Sooner or later, everyone experiences rejection in one form or another. However, being rejected on your birthday is especially painful — especially when you’re a kid.
That’s precisely what happened to David Chen’s autistic son when only one of the 19 kids invited to his birthday party actually bothered to show up.
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Birthdays Are Supposed To Be A Time For Celebration.
After all, completing a trip around the sun is no easy feat for anyone — especially nowadays.
However, One Father Was Recently Left Heartbroken After Attempting To Celebrate His Son’s Birthday.
Vancouverite David Chen booked a huge indoor play park for his autistic son, Max, and 19 of his schoolmates.
Max Could Hardly Contain His Excitement Leading Up To The Big Day.
Unfortunately, the young boy was horribly disappointed and hurt when only one of his invited guests bothered to show up.
Max’s Father, David Chen, Took To Twitter To Voice His Despondency.
“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,” David began.
“Difficult To Explain To My Kid & That Kid’s Mom That Only One Classmate Came.”
David said that he wasn’t making any assumptions, but that he and Max were both left feeling empty.
In The Comments, David Went On To Talk About How Instead Of RSVPs, All Max Got Were Crickets.
Of those 19 kids invited, one said yes, two said no, and 16 said nothing at all.
Despite The Less-Than-Ideal Turnout, David And Max Pressed On With The Party.
David explained that he couldn’t further disappoint his own son or his one friend who bothered to show up.
To Make Matters Worse, Another Classmate Had A Birthday Party Two Weeks Prior.
The same number of children were invited, and 16 attended — including Max. Thus making the situation even harder for the boy to comprehend.
Luckily For Max, His Father’s Tweet Started To Gain Traction.
Max’s story made a serious impact on countless people, resulting in him being invited to countless soccer games and parties.
Even The Vancouver Police Reached Out To Max’s Dad Directly.
They wanted to inquire as to whether or not Max would like to take part in a ride-a-long inside a real police car.
David Also Received A Show Of Support From Thousands Of Twitter Users.
“Can you let him know a native woman in Calgary thinks he is awesome and wishes him a happy belated birthday,” @N8V_Calgarian tweeted.
In An Interview With Global News Canada, David Explained How Several Invited Parents Had Come Forward.
Many claimed that David’s initial invite had never actually hit their inbox and had instead gotten stuck in the spam folder.
David Also Outlined A Plan For Schools To Fund Private Class Parties.
“Every child needs to be celebrated at least once by their daily peers,” he reasoned.
After All, School Is Where The Bulk Of Lifelong Friendships Begin.
To deny a child this integral rite of passage is not only cruel but potentially damning to their development.
