Autistic Boy Stands Up To His Bullies

 

Imagine being autistic and knowing your autism is the reason you are being bullied. You may not even be aware of the fact that you have autism but you know that you are what others consider "different". Does being different give others the right to bully you? No. It does not. So what can you do about it? Well, you can stand up for yourself and embrace what it is that makes you different.

During an exercise that included speaking out, a boy named Jake with autism, took the opportunity to let his bullies know that there was more to him than they knew.

 "I think you guys see me as a big target," Jake said. "You guys are always leaving me out of stuff ... never paying attention to me or anything I say."

Jake acknowledged that his peers purposely left him out of activities and by confronting them was able to make them realize that what they were doing was wrong. He told them that he knew he was different but that did not mean that they had a right to treat him as if he did not belong.

Jake's courage was caught on film and used as a part of the Bully Project, a social campaign used to stop bullying.

After the film's release Jake told Upworthy:
"Bullying has had a big impact on my life, but since the movie I’ve made a lot of friends ... For other kids with autism, if you're getting bullied, try and tell them to stop and not give a reaction -- if that doesn’t work, go to an adult. It might seem hard 'cause we can’t handle stress as well as other kids, but you will get through it and you’ll be awesome -- actually you already are!"

As someone who has a younger brother with autism I hope that my brother can stand up for himself or at least have someone stand beside him if others act ignorant and mistreat him. I know that kids at school are not always the nicest and I just pray that Christian knows that those who bully are just mean. I do not want him to ever think that his differences are the problem, because they are not. The problem is the ignorance of those who pick on others just because they are different or do not act a certain way.

I know that bullying will never stop, which is why I believe that it is crucially important to teach children courage so that they may be able to handle it if the situation were to arise. Like Jake, people should be able to confront their bullies. If that does not work then the best thing to do is rise above by treating your bullies with kindness and to just continue being the awesome person that you are. Showing your bullies that their actions do not affect you will eventually lead them to give up.

To see Jake's speech click on the link below:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/05/16/boy-with-autism-boldly-stands-up-to-bullies-and-its-all-captured-on-video/