A bullied nine-year-old boy has been inundated with messages of support after his mum shared a video of him asking to kill himself because he was targeted over his dwarfism.
Yarraka Bayles, from Brisbane, filmed her son Quaden crying in the car after she picked him up from school on Wednesday.
The schoolboy, who has achondroplasia – the most common type of dwarfism – told his mother: ‘Give me a rope, I want to kill myself.’
The video has gone viral and Quaden and his family have received support and encouragement from Australian sports stars and kind strangers from around the world.
Quaden Bayles has received support from around the world after his mother posted a video of him crying and saying he wanted to kill himself after being bullied at school
![Quaden's support has gone international, with the nine-year-old receiving heartfelt messages from fans in the United States and Europe](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/02/20/22/24997150-8026549-Quaden_s_support_has_crossed_Australian_borders_with_the_nine_ye-m-2_1582238265009.jpg)
Quaden’s support has gone international, with the nine-year-old receiving heartfelt messages from fans in the United States and Europe
An Instagram page set up for the young boy has been flooded with messages of support with many pledging gifts and friendship.
His family has issued a statement thanking everyone for their uplifting well wishes.
It read: ‘Quaden Bayles’ family would like to take this time firstly to thank everyone for the overwhelming show of love and support from so many people from all around the world.
‘Due to the large volume of messages, we are unable to respond to everyone at this time as we need time to process as a family and would like to ask that media respect the family’s wishes, they are not taking calls and will be speaking to First Nations Media only at this time.
‘Again thank you everyone, Quaden’s feeling the love and now he needs a good rest. We are meeting with the appropriate people in power to make changes and make a stand against bullying.’
Since the video was shared on Wednesday, Quaden has been offered to lead the Indigenous All Stars NRL team onto Cbus Stadium on the Gold Coast, where they will play the Maori All Stars on Saturday night.
![Quaden is pictured with NRL star Latrell Mitchell. The nine-year-old will lead the Indigenous All Stars NRL team onto the pitch on Saturday](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/02/20/04/24962466-8023331-image-a-38_1582173037742.jpg)
Quaden is pictured with NRL star Latrell Mitchell. The nine-year-old will lead the Indigenous All Stars NRL team onto the pitch on Saturday
Quaden was snapped with Indigenous All Stars player Latrell Mitchell, who donned a South Sydney Rabbitohs jersey after signing with the club for the 2020 season.
Mitchell is teammates with Quaden’s uncle James Roberts, who is also in the Indigenous All Stars team.
The All Stars squad filmed a video for the schoolboy on Thursday, letting him know they were on his side.
Mitchell said: ‘Hey Quadey… Just wanted to wish you all the best brother, we know you’re going through a hard time right now but the boys are here.’
‘We’ve got your back, we’re here to support you bud. We just want to make sure you’re doing alright.’
‘We want you around, we want you to lead us down on the weekend. It’s going to mean more to us than it will to you bud.
‘Just make sure you’re looking after yourself and hopefully we get to see you in the next couple of days.’
A number of other devastated viewers sent their love to Quaden through his mum’s Facebook page.
‘Sending hugs and strengths. People need to control their kids, he doesn’t deserve to feel this way about going to school. He deserves a safe place. So sorry,’ one person wrote.
‘It is our responsibility as parents in raising our children to be kind, respectful and compassionate to one another regardless of appearance, gender, religion, race and everything else that makes us different,’ added another.
Quaden’s range of support stemmed from beyond Australia’s borders, finding fans in the United States and Europe.
‘I want you to know there are many people here in Texas supporting you and Quaden,’ one person said.
‘Just watched your message, so sad watching what your going through, sending my love from Scotland,’ added another.
‘Hey Quaden I just want you to know you are amazing… Thinking of you and sending loads of love your way from London.’
‘Sweet sweet boy. You are beautiful, you are worthy, you are wonderfully made, you are loved. You have friends in California.’
Ms Bayles shared the video publicly on Facebook in a bid to raise awareness about the impact of bullying.
She said she normally tries to keep distressing moments such as this private but felt she had been left with no choice but to go public.
‘We try to be as strong as positive as possible and only share the highlights… but this is how bullying affects a nine-year-old kid,’ she said in the video.
At the start of the five-minute clip, Ms Bayles said: ‘I just picked my son up from school, witnessed a bullying episode, rang the principal and I want people to know this is the effect bullying has. This is what bullying does.
‘So can you please educate your children, your families, your friends because all it takes is one more instance… and you wonder why kids are killing themselves.’
‘This is the impact bullying has a nine-year-old kid who just wants to go to school, get an education and have fun but every single fricking day something happens.
‘Another episode another bullying, another taunt, another name-calling.’
As Quaden sobbed, Ms Bayles asked for help from anyone viewing the footage.
‘So is there any advice or support or anything that other parents have done?
‘I’ve got some good advice but I need more, I want people to know how much it is hurting us as a family,’ she said as her voice quivered.
The mother did not go into specifics about the latest bullying incident, but previously said her son was called a ‘midget’ by his classmates.
Speaking to NITV News, the mother said she took the video after one of Quaden’s classmates patted him on the head and continued to refer to his height.
‘She was patting him on the head like a little puppy. My daughter and I looked at each other and we made signals to him to ask if you are right, and he was like ”no” and he was looking at me horrified, like ”don’t make a scene mum”.’
![The mother, an Aboriginal rights activist, said the bullying started when her son (pictured) was seven](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/02/20/02/24959272-8022405-The_mother_an_Aboriginal_rights_activist_said_the_bullying_start-a-99_1582164711905.jpg)
![Pictured: Quaden in the car](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/02/20/02/24959270-8022405-image-a-98_1582164711903.jpg)
The mother, an Aboriginal rights activist, said her son has made several attempts to take his own life
‘You could tell he was very uncomfortable but he was so good at trying to shrug things off, he doesn’t want people to know how much it’s affecting him, he’s so strong and confident but it’s times like these when you just see him crumble.’
Ms Bayles said it was heartbreaking to watch and she felt ‘helpless’.
She then took Quaden to the car where he was ‘hysterical’.
While there has been an outpouring of support, Ms Bayles has also been criticised for sharing the confronting footage.
‘I have copped a lot of backlash for it, I thought twice about deleting it … but I wanted people to see the effect bullying is having on my child. If I don’t stand up and speak out for him, who will,’ she told NITV News.
Last year she told the Courier-Mail Quaden first tried to kill himself three years ago when he was just six.
‘I was so shocked. I honestly didn’t think he would even know what or how at six years old,’ she said.
The mother, an Aboriginal rights activist, said her son has made several attempts to take his own life.
‘I’ve explained to him that once you go, there’s no coming back, you’re gone forever, but he still kept trying,’ the mother said.
She told the newspaper she was proud that she had spoken publicly about asking for help.
![In a family message, Quaden's mother Yarraka said she was meeting with the appropriate groups to take a stand against bullying](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/02/20/22/24997138-8026549-In_a_family_message_Quaden_s_mother_Yarraka_said_she_was_meeting-m-1_1582238248782.jpg)
In a family message, Quaden’s mother Yarraka said she was meeting with the appropriate groups to take a stand against bullying