AN inspirational teenager who was severely bullied is helping other children to tackle abuse.
Fifteen-year-old Dan Marsh, who suffers from dyspraxia and dyslexia, was taunted about his disabilities at the hands of youngsters at primary school.
The bullying started when Dan, from Blacon, was just five years old and left him both physically and mentally scarred.
“As a young baby I was very ill and spent a lot of time in hospital and had to have a number of operations,” said Dan.
“I know I have always found things more difficult than other children and I could never quite keep up with others.
“From as far back as I can remember, I was desperately unhappy in school.
“In the playground I remember being constantly picked on, probably because I couldn’t do stuff like others did.
“I often fell over and seemed to be forever having accidents and bumping into other people.
“I remember standing watching from the sidelines of the football pitch or walking around the playground alone and I was left out of all the games and children used to run away from me when I tried to join in.”
Unknown to his teachers and his mother Marian, Dan was suffering from dyspraxia, a brain condition which can affect areas of development and impair a person’s normal process of learning.
He also had dyslexia which meant the taunts did not stop once he was inside the classroom.
“The other children used to laugh at me and call me thick and stupid,” said Dan.
“I stopped wanting to answer any questions in case I looked even more stupid than the children thought that I was.
“I realise now that I lost lots of confidence.”
During Dan’s bullying, his Mum Marian said she felt frustrated, angry, upset and guilty on a daily basis.
She said: “I remember one particular time, when Dan had been physically hurt a number of times within a short period of time, and I wrote about it in a diary. To this day I still hate reading this account as it makes very, very sad reading - heartbreaking reading.”
Marian used the diary to raise awareness of the bullying Dan was encountering and met with teachers at the school to highlight the issue.
“Without exception everyone was shocked about the number and severity of incidents,” said Marian.
“At this point the school agreed that this was bullying and that it was unacceptable for anyone to have to deal with, regardless of their own difficulties or ability or inability to cope.”
After suffering years of bullying from his peers at primary school, Dan eventually moved to Chester Catholic High School where he has been helped by a speech and language unit and has found acceptance amongst his peers.
Marian said: “Since he has been at the school he has achieved amazing things and even though he has been through bad times he is such an inspiration to people who have been bullied.”
The inspirational young teenager is now Cheshire West and Chester Council’s youth representative on the north west youth anti-bullying alliance.
With the help of north west regional adviser, Alison O’Brien, he has helped to organise a conference for children from across the region, and will speak about his experiences.
At the event in Bury, on Wednesday, November 18, there will also be a number of anti-bullying workshops, which will all work towards raising awareness of the issue of bullying, as part of national anti-bullying week.
Dan added: “Things do go wrong and have gone wrong in the past.
“I am learning what my limitations are and I am learning how important it is to explain to people who don’t know me what I can and can’t do.
“I am proud of who and what I am - we are all individuals with individual needs, we are all different with strengths and weaknesses and we should celebrate this.”
To find out more about the conference visit www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk