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The mother of a 14-year-old boy with autism says she’s angry at the police and feeling betrayed by the Ottawa Catholic School Board after her son was charged with assault following an incident involving his former principal and vice-principal.

Meanwhile, the fact that the teenager is being put through the justice system is troubling some autism experts — who only last week were decrying the handcuffing of a nine-year-old boy at a different school who was also on the autism spectrum.

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This case involves an older child, who is big for his age. He cannot be named because of his age and the charges against him.

The mother says her son was diagnosed with a very complex form of autism in 2004. He suffers from certain phobias and “gets spooked easily … He always needs someone he can trust.” Though he can finally communicate through speech, he often makes hissing and animal noises.

The boy’s lawyer, Elena Davies, says she has never had to defend a client at such a young age with what she understands to be his particular degree of autism.