As a parent, finding out that your child has been diagnosed with a serious condition is incredibly difficult. Not only do you have to see your little one suffer, it also means learning to adapt your whole life to your child’s schedule so you can take care of your precious child as best you can. While those close to you understand the daily struggle your family goes through, most outsiders have no idea. So when kind, caring souls sense how difficult your life can be and offer to help in some way, it’s incredibly heartwarming. Tricia Klein shared a situation like this on her blog, The Book of Timothy. Tricia’s seven-year-old son, Timothy, has non-verbal autism and thus has trouble making friends—so when he came home one day with a special birthday invitation, his mother couldn’t hold back the tears.
Tricia Klein is a young mother from Canada with three children, including seven-year-old, Timothy. When the boy was two years old, he was diagnosed with non-verbal autism, which makes navigating social settings difficult.
Because of Timothy’s difficulty interacting with others, Tricia often has to turn down invitations when her son is invited to his classmates’ birthday parties.
But one day, Timothy came home with a special invitation. It was from his classmate Carter, who hoped that Timothy would come to his party—and the invitation came with a little note from Carter’s mom. It read:
“Carter sat beside Timothy at school and he always talks about him. I really hope he can come. We are renting a bounce castle that we can attach a small bounce slide at the bottom. We will also have water balloons and water guns. Maybe Timothy can come earlier in the day if it would be too much with the whole class. Let me know so we can make it work.”
Tricia was blown away by the thoughtful gesture.
“I was shocked that someone would take not only the time to write the note, but to be considerate enough to include him with all of his difficulties. It was a wonderful moment, Tricia told ABC News.
Carter’s mother, Ainsley Peikos, said that it was important to invite Timothy to the party and ensure it would suit him well.
“Carter had always talked about him, so I didn’t think twice when he wanted him at the party. The only question was, ‘How could we make it work so that Timothy could come and have a great time just like anyone else?’” Ainsley told ABC News.
The party was a success. Timothy got there a little early and went straight into the bounce castle to play with Carter. Together they had a wonderful day, and their mothers have become good friends since the event.
“I want only one thing for our kids—for all kids really, and that is inclusion. All they want is to feel included and accepted for who and what they are—that different is okay… It’s just different,” Tricia Klein told ABC News.
We must never forget how much a small gesture can mean to another person. Just showing a little concern for someone else can mean everything to them. Please share this article with your friends so they’re inspired to do something nice for others, too!
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