Amanda Steele believes it takes one person's experience to incite change. That's what started a recent call to action at Mountain Pointe High School.
Steele says her 18-year-old son, a senior at Mountain Pointe, was bullied by at least two students last week.
School administrators brought the incident to her attention after being notified by two other students that the saw a video of it on social media.
The video shows her son in multiple locations across campus, being mocked for having autism. Then, school officials say the students followed him to the bathroom and recorded him urinating.
“It was shocking, and it was one of my biggest fears coming true," she said.
Steele says she knows her son's school is big on inclusion but believes some students may need more education on how to treat and act with people who suffer from disabilities in order to really allow for inclusion.
“This is the call for action and call for change that needs to happen," added Steele.
Jennifer Liewer, a spokesperson with the Tempe Union High School District, says she's spoken with school administrators on a plan to better educate and demonstrate proper behavior to all students.
“We work very hard to make sure students understand the impact of social media," she said. " ...We want to make sure that students are treating each other with kindness and respect.”
She says students will start seeing more education on the subject, and even videos on their morning announcements addressing how to treat and respect students with disabilities.
"They are kids, and we need to teach them and we need to demonstrate the behavior we want to see from them," said Liewer.
The students held responsible for recording and posting the video were disciplined, according to school officials. They couldn't say exactly what the punishment was in this case, but add they also filed a police report, based on the allegations, and could face criminal charges for posting the video online.
