A 5-year-old boy who has autism was turned away from a Christian summer camp in Circleville.

His mother says it was because of his diagnosis. She is now speaking up in hopes of helping other families.

Kaleb Cassidy goes to kindergarten and plays sports. When his mother Kassie signed him up for the summer adventure club at New Hope Christian Academy, she says they accepted his application and her money. But days later, she got a call saying her son would not be allowed to attend the camp after she turned in his IEP form. 

“I want to fight for my child,” she said. “They didn’t even give a chance for him to see him in person. They judged him by his diagnosis and by the words on the IEP and I don’t think that’s fair. They should have at least reached out and said ‘We feel uncomfortable about this. We have never experienced this before,’ especially if it’s a Christian organization.”

The program allegedly told Kassie that they were concerned for her son’s safety.

NBC4 tried to talk to leaders at the school, but they refused to comment on the issue.

After our visit, they did call Kassie to try and set up a meeting with the family.