The mother of Quaden Bayles has broken down in tears as she explained the series of events that led to the heartbreaking meltdown that went viral last month.
Yarraka Bayles spoke to NITV about the video of Quaden saying he wanted to kill himself.
Nine-year-old Quaden who has dwarfism went viral after he was filmed crying after being bullied at school.
However, the footage has attracted criticism from trolls who say that the video was staged as a scheme to get money.
“Looking at that video it is very distressing, it’s very triggering. Sometimes I think I’m trying to raise awareness, but sometimes I realise I’m actually doing more harm than good, so it’s taught me a very valuable lesson as well,” she explained.
“But at that time at recording I just felt hopeless. I felt really and truly hopeless, like what is going to take? For me to lose my son before anything happens?
“I can’t do that, I’m not going to wait,” she said choking back tears.
Yarraka also revealed the moments that led to the video being shared, as there were a new group of schoolgirls who were picking on Quaden.
“Apparently, there was a new student that wasn’t aware of Quaden’s condition and she had been making remarks, and Quaden had just had enough at the time,” she said.
“When me and my daughter witnessed that, the patting on the head and a couple of other little girls making reference to his height and laughing about it, he was very uncomfortable and I could see the look on his face.
“I know that look very well because it’s a regular occurrence, especially when we’re in public.”
Yarraka explained that before she put the video up on social media, she rang the school principal to let her know that her son was being bullied.
“I guess what people didn’t see is what was said and done before I started recording,” she said.
“It was me comforting him and consoling him, and being the typical boy Quaden is, he thinks that I didn’t do anything to stand up for him. So it was really difficult for me as a mum to watch that and not be able to do anything about it.
“People might think it’s just a pat on the head, it’s nothing, but if you actually speak to people in the short-stature community it can be quite dehumansing.”
Quaden also delivered a powerful message to his bullies, saying that they should be kind.
He also admitted he doesn’t like going to school because of them.
“Because they’ve never seen different people before,” he said.
“It’s not nice when you say these rude things to other people. If you see someone different just don’t be rude, just smile and say hi.
“It would be good if they knew about other people who have diseases and things, and just be kind.”
