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A mother is calling on schools and parents to teach children disability awareness after a bullying incident left her 9-year-old son in tears, saying he wants to die.
Yarraka Bayles shared the emotional video on Facebook Tuesday, showing her son Quaden crying after school, according to KTLA sister station KRON in San Francisco.
In the video, Bayles says Quaden was born with Achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism.
“I’ve just picked up my son from school, witnessed a bullying episode, rang the principal, and I want people [to] know, parents, educators teachers, this is the effects that bullying has, this is what bullying does,” Bayles is heard saying in the background.
Bayles told Australian news outlet SBS that she witnessed a classmate of Quaden patting him on the head and making references to his height.
She said she shared the video because the bullying is ongoing and Quaden has attempted suicide several times.
Bayles said she doesn’t point fingers at the school or the students for the incident.
Rather than placing blame, she said she just thinks more needs to be done to teach children about disabilities.
Since it was shared earlier this week, the video has gone viral with over 9 million views and tens of thousands of shares.
The video even caught the attention of some local athletes and celebrities in support of Quaden.
One of them is Indigenous Australian professional rugby league footballer Latrell Mitchell, who recently met with Quaden and took a picture with him.
And a GoFundMe page has been started by comedian Brad Williams to send Quaden and his mother to Disneyland.
“This isn’t just for Quaden, this is for anyone who has been bullied in their lives and told they weren’t good enough,” Williams wrote. “Let’s show Quaden and others, that there is good in the world and they are worthy of it.”
As of Thursday afternoon, the page has raised more than $25,000.
Quaden has since been pulled from school and his mother is considering homeschooling him.
