Nebraska bully leaves 9-year-old autistic boy broken and bruised

Mother Sarah Ford wants answers after her 9-year-old autistic son was bullied into broken fingers and bruises.

"The child punched my son in the face multiple times with a closed fist," she told KETV. "He was also hit with a large stick so hard it broke his finger."

Ford is mother to three children, two of whom are autistic, but she said it's the 9-year-old that gets picked on a lot.

"Usually it starts with his weight, then mean names and so on," she said. While the bullying had never been physical, last Friday, her son was attacked while playing with friends from the neighborhood.

"The boy has bullied my son before. He's done it numerous times," Ford said, worried of what might happen next time. She also noted that the bullying isn't just happening to her son but several other smaller neighborhood children.

"It's a big issue. It's something that kids are actually losing their lives over," Ford said.

She said that she hopes parents will talk to their children about bullying, not just to stop bullies but for bystanders who don't intervene.

"When they see a child like that, they need to embrace them as opposed to torturing them and being rude to them. A conversation needs to be had," Ford said.