Autistic Teen gets 50,000 Birthday Wishes
So often we hear about the challenges of living with autism. It’s good to recognize when our world comes together to uplift a fellow soul.
Father Ken Harrison in England was reading his son Daniel’s EHCP. In England, an EHCP is how teachers and support staff document the needs and goals of their individual being served. Daniel only had two wishes on his EHCP.
He wanted to learn how to drive a car (he’s 15).
He wanted to have a friend.
Daniel’s parents were sad that their son felt he had no friends. Daniel is a fantastic person, but somehow he had just not connected with anyone else in school. He tended to spend his time in his own world.
So Ken put a message out onto Twitter for Daniel’s 15th birthday. He asked for people on Twitter to wish his son a happy birthday.
And Twitter responded in full force. Droves of people both famous and non-famous chimed in, sang Daniel songs, drew him photos, and brought joy into his life.
It is stunning that so many people came together for Daniel.
We should try to do the same for EVERY child out there who struggles to connect.
It is just so hard to be a young person in our modern world. Maybe we as a community should create a better way to coordinate these sorts of things. For every Daniel who gets discovered, there are hundreds of other children who spent their birthday crying alone, wishing they had just ONE friend to talk to.
It’s something for us all to think about.
Cover image of children provided by Pixabay / Bessi