Illinois resident Gavin Joseph was diagnosed with Asperger's when he was 3.
Like others who have the condition, Joseph often struggles with everyday activities and can seem “rude, impatient, weird, detached, or uninterested.” The condition, which affects about one in 500 people, has also attracted bullies to him.
His mother Cortnie Stone wrote an upsetting Facebook post revealing that several others teenagers attacked her son. The photos, which might make some uncomfortable, show how badly he was beaten.
“[S]ome kids were talking about how ‘it's weird’ that he is always by himself, attending events alone and watching people, and it was ‘creepy’ how he wanted to be friends with people he didn't know,” she wrote. “[A]nother kid that overheard that conversation decided to take matters into his own hands and become judge and jury, and this is the result of that.”
Yet Joseph, who was badly injured during the attack, didn’t want to take legal action against the assaulters. Instead, he wanted to open their eyes.
His mother explained: "He did not press charges, but requested their community service be disability related, that they write a paper on Asperger’s, and that they watch a 20 min video statement he taped while their families were present so they could see the damage they did and hear the event from his perspective."
“I am so proud of him, and I hope a lesson will come of this to all that hear about it,” she added.
See the photos below and please SHARE to join the fight to raise awareness.
Gavin Joseph, left, was diagnosed with Asperger's when he was 3. As a teenager, he was assaulted so badly that he suffered “a mild concussion, a bruised esophagus, the tip of his nose fractured, and hematoma in his eye," his mother revealed on Facebook.
"On Thursday night, some kids were talking about how 'it's weird' that he is always by himself, attending events alone and watching people, and it was 'creepy' how he wanted to be friends with people he didn't know. On Friday night, another kid that overheard that conversation decided to take matters into his own hands and become judge and jury, and this is the result of that. He didn't ask questions, didn't get to know Gavin, never met him, and didn't give him a chance to leave. He was called to meet someone, surrounded by people he didn't know, choked, punched, and left laying on the pavement so he would 'learn his lesson,' " she wrote.
But, he didn't want to press charges. Instead, he wanted to raise awareness for others with disabilities.
His mother explained: "He did not press charges, but requested their community service be disability related, that they write a paper on Asperger's, and that they watch a 20 min video statement he taped while their families were present so they could see the damage they did and hear the event from his perspective. I am so proud of him, and I hope a lesson will come of this to all that hear about it."
His mother also urged other parents to teach their children about disabilities.
"If you are reading this, I hope you talk to your teens, tell them about disabilities you can't see, teach them to be tolerant of people that are different, teach them that if they continuously see someone alone that maybe it is not their choice to be alone, remind them to ask questions first and get to know one another," she wrote.
Many Facebook users shared kind words with the family. See some below:
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