Autistic teen teaches bullies a lesson
After Gavin Joseph, a teenager with Asperger's syndrome, was beat up by a gang of bullies, he taught them an important lesson about his condition and life perspectives.
Joseph was tricked by the group of bullies into thinking that they wanted to be friends with him. When we met up with them one day, they violently attacked him, deeming him "weird" and "creepy" due to his condition.
The Illinois teenager handled the situation peacefully by recording a 20-minute video about Asperger's syndrome so that his bullies could learn about life from his point of view. He asked that the assailants each write an essay about Asperger's syndrome and that they participate in community service working with disabled people.
Joseph's mother Cortnie Stone shared her son's courageous story and actions on her Facebook page. She wrote:
"Some kids were talking about how it's weird that he's always by himself, attending events alone and watching people, and that it was 'creepy' how he wanted to be friends with people he didn't know. 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."
Stone went on to describe the violent incident. She wrote:
%shareLinks-quote="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'." type="quote" author="Cortnie Stone" authordesc="" isquoteoftheday=%
She assured readers that "Gavin is fine. He has mild concussion, a bruised oesophagus, the tip of his nose fractured, and hematoma in his eye, but nothing permanent."
The proud mom went on to describe how Joseph dealt with the ugly situation. He decided to help the bullies alleviate their ignorance and learn about Joseph's disability rather than punish them. Stone wrote:
"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."
Stone added that she hopes Joseph's story sends a message to people who are ill-informed about disabilities like Asperger's.
Watch this video to learn more about autism:
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