Parents of children with autism are, unfortunately, used to facing stigmas in their daily lives. So often, strangers can judge them or act harshly toward their children because they don’t understand what it’s actually like to walk in their shoes.
Sometimes, though, strangers can turn all of that around with a simple act of kindness. That’s exactly what one man practiced on his birthday, and now his actions are inspiring others around the globe.
A Birthday Celebration
A man was out to dinner with some friends one day to celebrate his 29th birthday. After the meal, the servers came over with a cake and did a short “Happy Birthday” performance. Typically in these situations, other restaurant-goers will take note and smile. Sometimes, they’ll even sing along.
On this particular day though, a young girl with autism saw the celebration and wanted to be involved.
In a video shared by Good News Correspondent on X, the girl comes over to the table and tries to blow out the candles. Immediately, her father follows and tries to stop her, but the birthday boy surprises everyone by insisting the little girl be the one to blow them out.
The smile on the little girl’s face (not to mention the one on her dad’s face) is so sweet that thousands of people shared the video and reacted to it on social media.
An Inspiring Message
In the comments, you can see how inspired people were by this man’s kindness. Parents were particularly touched and thankful to see such a positive interaction.
“As a mom, I have to say thank God for people like this young man,” one person wrote. “Others have to deal with strangers telling us that autism is not an excuse and verbally attacking us.”
Someone else gave a shout-out to the girl’s dad. “Sweet. And respect for Papa trying to do his best,” she wrote. “Our special needs kiddos are not always received positively or given much grace from strangers when they have impulsive, compulsive, sensory seeking moments.”
“If you can be anything, be nice.”
“If you can be anything, be nice,” someone else added. Another person shared that sentiment: “Kind people deserve the best.”
Choosing Kindness
The reason this story touched so many people is that it inspires us all to be a little kinder in our own lives, too. Sometimes, we can get in a bad mood or feel like things aren’t going our way, and it makes us want to retreat and keep to ourselves.
But, as this man proves, choosing to lead with kindness whenever we can has the potential to light up so many lives around us — including our own. That’s why it’s important to put ourselves in other people’s shoes and why we should always try and remember that we never really know what others are going through deep down.
Whether it’s bringing someone an extra coffee, baking treats for a neighbor, or even just checking in on someone who has been having a tough time lately, these gestures matter. Besides, the more we practice leading with kindness, the more we can integrate it into our daily lives.
From there, who knows who we may inspire.
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