No parent should have to go through this 
Details in the first Comment!!!
Following a 10-year-old girl tragically dying by suicide, her parents have opened up about the changes they saw in her before her passing.
Autumn Bushman, a fourth-grade student at Mountain View Elementary School in Roanoke, had shown signs of distress in the weeks before the tragedy on March 21.
Her parents, Mark and Summer Bushman, say they noticed heartbreaking changes in their daughter before her death.
“She was the youngest and probably the wildest,” Autumn’s mother Summer said. “She was a ball full of energy. It didn’t matter if you thought she was going to fall through my living room floor. She was at it with the cartwheels inside of my house at all times.”
But in the weeks leading up to the tragedy, that spark began to fade.
The couple told WDBJ they saw their daughter begin to wear darker clothes, smile less, and sleep more than usual.
And though they’d raised concerns about bullying to the school, they say the harassment never stopped.
Autumn’s mom explained that her daughter was being bullied precisely because she stood up for other kids.
“She was one if somebody was getting bullied or picked on, she would stand up for them. And unfortunately, that may have made her a target for more bullying,” Summer Bushman said.
The Bushmans say they reported the bullying to school officials, who assured them the issue was being handled. But their daughter told a different story.
“But, as far as we know, what we were told – at least by our daughter – was that it kept happening,” her father, Mark, said.
He added that the relentless bullying wasn’t limited to school hours.
“This is an age where they have tablets and they have phones, so it’s happening around the clock. They can’t really escape,” he said.
The school released a statement in response, noting they are reviewing what occurred in the lead-up to Autumn’s death, per the Daily Mail.
“While we cannot discuss the specifics of this situation due to federal privacy laws and out of respect for the family, we are conducting a thorough review,” the school said. “Our schools take all reports of bullying and conflicts among students very seriously.”
Family, friends, and the wider Roanoke community have been left shaken by the tragedy.
Family friend Cher Nelson Johnson shared a moving tribute alongside a video montage showing Autumn throughout her short life.
“So heartbreaking,” she wrote. “This photograph is of a loving, sweet, young soul who has taken their own life today due to bullying. A beautiful Roanoke girl is gone too soon.
“If you could, please keep Summer Bushman and her family in your thoughts during this devastating time of loss of her 10-year-old daughter Autumn Brooke Bushman…
“Check on your people. Speak to your children about bullying. Bullying has to come to an end!”
Autumn’s family has invited the public to attend her visitation and funeral service over the weekend, hoping to honor her memory and raise awareness about the devastating toll bullying can take on young lives.
