X Factor’s Sam Bailey reveals her autistic son confessed to feeling suicidal aged 12

In 2020, her son Tommy was diagnosed with autism and dyspraxia – a developmental coordination disorder.

And Sam Bailey, 45, has now revealed that Tommy (now 13) confessed to feeling suicidal at age 12, admitting: ‘He wanted to throw himself in front of the bus!’

In a heartbreaking new interview, the former X Factor star also delved into her 2-year struggle to get her son the right support after he started high school in late 2020.

Sam told The sun how the high school bus was a “huge sensory overload” for Tommy, whom she labeled “his worst nightmare.”

She recalled, “He would bang his head against the wall before he left the house. He told us he wanted to throw himself in front of the bus.

“We often got a call that we had to pick him up because he wasn’t behaving, or he was out of class and missing.”

Sam — who is also a mother to daughters Brooke, 17, and Miley, eight — explained how the school’s special educational needs coordinator tried to support Tommy, but there wasn’t enough manpower to meet his needs.

Determined to get better help for her son, the loving mother of three applied for an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) to get the funding needed, but unfortunately it was initially turned down.

It was then that Sam made the decision to expel Tommy from that school, telling the publication: “It was heartbreaking to hear the words ‘I don’t want to be alive’ from a 12-year-old. I knew I couldn’t let him go back.’

After further applications, Tommy was eventually awarded an EHCP, and with it he was awarded 20 hours of funding and a place in a special school that he “absolutely hated” and from which Sam and her husband Craig expelled him in July 2021.

It wasn’t until last fall school term that Tommy finally landed a place at a social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) school that provides the peaceful environment he needs to thrive.

Thankfully, according to Sam, Tommy is now “so much happier” and explains how the staff takes him for a walk or spend time with the therapy dog ​​if he has a meltdown.

The singer claimed she doesn’t want people to ‘pity’ her, insisting, “I wouldn’t change Tommy for the world. I just want him to have a life where he can grow and meet people and maybe one day fall in love and have kids of his own.”

Sam claimed those things would be available to her son if the government makes the system currently in place easier to navigate.

In order to “understand her son better,” Sam – who is currently performing as Mrs Potts in a tour of the musical Beauty And The Beast – has enrolled in a course at Bath College, which will give her a qualification for autism.

She stated, “Autism is not going away. It won’t help him, but he can learn to handle it better.’

Elsewhere in the interview, Sam also urged people to give space to children who wear a concealed lanyard or hearing protectors, not to use raising their voices, and not to assume that the child is “just being naughty.”

It comes after Sam shared an informational post on Instagram last month about her 13-year-old son struggling with London crowds to raise awareness of autism and hidden disabilities.

The boy sat on the floor at a London McDonald’s while being reassured by his father Craig Pearson, 49, after becoming tired and overwhelmed laying flowers for the Queen.

The singer revealed to the publication that people responded by telling her not to take him to the big cities, but she argued that she doesn’t want her son “stuck at home.”

MailOnline has reached out to Sam Bailey’s representatives for comment.

If you are concerned that a child is feeling suicidal, trained counselors at NSPCC can provide help or advice over the phone on 0808 800 5000

Children and young people under the age of 19 can also get support from Childline 24 hours a day, online or by phone on 0800 1111