Tricia Klein, mother of a 7-year-old autistic boy, Timothy, was moved to tears after receiving a special birthday party invitation for her son. The mother of her son's classmate went out of her way to write a personal invitation letter, emphasizing how her son was hoping that Timothy could come and that he can visit earlier when everything would be quieter for him.
When Klein read the special invitation, she was moved to tears. For a mom who has been struggling with an autistic son, it was a "wonderful moment." Klein considered Ainsley Peikos, the mother of Timothy's classmate, Carter, as very thoughtful.
Ainsley wrote in the special invitation, "Carter sat beside Timothy at school and he always talks about him. I really hope he can come." She also said that they would have a bounce castle, water balloons and water guns.
The statement that really tugged at the heart of Klein was, "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." For Klein, it was "an ugly cry" for her because she was shocked that somebody took the time to write the note and to be considerate enough to include his autistic son, with all his difficulties.
Timothy was diagnosed with verbal autism when he was two years old. From that time, Klein, had been struggling with Timothy's meltdowns whenever he would be "over-stimulated." In a report by Daily Mail, the condition of Timothy made it a great difficulty to join parties and similar occasions where the environment is somewhat busy. Klein had to turn down birthday invitations, until that one from Carter.
Parenting reported that Klein had grieved upon finding out about the condition of her son. She said that she was not expecting her son to suffer from the condition. She further emphasized, "I'm not saying that has ever, or will ever, change regardless of what comes our way."
Klein said that while Timothy was still struggling with social interaction, he "longs to be a part of groups and activities and have friends like every other kid his age." Klein was very happy that finally her autistic son will be able to join a birthday party albeit they would have to go earlier than the other kids. If you have other advice for parents of autistic children, feel free to write them in the Comments section.
