Boy With Autism Only Has One Classmate Attend His Birthday Party, Then Entire Football Team Shows Up

Aug 14, 2019 by apost team

Any parent of a child with autism knows that while their child might be a miracle, raising a child with special needs can present many unique challenges. Lindsay Larsen knows this all too well.

Her son Christian has autism and wanted to invite all his classmates to his birthday party. But when the invitations were sent out only one girl RSVP'd. Larsen wrote about the situation on social media and it caught the attention of one football coach who had an incredible idea. 

When Christian attempted to pass out invitations to his classmates, his mom shared the experience on social media,

"I watched as he talked to 6 kids from his class. He addressed them by name, paused, then talked...One girl responded to him and said ok, and smiled. The rest were boys. Three didn't respond to him at all. One just said, "No." and another who was sitting at a picnic table next to us, first ignored him, and then when Christian didn't take the hint to leave and asked again, said, "Maybe." The parents didn't acknowledge Christian either." 

Only one child showed up to Christian's ninth birthday party. However, it still turned out to be one of the best days of young Christian's life because of a group of football players.

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Dan Holtry coaches the football team at the local Nampa High School in Idaho. The coach decided to ask his players if they'd like to do something special after hearing about Larsen's situation. "The players jumped at the opportunity," Holtry wrote in an email to CNN.

"They were ready and willing to celebrate with Christian. Within seconds of a sent text, they were 100 percent in. No hesitation whatsoever."

When the football players walked into Christian's birthday party he collapsed to the ground overwhelmed with happiness. The players also brought Christian a gift, a football that they could all play with. "The energy became electric and it was amazing to see how they all came together," Larsen said to CNN.

"Christian often plays alone, or wanders off, but with the players there helping organize games, he became part of the action. He was playing alongside his peers, as well as the football players. I think it helped the other young children interact with Christian too."

Hopefully, this will serve as a lesson to never shun someone just because they're a bit different than you. "I know that Christian felt amazed and blessed by the turnout," his mother said to the news station.

"He talked about it for days. One of the best things about his personality is that he is always looking for the positive. He didn't question why the players were there, he just loved it. He has said multiple times that it was the best birthday ever!"

We should all strive to make others feel as happy as these cool high school boys made Christian feel. Show this story to any parents in your life who are raising children with special needs.