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Mother says son is bullied
A Rockdale County mother says she is fed up after her special needs son is being bullied at school
ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. - A boy in Conyers born with a condition that caused him to lose both of his legs says he's routinely beaten and bullied at his Rockdale County elementary school.
Seven-year-old Kayden lights up if you mention what he does in gym class or his favorite video games, but he doesn't like to talk about what goes on at his new school.
"Because they push me..." he told FOX 5's Alex Whittler. "And the say 'why do you have robot legs?'"
Kayden first captivated the country at just two years old, when his mother shared a video of the determined child learning to walk with a prosthetic leg and smiling while doing it.
Five years later, Kayden and his family now live in Georgia. They moved from New Jersey in May 2019.
"[Kayden's peers] are not used to it and they don't have the knowledge, the way they react [to his legs] is terrible," Kayden's mother, Nicole Sessoms said.
Sessoms says it started when Peeks Chaple Elementary School struggled to find an accessible bus.
"Thankfully I have a van, so I took him the first two months," she explained.
Soon after, she says a boy tried to pull Kayden out of his wheelchair.
Most recently, Kayden and Sessoms say the same boy who first hurt Kayden hit him again, knocking him off of a desk and kicking him in the stomach.
It's this repeat behavior that has Sessoms ready to take serious action.
Sessoms says the school system did not utilize resources she provided them, such as a book "Kayden's First Day of School," that has anti-bullying activities and explains Kayden's disability.
She says the school has yet to provide documentation of every incident and has not given Kayden a progress report, as he has been moved from classroom to classroom.
"Every time something happens at the school it's 'don't know. we didn't see it,'" Sessoms said.
Kayden's mother also says she has a therapist who speaks with her son about what he goes through at school.
FOX 5 reached out to Rockdale County Public Schools twice. The school system says it is investigating and did not comment any further.
Sessoms tells FOX 5 she filed a school police report and is scheduled to speak with school staffers next week.