Author of Bullying Study: 'It Puts a Fire In Me'

Paul Sterzing

BERKELEY, Calif. -- Paul Sterzing had barely moved into his office at UC Berkeley when the New York Times, the Washington Post, Reuters and CNN started calling. The newly hired assistant professor’s just-published study – showing nearly half of U.S. adolescents with autism spectrum disorder have been bullied at school – had propelled him into the media spotlight.
His first mistake was eyeing readers’ comments under the online news articles. “Duh, tell me something I didn’t know,” was a common theme. “Science provides a factual basis for beliefs and assumptions,” Sterzing says, shrugging his shoulders.
And just as many, if not more, commenters revealed they’d been bullied, too. Clearly, the study had touched a nerve.