I believe that it goes without saying that I love my children and I will defend them by giving up my life. They both mean that much to me. I would have no problems laying down my own life to save theirs. I wish all parents felt the same way, but a lot of people just don't care about their kids the way that I do.
So a bit of a background as to why I felt the need to write this blog. My wife and I have been together for 17 years. In that time we have had two children together. Both boys, and both are now teenagers. Hayden Alexander-Ray is almost 15 and Cullen Jean is almost 14. Both of our boys are such good kids with incredibly big hearts. They love without thinking, and they give without a second thought of themselves. They're good kids. Hayden is a perfectly normal teenage boy. He is in to music, video games and girls. Not so much the last one, because he has a very shy disposition, but he still likes them a lot nonetheless. Cullen Jean is a bit different on the other hand. He is typical in the fact that he loves video games, movies and television.
However, we knew when Cullen was at a very young age that something just wasn't right. Somewhere, there was something off kilter. When he was around 3 years old he began showing signs of Autism. Lining things up just perfectly. Stacking items just perfectly. Not being on time in his developmental stages. Sitting up, crawling, walking and talking rather late. So we did what any concerned parents would have done. We took him to be evaluated. Almost immediately, the doctor said that he was not Autistic. So we went home and continued to raise our kids the best we knew how.
Ever since Cullen was first enrolled in school he struggled to adapt to his surroundings. He would have meltdowns whenever he couldn't write a letter exactly the way he wanted it to look. He just simply struggled to fit in. As he continued in school, he had several different troubles. Not being able to control the volume of his voice, not being able to control the things that comes out of his mouth. Not even being able to control some of the things he did at times. All the while, he was a straight A, honor roll student. In seventh grade, he was expelled for two months for popping off at the mouth and saying that he wanted to cause harm to himself just to escape another students incessant rambling. This past year, eighth grade, he has been expelled since November because he had a meltdown in a class and was sent to the principal's office once again (about the twentieth time since sixth grade). On the way to the office, he had another case of diarrhea of the mouth by saying that he wished the school would just blow up. Zero tolerance. Indefinite expulsion. Straight A, honor roll student. Damn...
We went to a hearing at the Administration Building which involved the Assistant Superintendent, the Assistant Principal and the Principal, my wife and I and our son, Cullen. We pled our case for Cullen to be able to return to school. Stating that he is too bright to be held out for the length of time that the Principal was recommending, which was the entire school year. On top of that, she was requiring him to go through some sort of Anger Management classes by a trained and certified psychologist before he could return to school as well.
So having to go through the proper channels due to our insurance, we had to take him to see our family doctor first. Immediately, she knew it was not an anger issue. She saw through the anger. She sent us to a place called Centerstone that deals with Mental Health, to have Cullen evaluated. After an hour spent with the evaluation specialist, she knew beyond a doubt that our doctor was right. Cullen had Asperger's Syndrome. We were incredibly relieved to finally know why our son continued to mess up in school. Now we have an answer. Now we have a path to take.
So now that I have set up a rather lengthy background, please allow me to discuss why I am writing this blog. This blog is about bullies and bullying.
For years, our youngest son Cullen has been bullied in school. It became very aggressive once he got in to middle school. The real issue though is this, Cullen Jean wasn't just bullied by students. My wife and I feel that he was bullied by the principal as well. Yes, you heard that right. We feel that the principal in the school that he attended was bullying him as well. She is after all, the daughter of one of Martinsville's most famous bullies. He used to be the football coach at the high school. So she has learned bullying quite well and frequently! Remember how many times he has been to the office in the two and a half years he has been at that school? It was at least twenty, if not more. All of the reasons more ridiculous than the previous one. What happened to tolerance? What happened to understanding? What happened to trying to find out what is truly bothering a child before acting like such a self righteous bitch and just expelling an honor roll student for words?
Like I said earlier, I love my son and I would give my life for his. I was bullied as a student, and I refuse to allow my son to be bullied as well. Especially by the principal! We are digging in and preparing for a war. I plan on retaining a lawyer and going after her and the school system if this type of behavior is allowed to continue from those in a position of power.
On March 30, 2012 a film by Lee Hirsch that is produced and distributed by the Weinstein Company will make its way to theaters. It is a documentary called The Bully Project. It is a movie that follows five children around for the course of a single school year that are subject to bullying. After shooting, it was discovered that two of the children that are featured, ended up committing suicide because of the bullying. It is very sad and terribly tragic.
One of the children that they follow around is Alex from Iowa. Alex has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. When I first heard about this movie, with everything that has gone down with our son, I immediately wanted to see it. But then I watched the trailer for the film. That is when I found out that Alex, who is 14 years old, is an Aspie. This literally broke my heart. Why is this kid being bullied? It is because he is different and misunderstood. Plain and simple.
The Motion Picture Association of America has given The Bully Project an R rating because of some language. Thus negating the opportunity of the movie being seen by the people who need to see it the most. Kids. Lee Hirsch and Harvey Weinstein are fighting the MPAA tooth and nail to try to get this rating changed to a PG-13 so it can be shown in schools and so the target audience will have a chance to see it as well. There is a petition on the website that people can sign that is going to be presented to the MPAA for those that do not agree with the rating that The Bully Project was given. If you believe what I believe, if you feel what I feel, the please, follow the link here and sign the petition. Also I am going to post a link at the bottom of this blog so you can watch the trailer for The Bully Project as well.
I knew that this would end up being the longest blog I have written to date. I just didn't realize it would be this long. However, I am very passionate about my kids. I am very passionate against bullying. And I am very passionate about Asperger's Awareness. Thank you for taking the time to read this, as this is a very sensitive subject for our family.
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