, Nancy was able to support herself, finish college and graduate school, and successfully support herself and her intelligent, misunderstood daughter. She wrote her daughter’s story to give hope to mothers of daughters like hers.

Book preview

Copyright © 2016 Nancy Nikt.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Balboa Press

A Division of Hay House

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.balboapress.com

1 [phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-5043-5767-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-5769-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-5768-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016908728

Balboa Press rev. date: 11/07/2016

Contents

Dedication

Disclaimer

Who Am I that You Should Listen to Me

The Early Years

Portent of things to Come

The School Years - When it Begins

Elementary School

Middle School

High School

Post High School

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my beautiful, intelligent, daughter Jasmine, who lives life her way. It is also a history for her because she remembers very little of her childhood.

Disclaimer

In this book I relate observations of the behaviors and language of teachers, counselors and administrators of both private and public schools. The names of the individuals are not mentioned nor are the names of the schools. My intent is not to criticize or blame these individuals in any way. My intent is to demonstrate the result of the behaviors they exhibited in the life of one child. My hope is that those who read this will think before they accuse, before they judge, and before they make assumptions about anyone. As my father used to tell me there but for the grace of God go I.

On a more positive note, I would also like to thank the five women who cared for my daughter when I went back to work after being able to be with her for only seven weeks. These women embraced her inner butterfly and she prospered; as one said to me she is very well-adjusted for a two year old and she gets along well with adults and children. In third and fourth grade she was taught by two women who understood that she was never the one to start trouble, but that she would not back away from it either; and they supported her. In middle school, one of her teachers took notice of her studiousness and industry and asked Jasmine to grade papers for her. The group she went on a church trip to Munich with at the end of her first semester in high school accepted her and inspired her to pursue her interest in Scottish and Irish heritage and in learning the bagpipe. This gave her an outlet that got her through high school. She had two girl friends in high school that accepted her as she is. One young man in high school understood that Jasmine was under a lot of pressure because of the constant bullying and would tell the other students to leave her alone, she has had enough. She attributes his intervention as the major reason she did not, as she said it do a Columbine thing. There were two men who instructed her in how to play the bagpipe. I sincerely appreciate and thank these individuals for being a positive influence in her life.

I must also mention the help my older sister Sophie was in raising Jasmine. Sophie took care of Jasmine when I worked nights and also went to school. Jasmine learned a lot attending church meetings and helping out with my sister’s volunteering events. One of the biggest things she learned was how to entertain herself; I never recall her saying she was bored. She also learned how to help others with her Aunt Sophie. Sophie also provided opportunities for her that I would not have been able to do on my own: trips, dance lessons, and piano lessons. I am very grateful that Sophie took a special interest in Jasmine when she was growing up.

Who Am I that You Should Listen to Me

I am one of five children born live out of nine pregnancies. My grandparents were all born in Poland and arrived in the United States in the first decade of the 1900s. My parents grew up during the depression. Neither of them went past the eighth grade in school. My childhood was a time of children should be seen and not heard and spare the rod and spoil the child. My parents were under extreme financial stress and they made sure we learned the harsh lessons of life. However, we were also taught to use our initiative, and be responsible for our actions and for our lives after reaching the age of 18, 17 for those of us born later in the year. I believe the phrase used was you made your bed, now lie in it.