A Leeds mum has issued a heartfelt message to parents and schools after her autistic son was bullied.
Mum Sara, who lives in Leeds, was 'heartbroken' when she found out her 12-year-old son Theo was being teased by other children. Theo has even been 'pushed around and slapped' by other children.
Sara said the bullying is starting to impact Theo, and is pleading with parents to talk to their children about autism and neurodivergence to create more acceptance.
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Sara told LeedsLive: "It breaks my heart to see him going through this. It's ageing me. To hear he's being slapped and pushed around is awful.
"All you want to do is protect is your child. All I want is for him to be safe and happy. I don't care about GCSEs or any of that I just want him to be okay. When my child is worried about being bullied by other kids, I know something needs to happen.
"Kids with special needs become targets, especially as they start progressing beyond primary school, and it really needs to change as some get hassled on a daily basis. I think both other kids and adults want them to fit into a definition of 'normal' when they should let kids like Theo be themselves."
Theo progressed well at primary school. When he joined his school in Leeds in year three he wasn't on the curriculum, but by the time he left he was up to learning year six level maths.
But as he's reached his preteen years, Theo has started to experience bullying from older teenagers as well as some kids his own age. Getting desperate, Sara posted an appeal on social media, and received hundreds of messages from parents of autistic children from all over saying their children were experiencing similar bullying from their peers.
"Because of Theo's autism, he can be very black and white about things," Sara said.
"So he doesn't like it when people swear because it's wrong. If he hears someone swear he'll tell them not to for example, and I think things lie that can make him a target.
"He likes his habits and his routines and other kids misunderstand that. He often lets these things go over his head - I think he's more worried about how I'll feel. He's usually quite happy regardless but I think some of the bullying has been a little bit traumatic."
Autistic children can often be more at risk of bullying than neurotypical children, the National Autistic Society says, especially as they get older. The Anti-Bullying Alliance has also found that children with special education needs (SEN) often experience more bullying. The bullying can have damaging effects on these children's self-esteem.
Sara added: "I would like to see both parents and schools teaching more awareness about autism and bullying to their kids. I have had so much time to learn about Theo and his behaviours and the autistic community.
"Lots of people, including adults, might get frustrated sometimes, which is why their needs to be more education so they can pass on an understanding of special needs to their children. Both parents and schools need to highlight what it means to have SEN so kids think twice about picking on children who are different.
"I know schools are stretched resource-wise and often don't have the budget for the SEN support they want to do, but something does need to change on a huge scale."
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