Springfield, IL (WAND) – Seventh grader Aleisha Jurgens has autism. She said she has been dealing with bullying at Washington Middle School. Last week, verbal abuse escalated when a student attacked her.

Aleisha was on a bus ride home on March 3 when another student stood over her and began punching her multiple times.

Aleisha said the taunts and harassment are tearing her down.

“[They’d say things like] You’re ugly. You don’t know nothing. You shouldn’t be here. You should be at a special-ed school. And more like mean words,” Aleisha said.

When her father, Scott, saw the video, he said his heart dropped.

“She’s scared. She’s afraid that when that girl comes back to school, it’s going to happen again. She’s afraid that other kids are going to keep picking on her, and the bully just doesn’t stop,” Scott said.

Research says victims of bullying are nine times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims. Scott is afraid of what could happen if the bullying continues.

“They come home, talking about how they don’t want to live. They just, they want to die. And I’m like, no, you can’t. I’m afraid I’m going to lose one of my kids to suicide because of this bullying,” Scott said.

Scott addressed the school board March 9 about the issues during a 186 district meeting.

“It’s getting ridiculous. These kids should be able to go to school. They have the right to go to school. They have the right to be safe. The right to their education. We need to do better by these children,” Scott said.

Aleisha is asking students to remember that kindness goes a long way.

“Be kind to the other kids. Not bullying. Not yelling at people. Not arguing. Helping people out,” Aleisha said.

In a statement, District 186 said the incident has been addressed, but they cannot release disciplinary details due to federal student privacy laws. Scott encourages families to check in with their kids about bullying.