One of the students central to the much-hyped documentary “Bully” has a disability and his family says that his special needs may be one reason why he was targeted.

Filmmakers followed five students who were bullied, including Alex Libby who has Asperger’s syndrome, for the movie which opened last Friday in select cities. In one scene, cameras captured images of students smashing the then-seventh-grader’s head into a school bus seat in 2009.

Libby’s family is shown appealing to officials at the Sioux City, Iowa school district he attended about the abuse, but their concerns were rebuffed.

The boy’s parents say Alex’s Asperger’s syndrome and his difficulty with socialization were likely at the heart of the bullying they later learned had begun in sixth grade. In fact, the bus scene included in the film was precipitated by Alex telling another student that he wanted to be friends.

Libby’s family has since moved to Oklahoma, where they say he is no longer bullied and his grades have improved dramatically. Some of the other students in the film weren’t so lucky, however. Two of the five kids featured committed suicide, reports The Des Moines Register. To read more click here.

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