Mom Tricia Klein was recently moved to tears when her son brought home a birthday party Pinvitation from school. That’s because of what the invitation said about her son, Timothy. Timothy has non-verbal autism and was diagnosed with the condition when he was 2-years-old. His condition has meant that he tends to get anxious at social gatherings and as result, many invitations have been turned down over the years.
“… I would hate to take the spotlight from the birthday child,” wrote Klein on her blog as to why she turned down the invites, but she explained, “We parents of the ‘specials’ know only too well the hurts our kids feel when they are left out of the social gatherings relative to childhood.”
That’s why the note from Timothy’s classmate Carter and his mom, Ainsley, touched Tricia deeply. 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 too much with the whole class. Let me know so we can make it work.”
“I was shocked that someone would take the time to write the note, and be considerate enough to include him with all of his difficulties,” Tricia told ABC News. “This mom gives me hope for Timothy’s future when sometimes I get stuck in the darkness of his diagnosis,” Tricia said.
Photo credit: Tricia Klein
Timothy ended up going to the party and had a fantastic time. Tricia shared how it went and wrote, “Timothy recognized Carter right away and ran right into the inflatable Minecraft castle. It almost took my breath away how easily he fit in. I had to stop for a minute and reflect on how this could have gone and immediately felt guilty.
How many invites have I declined over the years? Have I done my son a disservice? Perhaps. I’m not one to live in the past however, and moving forward I will continue to keep trying to be the best Mother I can to my children in all aspects of their lives.”
It’s been a year since the birthday party and she has become great friends with Ainsley since them. Now that her son’s story is going viral, Tricia hopes people take away what she feels is its special message. “I want only one thing for our kids–for all kids really, and that is inclusion,” she said. “All they want is to feel included and accepted for who and what they are–that different is okay…it’s just different.”
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