HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Henrico County mother Monica Hutchinson was moved to tears when asked about the day her son, DJ, graduated from Hermitage High School.

“There are no words. To see my baby walk across the state, " Hutchinson told 8News.

However, she said her tears weren’t always happy ones.

“He was made to feel like he was different, or other, or less than,” Hutchinson said.

That’s because, she said, when DJ -- who has autism -- was growing up, he struggled to get the help he needed in school.

“If he is overwhelmed or frustrated because maybe he’s not catching on as quickly as he wants to catch on, then it would come out as, it would manifest as the frustration, or him being disrespectful, or him not listening, or wanting to put his head down,” Hutchinson explained.

Howev

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