Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) patients view the world differently than all of us. Their responses to stimuli vary—what may appear normal to other people may be too much for them to bear.
Connor Crites experienced this on his first day of school at Minneha Elementary School.
The youngster with autism struggled to handle the first day of school commotion.
Connor balled up in a corner and started sobbing rather than interacting with his classmates. However, Connor was able to enter the school with his head held high thanks to a new buddy.
That’s because Christian Moore, a classmate in second grade, saved him. He approached the youngster who was sobbing, comforted him, and then took his hand and led the way inside.
They instantly became the best buddies.
“I saw him on the ground with Connor as Connor was crying in the corner and he was consoling him. He grabs his hand and walks him to the front door. We waited until the bell rang and he walked him inside of the school. The rest is history. They have an inseparable bond,” Courtney, Christian’s mom, said.
When they are in an environment with lots of people, individuals with ASD frequently experience stress.
Connor probably started weeping in the corner because he felt overwhelmed by the chaos around him.
“I fear every day that someone is going to laugh at him because he doesn’t speak correctly, or laugh at him because he doesn’t sit still or because he jumps up and down and flaps his hands,” Connor’s mom, April Crites, shared.
Courtney was able to take a snapshot of the heartwarming encounter.
She was so moved by her son’s kindness that she decided to post the picture on Facebook to encourage others.
She captioned, “I’m so proud of my son, he seen a kid balled up into a corner crying, so he went to console him, grabbed his hand and walked him inside of the school! It is an honor to raise such a loving, compassionate child! He’s a kid with a big heart, the first day of school started off right.”
She’s the proudest mom to her loving child.
Connor clearly agreed by saying, “He was kind to me. It was in the 1st day of school and I started crying then he helped me and I was happy.”
The lesson that both their mothers and many others are drawing from this incident is that Christian didn’t see Connor as different.
It was such a beautiful lesson to learn from kids.
“It doesn’t matter color, it doesn’t matter gender, it doesn’t matter disability, and it doesn’t matter anything, just be kind, open your heart… it’s what we need in this word,” April remarked.
What a touching story. No wonder a lot of people shared this post. It was indeed a gentle reminder to us all to love one another, regardless of the differences we all bring to the table.
Way to go, Connor and Christian!
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