By
Bullying is a growing problem that affects a large number of families in Spain. Between January 2021 and February 2022, 11,229 serious cases of bullying were detected, most of them against minors and within the classroom. Aitor is one of those victims of this situation, and how many of the boys and girls in the same situation did not dare to tell it.
He says that he does not remember when these episodes of bullying began, he has lived with them all his childhood: “I have changed schools 3 times. They despised me, hit me, insulted me…”, says Aitor, recalling the episodes that have caused him to as young as 12 years old is afraid to enter a classroom.
Aitor suffers from Autism Spectrum Syndrome and Tourette Syndrome. These two conditions often complicate their social relationships, and on rare occasions their environment beyond their family has facilitated these situations.
Many times it is difficult to detect symptoms of bullying in children, especially if they are part of the family environment. In Aitor’s case, his mother Sonia became suspicious a few months ago, and a limit situation already caused everything to explode: “When bullying starts in Aitor’s case, we still haven’t diagnosed his disorders, and that made it more complicated” .
“I realized because children are very routine. Then, one day when going to school, instead of going in as usual, he stopped at the entrance, grabbed the fence and kept saying to me: ‘Mom, I love you’ , and that raised my alarm, it was their way of asking for help”, Sonia comments about the moment they began to discover the problem.
Aitor did not want to tell it, most children take this ‘modus operandi’ as a form of protection towards their loved ones and think that this is how they avoid that bad drink: “At first I did not tell her for fear that she would suffer,” says Aitor , who also wanted to send a message to children who are experiencing the same situation: “That they tell it, that they talk to their close people, that they are going to help them”
Once aware of the problem, Aitor’s parents began to work to help Aitor reverse the situation and leave behind all the problems that were preventing him from being happy and growing as a child should. Since then, his family’s efforts have focused on walking this path together.
In this process, many people have been joining and giving their support to Aitor, one of them in a more special way. Iván, owner of the Gladius gym, offered Aitor and his family to try Boxing and K1, a form of Kick Boxing, as a way of treatment.
Since then, the Gladius and Boxing have become Aitor’s escape valve. It is probably the place where he feels best, and where he has been offered the shelter and support he needed after his traumatic experiences. “Here they help him, they love him and he is one more classmate, something that Aitor has never had in a classroom,” says Sonia regarding the change they have experienced since he arrived at the Gladius.
Despite the label of violent and conflictive that combat sports have, Sonia and Aitor have a very different opinion about what a sport like this brings them: “What Boxing has taught me is not to give up, that is the most important thing I have learned”, says Aitor, while his mother invites more children in his situation to try combat sports: “To the fathers and mothers of children who suffer from bullying, I tell them to let them try, that Don’t be afraid. It’s helping us a lot.”
Sonia and the rest of her family are involved, not only in solving her son’s situation, but also in helping her case to prevent other children from going through the same thing. Since then, Aitor has been creating a networking community that fights against bullying.
Many relevant figures from the Spanish scene have joined the fight and day by day the effect of this dissemination work is being noticed: “I receive messages every day from parents who are going through the same thing. I receive their support and they let me know that our videos help them, and knowing that telling our case is beneficial helps us too”.