In one sentence
A large 2023 U.S. parent survey suggests that school-age children with autism are bullied more often and are more likely to be underweight or overweight than children without autism.
What the researchers did
This was a secondary analysis — a fresh look at data already collected by someone else — of the 2023 National Survey of Children's Health, a nationally representative survey in which parents answer questions about one child in their household. The team focused on 17,689 children aged 6 to 12. Of these, 834 (4.7%) had a current autism diagnosis reported by a parent. Parents reported on the child's age, sex, race and ethnicity, family income, height and weight (used to sort children into underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese), and how often in the past year the child bullied others or was bullied. The researchers used a statistical model that adjusts for these factors at once, so each result holds the others steady.
What they found
- Children with autism were more likely to be bullied 1–2 times per week (odds ratio 1.30; 95% CI 1.24–1.37). In the raw numbers, 28% of children with autism were bullied 1–2 times in the past year versus 17.9% of children without autism.
- Children with autism were less likely to bully others 1–2 times per month (OR 0.31; 95% CI 0.29–0.33). In the raw numbers, 74.2% of children with autism had not bullied anyone in the past year versus 70.5% of children without autism.
- Compared with being obese, children with autism had higher odds of being underweight (OR 1.75; 95% CI 1.70–1.81) or overweight (OR 3.55; 95% CI 3.37–3.73).
- Children with autism were more often boys (73.7%) and more often from the lowest-income families (24.8% vs. 16.8%).
What this means for families and therapists
- Bullying is not a rare event for autistic children in this age group. Ask directly and often about teasing, exclusion, and being picked on at school, recess, and on the bus — many children do not bring it up on their own.
- Weight can drift in either direction. Because both underweight and overweight showed up more often, it may help to keep an eye on growth over time rather than assuming one pattern.
- In sessions, you can build in simple, concrete practice around joining a group, responding to a tease, and telling a trusted adult. These are teachable skills, not character traits.
- If you are a parent, ask your child's clinician: "Is my child's growth on track for their age?" and "What signs of bullying should I watch for at this age?"
Limitations and what we don't know yet
- This is a survey, not an experiment. It can show links, not cause and effect. We cannot say whether autism leads to bullying or weight differences, or whether something else explains both.
- All information comes from one parent's report. Parents may not know everything that happens at school, and they may under- or over-report.
- The autism question asks whether a doctor ever said the child has autism; it does not confirm a formal evaluation or capture support needs.
- The survey covers one point in time, so we cannot see how bullying or weight change as children grow.
- The sample of children with autism (834) is a small slice of a very large survey, and some groups — for example, girls and multiracial children — were too few to draw firm conclusions about.
This is a plain-language summary of Autism, Bullying, and Weight: What a 2023 U.S. Survey Suggests by Ogunmola O.A., Nabors L.A., Workman B.T., Merianos A.L., Epidemiologia (2026). Source license: CC-BY-4.0. It is not medical advice — talk to a qualified clinician before changing therapy.