Depending upon where a person falls on the autism spectrum, some individuals show virtually no signs while others appear on the opposite end, barely able to leave their home. David Bloch, who has severe autism, sadly has to stay away from most people because of a severe immunodeficiency disorder that suffocates his life.
Twenty-one-year-old David was a miracle baby, born to Kerry and Robert after they were told they could never have children. At age 40, Kerry was over the moon ecstatic at the thought of finally having a child.
But at four years old, David began exhibiting signs of severe autism. The Bloch family’s world quickly spun out of control.
“He was fine and then he just kind of lost it all. My husband and I, we don’t really know what happened.”
David stopped speaking altogether and even today as an adult, David only utters one word at a time when pushed. He can go days without saying a peep.
Because of the severe immunodeficiency disorder he developed, David has never been able to be near others. Kerry dedicates herself to caring for David and sees every day how lonely he is.
“He wants friends badly. He’s home-schooled, and it’s just the three of us. I know he’s lonely and he wants friends.”
A huge fan of the Jacksonville Jaguars, David will watch their games for hours. One day, David looked at his mom and out of the blue, said his first full spontaneous sentence.
“I love Jaguars.”
Kerry was stunned and in disbelief. Then her heart soared!
“We’ve never had a conversation. I mean, no spontaneous speech at all until he said he liked the Jaguars.”
But the next full sentence David said to his mom broke her heart into a million little pieces.
“Would someone like me?”
Kerry instantly reassured David that she and his dad didn’t just like him, they loved him. She noted that God and Jesus liked and loved him, too.
“I had to go off and cry when he didn’t see me because it’s just kind of bittersweet that he’s trapped in there. He does want to be liked, and he does want friends, and he doesn’t know how to make them. And I said, ‘I’m sure anybody that met you would like you.'”
The dedicated mom uses Twitter to communicate with parents of other autistic children. This time, she shared on social media what her son had asked her.
His first question. A heartbreaking question. Like a punch to the gut.
But social media didn’t let this mom down. Her followers rallied around David and proved that he was very much liked. Kerry was floored at the outpouring of support.
“It’s mind-boggling. I’m overwhelmed. David and I stayed up all night last night. All we did was stay on Twitter and I would read every tweet to him. I would show him the responses, the little GIFs, the pictures people were sending. He didn’t answer much, but he would say ‘pretty’ and ‘nice.’ You could see him just smiling. I’ve never seen him smile so much in my life.”
Even sweeter was David’s message back to Twitterland.
“Thank you friends for liking me.”
“I know we’re not going to be around forever. I would love for David to find somebody special to take care of him when we’re gone. I just want him to be loved and to be happy and to be safe.”
In the meantime, Kerry and David spend time responding to everyone’s message. He’s too kindhearted not to.
“He doesn’t like to hurt anybody’s feelings. He doesn’t want anybody to be left out. He wants to answer every single one of them. It may take months, but we’re going to try to answer everybody.”
Even celeb Rosie O’Donnell messaged Kerry and David, giving him a thumbs up on her tweet.
How wonderful that these people took time out of their day to show David just how liked he really truly is, something he craved to hear. These shout outs are truly awesome! Shareably likes you, too, David!
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