BC Dad Took To Twitter When Only 1 Kid Came To His Son's Birthday & The Response Was Huge
"My autism spectrum disorder kid is the different kid in the class."
Max Chen at his birthday party in front of a cupcake with a birthday candle on it. Right: Indoor playground.
A Vancouver dad who has a son on the autism spectrum took to Twitter after only one classmate showed up at his son's birthday party when the entire class was invited.
The vulnerable story sparked an important conversation on the social media platform and a flood of support for the family.
David Chen sent out invitations for his son, Max's, sixth birthday party and booked an indoor playground. When only one classmate showed up at the party, Chen decided to share his story.
He told Narcity that he did not want to make any assumptions about why people did not attend the party but said he wanted to give a voice to others who he "suspected have suffered the same thing but were too afraid to do anything more than suffer in isolation."
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 \u9673\u51a0\u4f59 (@David Chen, concerned citizen \u9673\u51a0\u4f59) 1652571398
In just a few days his Tweet has gained over 7,000 likes.
Chen said: "Twitter says that more than 850k impressions were made, thousands of likes and comments. Hundreds of these were heartbreaking stories of similar lived experiences."
Other responses Chen saw were helpful tips, which he used to help draft a protocol for Max's school's Parent Advisory Council, for the welcome to school packages. The goal of this protocol, Chen said, is "to help parents avoid this heartache."
As for the parents of the kids who didn't attend the party — some have gotten in touch. Chen said that a few of the parents let him know that the invitation to the party went into their spam email folder.
"This was part of why I did not want to make assumptions and the learning lesson was to use multiple communications methods to invite guests," Chen said.
"Birthday parties are a rite of passage we all go through and I don’t think we recognize the impact not having one or having a poor turnout can have. This resonates with so many people," he added.
Chen also said that the whole experience is not about "pointing fingers," but instead can be a lesson for everyone.
I made special arrangements for him to have a classroom party tomorrow. I don't want to point the blame finger but hope that something good will come out of sharing this experience.— David Chen, concerned citizen \u9673\u51a0\u4f59 (@David Chen, concerned citizen \u9673\u51a0\u4f59) 1652636630
Thankfully Chen is hearing from people who want to give Max some gifts, and overall is placing focus on "preventing this from happening to other kids."