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My boy's bullying ordeal shows need for autism support

Document Cited authorities 1 Cited in Related
Vincent
Published date05 April 2024
Publication titleHuddersfield Daily Examiner
Ollie Palmer, 10, who has a mental age of six, was being 'severely bullied' in his mainstream school. Children were taunting him mercilessly, calling him 'stupid, ugly' and he was even attacked on several occasions, according to mum Kelly

The mum-of-five, 34, said she was picking him up in tears every day before she made the decision to remove him from the school. Kelly wants more awareness of autism to be raised in schools from a young age to help kids like Ollie, with special educational needs (SEN), who get bullied.

Retail worker Kelly has said Ollie only became aware that he had the disorder last year, when she and dad Phil had to explain it to him. She said it would have helped if the children around him also had better understanding of what he was dealing with.

Kelly, based in Mixenden, said: "It is heartbreaking. Seeing him in his mainstream school and seeing him going downhill. Then picking him up from school and seeing him in tears, telling me he had been bullied, it made me want to cry.

"You send your children to school,

Ollie (with family thinking they're safe. He was being quite severely bullied. It's heartbreaking but it makes you quite angry as well, because you think there could have been more done to prevent it and with safeguarding." The 34-year-old decided to take Ollie out of his mainstream school last October. Ollie had been in his school since Year One and Kelly thinks if there had been more education in the classroom, it would have prevented a lot of the bullying.

Kelly said the change in Ollie's life unfortunately caused his condition to regress. Kelly explained: "It really affected his mental health, being out of a...

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