Teens Teach Little Boy With Autism How To Skateboard On His Birthday In Heartwarming Viral Video
A New Jersey mom took to Facebook last week to share her heartwarming story thanking a group of teens who went out of their way to teach her autistic son how to ride a skateboard at a local park.
"You would never know by looking at him," Kristen Braconi shared on Facebook last week, but her 5-year-old Carter "has high functioning autism and ADHD."
On March 26th Braconi took her son Carter out on his birthday to ride his scooter at the skate park behind the police station in South Brunswick, NJ. when a group of locals teens showed up.
Carter was "really nervous" riding around the older kids and wanted to go home when the group went out of their way to include Carter and show him how to ride a skateboard.
"They were absolutely amazing with him and included him and were so beyond kind it brought me to tears," Braconi wrote. "One of the kids gave him a mini skateboard and taught him how to use it. I can't even begin to thank these kids for being so kind and showing him how wonderful people can be to complete strangers."
As the teens sang Happy Birthday to Carter and showed him how to ride his new board, Braconi captured video of the the heartwarming encounter which she later shared on her community's Facebook page.
Kind kids in South Brunswickwww.youtube.com
In an interview with South Brunswick news outlet Patch, Braconi says Carter was so happy that days later he is still watching the video.
"They made him feel so special," said Braconi. "After they included him, his whole demeanor changed. He seems more confident now and I think more comfortable to be at the park. Hopefully he will feel like he can be more social."
Braconi and Carter eventually left the park but returned shortly with ice cream as a way of thanking the teens.
Braconi ended her post saying "Thank you to whoever these children are and thank you to their parents because you are doing a wonderful job!!!"
The post has since gone viral and users across social media were touched by the heartwarming story.
@CNN Thats just awesome... https://t.co/NZTMMbVROZ— The Crapper (@The Crapper) 1554219309
@CNN Warms my heart.— Carolyn (@Carolyn) 1554220759
@CNN @mtlkeith Everyone benefits from this 💙 this is where we all need to get to soon 💙— thebaffledking (@thebaffledking) 1554224612
@CNN https://t.co/y1c196zjoh— Tiffany, MOT, OTR/L (@Tiffany, MOT, OTR/L) 1554224542
And others joined Braconi in praising the teens for the kindness shown in going out of their way to include Carter.
@CNN https://t.co/U4WEBn61R5— Sunil Sunder Raj (@Sunil Sunder Raj) 1554216807
@CNN Skateboarding is life!!! Great job guys!!— Bobby Holcomb (@Bobby Holcomb) 1554255003
@CNN #TeenHeros— Viuda Alegre (@Viuda Alegre) 1554223762
Now the the South Brunswick Police Department is hoping to find the group of teens in order to throw them a pizza party.
LOOKING TO FIND SOME SUPERHEROES - On Tuesday some older kids turned into superheroes right behind police headquart… https://t.co/3XYfTi3veT— So Brunswick PD (@So Brunswick PD) 1553775394
He was in the park on a scooter, some older kids showed up. The older kids went out of the way to include the 5 yea… https://t.co/k7GpQTciTr— So Brunswick PD (@So Brunswick PD) 1553775395
These kids showed the care and compassion of Superheroes. We want to throw them a little pizza party to recognize t… https://t.co/OdxPqBlDHV— So Brunswick PD (@So Brunswick PD) 1553775396
It just goes to show that a little kindness can go a very long way.
@SoBrunswickPD Thank you to all involved, great group of kids and cheers to all those who recognized them.— braddipadova (@braddipadova) 1554132642
Author Shares Powerful Thread About The Importance Of 'Autism Acceptance' On World Autism Awareness Day
Marieke Nijkamp, the author of successful young adult novels like This is Where It Ends and Before I Let Go, happens to be autistic. And on World Autism Awareness Day, she had plenty to say about the importance of autism acceptance.
Nijkamp kept it very simple, compiling her thoughts in a series of "reminders" on Twitter.
"It's that time of year!" she wrote in part.
It's that time of year again! #WorldAutismAwarenessDay! *extremely sarcastic voice* yay Here are your annual reminders:— Marieke Nijkamp (@Marieke Nijkamp) 1554201118.0
Reminder 1: Acceptance is more valuable than awareness.
1. We need acceptance, not awareness. We want acceptance of our voices and our stories and our lives. We deserve acceptance.— Marieke Nijkamp (@Marieke Nijkamp) 1554201141.0
Reminder 2: Listen.
