“My real hell came in ESO. In 2022 my depression began. “I wanted to commit suicide, and I still think about it today.” It is the heartbreaking testimony of a 15-year-old boy with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who recounted his experience of bullying during a conference in Tortosa (Tarragona) and whose speech has gone viral on social networks.
The young man, through tears and inconsolable crying, recounts how during the repeated episodes of bullying, no authority took charge of the problem despite knowing about it. “Since he started ESO, this is hell. The teachers, the teachers, the center managers... do not do their job. I told them and they did nothing about it,” he denounces. Even on some occasions, they have addressed their parents questioning, according to the young man, if “are you sure that your son is not exaggerating and that he is too sensitive?”
His testimony is heartbreaking. He tells how since 2022 he has resisted taking his own life due to the harassment he continually suffers. The lecturer, without words, goes to hug the young man when he finishes his presentation.
As the speaker himself explains on his social networks, the testimony took place during the second day of “Parlem d’Autisme” that was held in the city of Tortosa. The man, José Manuel López, recounted his experience as the father of Kira López, a young woman who committed suicide as a victim of bullying in 2021.
“He doesn't want to die, he wants to stop suffering,” López explains on his Twitter account. “He has already done what the famous anti-bullying campaigns have asked of him: he has told it, he has acted! Not everyone is capable, unfortunately. What are we going to offer you now? How are we going to restore self-esteem and the will to live? Training and prevention are already late for him and for many others. Where is the repair of the damage?”
