Teen With Asperger's Syndrome Gets Beaten But Forgives Bullies

Asperger's syndrome (AS) is a neurological and development disorder that makes it very hard to interact with other people.

According to Healthline, people with this disorder are socially awkward and are unlikely to make friends. Some autism traits can be seen in people with AS, mostly those relating to poor social skills. They usually prefer tasks that have a certain routine and they do not like change.

Individuals with AS are highly-functioning and do not have the delayed language and cognitive problems compared to those with low-functioning autism. Most of those diagnosed with AS have normal to high intelligence and can even be employed as adults.

Their awkward social skills may not be understood by many and oftentimes be misconstrued as rude and weird. This may hold true in the case of Gavin Stone, an Illinois teen diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome ever since he was a child. His mother, Cortnie, made a Facebook post last June 30, 2015, showing Gavin with a swollen, bruised face, after he was allegedly beaten by a group of kids.

Gavin suffered from "mild concussions, a bruised esophagus, fracture at the tip of his nose and hematoma in his eye," wrote Cortnie, adding that the kids who harmed his son did not understand how Gavin carries himself socially.

Despite his injuries, Gavin opted not to press charges. Instead, he decided that those who hurt him must first, go through community service that promotes awareness on disability, write an essay about AS, and "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," Gavin's mom revealed.

Cortnie also urges families to be more understanding, and to educate children about disabilities so incidents like what her son went through, for example, will not happen again.

"If you are reading this, I hope you talk to your teens, tell them about disabilities you can't see, teach them to be tolerant of people that are different, teach them that if they continuously see someone alone that maybe it is not their choice to be alone, remind them to ask questions first and get to know one another."

Here's a video explaining what Asperger's Syndrome is, courtesy of The National Center for Learning Disabilities.