These Teens Gave A 5-Year-Old Boy With Autism the Best Birthday Gift Ever

A group of teens provided an amazing birthday gift for a boy with autism whom they had never met before and their whole community came together to celebrate their kindness.

Kristen Braconi took her son Carter, a five-year old with with high-functioning autism and ADHD, to a local park in South Brunswick, New Jersey for what turned out to be his best birthday ever. As Carter was riding his scooter, a group of teenage boys approached him and unprompted offered to teach him how to skateboard.

As Braconi explained in a Facebook post, the boys taught him how to balance on the board, encouraged him and helped him up when he fell. Later they even sang Happy Birthday to him. She said the boys were not aware that Carter has autism. “They wanted to do that for him and their kindness and inclusion without knowing anything was going on with him, it was amazing,” she told CNN.

When the impromptu lesson was over, Braconi and Carter bought some ice cream and sandwiches and returned to the park to give them to the kind boys. “I wanted to recognize the kids and their parents because when you can show their parents how kind and respectful they are when you aren’t around you know you have done a great job!” she said. “They did so much more than they knew.”

The video Braconi shared online went viral and was spotted by the South Brunswick police. The department shared the video on Twitter in hopes of tracking down the boys to reward them. The internet did not disappoint and the teens were located and will be gifted with a pizza party.

—Shahrzad Warkentin

Featured photo: Ekaterina Shevchenko via Unsplash 

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