Gavin Joseph: Beaten Asperger’s Teen Doesn’t Press Charges Against Bullies – Asks Them To Do Just One Thing

A bullied teenager who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome decided not to press charges against a group of individuals who attacked him and left him severely injured, and instead he asked them to watch a 20 minute video that he created that informs them of his condition and how they have altered his life.

Gavin Joseph, who hails from New Baden, Illinois, was left bruised, black-eyed, and concussed after a group of bullies launched upon him last Friday.

Joseph, who recently graduated from high school, was jumped upon by a gaggle of teenagers. They decided to abuse him because he is different and spent most of his time alone, something that they insisted is “weird” and “creepy.” According to the Daily Mail, Joseph’s injuries included a fracture on his nose, huge black eye, a bruised esophagus, and a concussion.

On Thursday a group of children stated that it was “weird” how Gavin Joseph spent all of his time alone, while noting that it was “creepy” that he wanted to be friends with people that he didn’t even know.

Then on Friday another teenager who had overheard this conversation launched a physical attack on Gavin alongside his friends that saw them repeatedly choke, punch, and kick him. It was added that they didn’t attempt to get to know Gavin at all before this diabolical attack, and then simply left him “laying on the pavement so he would ‘learn’ his lesson.”

Gavin Joseph’s mother, Cortnie Stone, took to her Facebook page to provide an update on her son’s plight, revealing that rather than pressing charges against the group involved she asked that their community service was disability related. She wrote:

He did not press charges, but requested their community service be disability related, that they write a paper on Asperger’s, and that they watch a 20 min video statement he taped while their families were present so they could see the damage they did and hear the event from his perspective.

Stone was overwhelmed with her son’s response, adding, “I am so proud of him, and I hope a lesson will come of this to all that hear about it.”

In her post, Stone also explained that Gavin was diagnosed with Asperger’s and ADHD when he was just 3-years-old. She noted that the condition isn’t a visible disability, and added that it sometimes makes him appear “rude, impatient, ‘weird,’ detached, or uninterested,” all of which is unintentional.

[Image via Essential Kids]