2. Listen to #ActuallyAutistic advocates. Boost our voices. Listen to what we have to say. Boost #ActuallyAutistic… https://t.co/DJDYSbuEwW— Marieke Nijkamp (@Marieke Nijkamp) 1554201247.0
Reminder 3: Avoid Autism Speaks like the plague.
3. Don't #LightItUpBlue. Don't. Do not. LIUB is the signature campaign of Autism Speaks. The same AS that consiste… https://t.co/AkFFPttThK— Marieke Nijkamp (@Marieke Nijkamp) 1554201281.0
Reminder 4: Seriously: Avoid Autism Speaks.
4. Autism Speaks doesn't speak for us. Non-autistic voices shouldn't speak over us. Listen. Listen. Listen.— Marieke Nijkamp (@Marieke Nijkamp) 1554201296.0
Reminder 5: Watch the way you frame the conversation.
5. Don't speak of autism as a burden. Don't speak of autism as a tragedy. Don't speak of autism as an inspiration,… https://t.co/SQtNc2Ek29— Marieke Nijkamp (@Marieke Nijkamp) 1554201338.0
Reminder 6: "Do speak of autism as simply another neurotype."
6. Do speak of autism as simply another neurotype. Another way of interacting with the world. Recognize where we ca… https://t.co/xoq1e7r8hq— Marieke Nijkamp (@Marieke Nijkamp) 1554201372.0
Reminder 7: "Educate yourself."
7. Educate yourself. Ask yourself what YOU can do to make YOUR world more accessible to the neurodiverse people ar… https://t.co/0s2aCJw40D— Marieke Nijkamp (@Marieke Nijkamp) 1554201423.0
Reminder 8: Pseudoscience deserves to be called out.
8. If you do wish to talk tragedies, talk about lack of access and acceptance. Talk about ableism. Talk about cure… https://t.co/iGUVB25ujm— Marieke Nijkamp (@Marieke Nijkamp) 1554201717.0
Reminder 9: Oh yeah, and about vaccines...
9. VACCINES. DON'T. CAUSE. AUTISM. WHY ARE WE STILL TALKING ABOUT THIS.— Marieke Nijkamp (@Marieke Nijkamp) 1554201734.0
Reminder 10: Change the way you celebrate.
10. Celebrate #WorldAutismAcceptanceDay today instead. And then celebrate it tomorrow too.— Marieke Nijkamp (@Marieke Nijkamp) 1554201823.0
Nijkamp knows what she's talking about––and her thread was a hit.
@mariekeyn Thank you for this. I want to print out this thread and hand out copies. Here in the PNW where kids are… https://t.co/P6SvbEypl0— Ashley THX-1138 (@Ashley THX-1138) 1554215503.0
@mariekeyn Thank you so much for this thread--for me and my kids. Sometimes it's hard for us to articulate, but you… https://t.co/PBpSc4FvlA— K. A. Reynolds is writing fierce fantastical girls (@K. A. Reynolds is writing fierce fantastical girls) 1554202916.0
@mariekeyn This thread is beautiful. It’s like you sat inside my brain this morning and then summarized it in Twitt… https://t.co/cG2gT2ds3A— Amanda Morin (@Amanda Morin) 1554206584.0
@mariekeyn Thank you. As soon as I saw that hashtag I thought "oh, yay, the people who think autism is a curse hav… https://t.co/iDFpZo8hlY— (((Sarah))) (@(((Sarah)))) 1554232244.0
@mariekeyn Thank you so much for this thread! Everyday is a new learning experience with our son but we wouldn’t ha… https://t.co/sDaaanFBFv— Arch Heretic Subtle (@Arch Heretic Subtle) 1554230037.0
@mariekeyn THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for this!! It is like your took my inner most thoughts and so eloq… https://t.co/kYtsc8t1lT— Lauren Elizabeth 🌹 (@Lauren Elizabeth 🌹) 1554221936.0
@mariekeyn I am a vision and hearing impaired autisic student. I’m struggling to find my voice in the face of adver… https://t.co/m8ixcPg4XG— Taylor Fraasch (@Taylor Fraasch) 1554227452.0
This is the way it should be done, folks. We're tempted to print out copies of this thread ourselves and tape them to telephone poles and other public surfaces.