The parents of a 5th grader in Omaha say the boy was bullied because he had an auto-immune disorder that caused him to lose his hair. One cafe employee even mocked his hair loss. Since the age of 4, Cohen Crawford has been bald due to a condition called alopecia areata. “You know, Cohen has spent years building a pretty good set of armor and he’s a man of steel here and he’s ready to deal with what any kid would throw. on him,” said Casey Crawford, Cohen’s father. But they say they never expected that from a cafeteria worker at Buffett High School. They say it started when Cohen wanted hot sauce. “The woman walked over and said, ‘No, no, no, too much. No wonder you don’t have hair.” And I just stopped and I was like no, no, she’s not… She’s kind… no one can say that to a child,” Cohen’s mother, Amber Crawford said. Cohen’s parents say there have been three incidents with the woman, including one where they say she used profanity. KETV NewsWatch 7 asked Cohen if it upsets him: “Yeah, I don’t think anyone should say that,” Cohen said. After a month of posting Facebook posts, calls and emails to various people in the community and county, Cohen’s father says they realized it was a much bigger problem than they thought. “I would say, after talking to a lot of people through all of this, it sounds like you know this person was bullied a lot by the people at school,” Casey Crawford said. The couple said they don’t excuse the behavior towards their son but they say a lot needs to be changed at school. “What I want to do is just bring attention to it that requires change,” says Casey Crawford. “I didn’t know they would help me,” Cohen said. That’s great, we care deeply about our students. Providing a supportive, caring environment for the young people we serve has always been our priority. ”
The parents of a 5th grader in Omaha say the boy was bullied because of an auto-immune disorder that caused him to lose his hair.
They say it goes beyond students. One cafe employee even mocked his hair loss.
Since the age of 4, Cohen Crawford has been bald due to hair loss.
“You know, Cohen has spent years building a pretty good set of armor and he’s a man of steel here and he’s ready to deal with what any kid would throw. on him,” said Casey Crawford, Cohen’s father.
But they say they never expected that from a cafeteria worker at Buffett High School.
They say it started when Cohen wanted hot sauce.
“The woman walked over and said, ‘No, no, no, too much. No wonder you don’t have hair.” And I just stopped and I was like no, no, she’s not… She’s kind… no one can say that to a child,” Cohen’s mother, Amber Crawford said.
Cohen’s parents say there have been three incidents with the woman, including one where they say she used profanity.
KETV NewsWatch 7 asked Cohen if it upsets him: “Yeah, I don’t think anyone should say that,” Cohen said.
After a month of Facebook posts, calls and emails to various people in the community and county, Cohen’s father says they realized it was a much bigger problem than they thought.
That’s when they start receiving messages from other people.
“I would say, after talking to a lot of people through all of this, it sounds like you know this person was bullied a lot by the people at school,” Casey Crawford said.
The couple said they don’t excuse the behavior towards their son but they say a lot needs to be changed at school.
Casey Crawford said: “What I wanted to do was just bring attention to it and it required change.
The spotlight was just what Cohen received when cyclists greeted him outside Buffett on Monday, letting him know that no one is alone.
“I didn’t know they would help me. That’s great,” Cohen said.
KETV contacted Omaha Public Schools and received the following message in response:
“While 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 has always been our priority. ”
