A dad from Vancouver shared his recent experience with his autistic son's birthday party to Global News, saying he hopes it can help bring about some change for people who may be viewed as different.
David Chen is a father of four, three of whom are with special needs. One of those kids is Max, who is currently in kindergarten. According to Chen, Max experienced a lot of challenges becoming comfortable enough to attend his school. The father added that even on the first day, he was called by the school within half an hour to come and get his son because he could not handle it.
Chen said that Max, who has autism, just started full days of school about a month ago, so imagine him doing three-quarters of the year, doing partial days. Chen added that Max still struggles with social settings and focus. He also struggles to fully communicate all the time.
Only one child attended Max's birthday party
Chen said the family wanted to do something special for Max's sixth birthday, staging a party for him as it is a "rite of passage." Chen told the Vancouver Sun they wanted to have an all-class party for Max, with the family already picking a venue and sending out invitations.
However, Max's birthday bash did not go according to plan, with only one person saying yes to the invite. Chen said that two people declined the invite, while 16 of his classmates did not say anything if they would come. Chen was heartbroken by the response of Max's classmates, saying, "It was kind of an empty feeling."
My autism spectrum disorder kid is the different kid in the class. We invited all his classmates to his birthday party today & only 1 showed up. Difficult to explain to my kid & that kid's mom that only one classmate came. Not making assumptions but still an empty feeling day. pic.twitter.com/D2tSGL7iP1
— David Chen, concerned citizen 陳冠余 (@DavidChenTweets) May 14, 2022
Five of those 16 parents did reach out to Chen after his story started getting attention. Chen said he is thankful that his son seems to have forgotten about his birthday party. What pains Chen, though, is that another child in the class had a birthday party only a few weeks earlier, and 16 of the 19 kids showed up, including Max.
In-class party held for Max after the story went viral
Chen said he is not pointing the finger at anyone or blaming anyone, but he tweeted about the unfortunate experience to bring awareness. Chen posted on Twitter that his autism spectrum disorder kid is the different kid in the class, and they invited all of his classmates to his birthday party today, but only one showed up.
Chen concluded his post, saying, "Difficult to explain to my kid & that kid's mom that only one classmate came. Not making assumptions but still an empty feeling day." Chen said he had received hundreds of responses from strangers telling their own stories.
Chen said nobody wants to have this happen to them. Chen coordinated with Max's teacher to have an in-class party for his son instead. CTV News reported that the uneaten cupcakes and undistributed goodie bags were shared with the whole class on Monday. Chen said they all take part in how they shape their community, and he wants to continue sharing messages of love and acceptance.
