Mum's plea after teen girls mock her son on Wollongong bus while filming it

On Sunday February 11, Nicole Starling's son Kai was verbally abused by three teenage girls for at least 30 minutes while being filmed.

The prolonged attack, which started at the Wollongong Central bus stop and continued on the 20-minute bus journey to Russell Vale, was the first time something like this had happened to him.

"[Special needs] kids should all have the same rights as other kids, they should be allowed to be getting on public transport and not cop the abuse that Kai was subject to," she said.

The 17-year-old, who has an intellectual disability called Dyspraxia, often uses public transport to travel to school or social outings alone.

He told the Mercury it was "not cool" the way the girls called him names and mocked him but he wasn't going to let the incident stop him from doing the things he enjoyed.

Bianca Dungey was at the bus stop when the verbal assault occurred and tried to intervene once she realised the teen girls and Kai were not friends.

She said the girls were "deliberate and relentless" with trying to get a reaction from him by stamping, making rude gestures, doing "odd" movements and sounds while laughing in his face.

"It was really evident that they were clearly mocking him," she said.

Ms Dungey asked them to stop filming and stop bullying Kai but apparnetly the trio laughed it off and continued their "cruel" taunts once on the bus all the way to Russell Vale, where they alighted.

She also alerted the driver of the vehicle.

Kai was patient and ignored them and waved to them at one point, she said, while he even moved seats to the front of the bus and put on headphones with music. But they continued mimicking him, whispering and making grotesque body movements while laughing in his direction.

"You don't expect it now because I feel like there's so much we teach kids, especially now about like inclusivity and compassion and kindness and to accept people's differences, that it felt quite confronting to witness," she told the Mercury.

"I do feel like a parent's job, to be honest, [to educate children about inclusivity]."

Ms Dungey said it was "awful' and "heatbreaking" to witness, especially as a parent who has tried to teach her own children to respect and accept everyone and their differences.

Mrs Starling said she's since found out who the offenders were and has notified the police and their schools, but noted it's up to their parents to make them better humans.

"It's not a thing, it's not the 1960s ... this is not okay," she said.

Michael Chesworth, a friend of the Starling family and also a parent of someone with special needs, believes karma may bite the offenders in the future when in a time of need.

"Parents should be looking for a way to to make the their own kids appreciate the difficulties faced by others," Mr Chesworth said.

"If not ... they're going to have great problems when facing their own difficulties."

Witnesses who may have seen the incident are asked to contact Wollongong Police.