- Yarraka Bayles posted a video on Facebook of her son staring at a mirror
- Quaden, who was born with dwarfism, was then targeted by online trolls
- Brisbane mother was shocked by cruel taunts made on her personal page
- She said the trolls had only motivated her to raise awareness of dwarfism
A four-year-old boy with dwarfism has been targeted by heartless online trolls after his mother posted a video of him making faces in a mirror.
Yarraka Bayles posted the video to her Facebook page of her son Quaden staring at his reflection while they were waiting for an appointment at a Brisbane hospital last month.
Ms Bayles, who campaigns for dwarfism awareness, was left gobsmacked when complete strangers started posting slurs about the little boy.
'The first one was "s*** what an ugly kid" then "look at that little midget" and "crack house kid",' Ms
Bayles told Daily Mail Australia.
Bayles told Daily Mail Australia.
Another person wrote 'that’s what happens when you do drugs' when you are pregnant.
'It was quite overwhelming. I posted it on my own personal page not expecting that to happen. It was shared a few times from my page and that's how the not so nice comments appeared,' Ms Bayles said.
'I’m so proud of him and his achievements and his milestones that I can’t contain myself so I choose to share it.
'Nobody likes to hear nasty things about their kids or have them being bullied.'
Quaden was diagnosed with achondroplasia - the most common form of dwarfism - three days after he was born.
Ms Bayles has been campaigning ever since to raise awareness and has set up support groups for families in Brisbane with children who have dwarfism.
'(The comments were) a shock at first but it makes my job more important to raise awareness. The video has been viewed almost 50,000 times,' she said.
'The haters are the motivators. It makes me work a lot harder because there’s a not a lot of dwarfism awareness in Australia.'
Ms Bayles said she while was lucky she could shield Quaden from the online trolls, she could not stop people staring in the street.
'He sees people staring before I do sometimes,' she said.
'Some people will judge him on his physical appearance and think otherwise, but they’re really not worth the energy.
'There are so many uneducated people in the world - it’s really sad that they don’t get to see the joy.'
Quaden has been in and out of hospital this year after an MRI in December revealed his brain was starting to pinch the top of his spine.
He had major brain surgery in April to stop him from losing the use of his arms and legs.
For more information about Quaden visit Stand Tall 4 Dwarfism.
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