The parents of an Omaha fifth grader say he’s being bullied, because of an auto-immune disorder that causes him to lose his hair.They say it goes beyond students. That even a cafeteria worker makes fun of his alopecia.Since the age of four, Cohen Crawford has been bald due to a condition called alopecia. “Cohen spent, you know, years building a pretty good set armor and he’s a man of steel over here and he’s he’s prepared to handle what any kids are gonna throw at him,” said Cohen’s dad, Casey Crawford. But they say they never expected it from a cafeteria worker at Buffett Middle School.They say it started when Cohen wanted hot sauce. “The lady came over and said, ‘No, no, no, that’s too much. No wonder you don’t have hair’. And like I just pause and I was like no, no, she didn’t.. She kind of… nobody could have said that to a kid,” said Cohen’s mom, Amber Crawford. Cohen’s parents say there were three incidents with the woman, including one where they say she used profanity. KETV NewsWatch 7 asked Cohen if that made him sad: “Yeah, I don’t think anybody should say that,” said Cohen. After a month of Facebook posts and calls and emails to various people in the community and district, Cohen’s dad says they realized it was a much bigger issue than they thought.That’s when they started getting messages from other people. “I will say, after talking with so many people through all this, it sounds like, you know, this person’s had a lot of bullying herself from the people at the school,” Casey Crawford said. The couple said they’re not excusing the behavior toward their son but they say a lot needs to change at the school. “What I want to do is just bring enough attention to it that it requires change,” Casey Crawford said.Attention is just what Cohen got when bikers greeted him outside Buffett Monday, letting him know no one is ever alone. “I had no idea they were going to help me. It was just cool,” Cohen said.KETV reached out to Omaha Public Schools and received a statement in response:“Though we are limited in what we can share due to privacy concerns, we care deeply about our students. Providing a supportive, caring environment for the young people we serve is always our priority.”
The parents of an Omaha fifth grader say he’s being bullied, because of an auto-immune disorder that causes him to lose his hair.
They say it goes beyond students. That even a cafeteria worker makes fun of his alopecia.
Since the age of four, Cohen Crawford has been bald due to a condition called alopecia.
“Cohen spent, you know, years building a pretty good set armor and he’s a man of steel over here and he’s he’s prepared to handle what any kids are gonna throw at him,” said Cohen’s dad, Casey Crawford.
But they say they never expected it from a cafeteria worker at Buffett Middle School.
They say it started when Cohen wanted hot sauce.
“The lady came over and said, ‘No, no, no, that’s too much. No wonder you don’t have hair’. And like I just pause and I was like no, no, she didn’t.. She kind of… nobody could have said that to a kid,” said Cohen’s mom, Amber Crawford.
Cohen’s parents say there were three incidents with the woman, including one where they say she used profanity.
KETV NewsWatch 7 asked Cohen if that made him sad: “Yeah, I don’t think anybody should say that,” said Cohen.
After a month of Facebook posts and calls and emails to various people in the community and district, Cohen’s dad says they realized it was a much bigger issue than they thought.
That’s when they started getting messages from other people.
“I will say, after talking with so many people through all this, it sounds like, you know, this person’s had a lot of bullying herself from the people at the school,” Casey Crawford said.
The couple said they’re not excusing the behavior toward their son but they say a lot needs to change at the school.
“What I want to do is just bring enough attention to it that it requires change,” Casey Crawford said.
Attention is just what Cohen got when bikers greeted him outside Buffett Monday, letting him know no one is ever alone.
“I had no idea they were going to help me. It was just cool,” Cohen said.
KETV reached out to Omaha Public Schools and received a statement in response:
“Though we are limited in what we can share due to privacy concerns, we care deeply about our students. Providing a supportive, caring environment for the young people we serve is always our priority.”
