Suit Claims School Didn’t Prevent Bullying that Drove Autistic Youth to Suicide

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Suit Claims School Didn't Prevent Bullying that Drove Autistic Youth to Suicide

http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/suit_claims_school_didnt_prevent_bullying\

_that_drove_autistic_youth_to_suic/

The parents of a 17-year-old autistic youth who committed suicide last October

claim in a lawsuit that his Georgia school district and its principal failed to

prevent the bullying that led to his depression.

The federal lawsuit filed by the parents of Tyler Lee Long claims the school

violated the youth's right to equal protection, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

reports. Long had been diagnosed with Asperger's Disorder, a form of autism that

causes social anxiety, the story says.

The boy's mother, Tina Long, told the newspaper her son had been close to

earning a black belt in karate, but it wasn't in his nature to hurt anyone,

including the bullies who taunted and hit him. " He hated school, " Tina Long told

the Journal-Constitution. " They would spit in his food, call him `gay,' smack

him and say, `I can't wait until you are six feet under!' A lot of [the] time he

would go to the counselor's office and call me. We complained, but nothing much

was done. "

The Murray County School District in Chatsworth, Ga., is one of the defendants.

In a statement, the district said it is confident the facts will show no fault

on its part.