Dallas, 20, is one of the thousands of youngsters with a disability who has contacted Childline. After accessing support he learned that being different is what makes people unique
I can remember when I was about age six or seven I first started to experience bullying in school. I felt like everyone else in school was behaving differently to me and others didn't understand who I was.
I have autism, and because I was different, other children used to say I was weird. It made me feel alone and that I was the only one experiencing this. I didn't realise until I was older that other people had similar experiences because they have autism.
Meeting other young people with autism and sharing our experiences has helped me see that I am not alone and I'm not different.
However I ended up moving primary schools five times, and twice in secondary school because of bullying. Even now people around me struggle to understand how simple tasks can cause me to panic.
People don't take the time to understand autism. When the bullying happened, I would talk with my family, or my close friends who understood and accepted me. They supported me to talk and helped me understand the simple truth; I'm not weird.
But I do remember one really bad time in secondary school when I was chased by others who were saying they wanted to set me on fire for being weird. It was a terrifying experience and afterwards I started to use the Childline message boards to talk about how I was feeling.
On the message boards you are accepted for who you are, you can get advice and you can build your confidence. Childline counsellors can help you work out what you want to say to adults in your life. Childline helps you to feel accepted and not alone.
Now I volunteer for charities, and volunteering has really made a difference in my life. It has given me confidence and I now understand I'm all right to be who I am.
I would say to other young people who are experiencing bullying that the most important thing is to speak up to a trusted adult. Speak to a teacher, parent, friend or Childline, but it's important to speak up so you can start the journey of accepting and being proud of who you are.
The name of the author has been changed to keep their identity anonymous.
