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Yesterday I ran across a story about an autistic boy in Idaho who invited quite a few people to his ninth birthday party, only to find out that he had one RSVP.
The boy’s mother, heartbroken. Posted her disappointment on Facebook and had an amazing response. A friend in Texas reached out to someone, a high school football coach, in a town about a fifteen-minute drive from where the boy lived.
The coach told his friend that he was on it, and he was. In a big way.
When the party rolled around a few days later, the birthday boy, Christian was having fun [playing with a couple of neighborhood kids when all of a sudden the football team from Nampa high school showed up to help Christian celebrate his big day.
When coach Holtry texted his players about the party, he had a great response, with a number of players volunteering to spend their day off from school to hang out with a little boy they didn’t even know.
Those of us in society who have been around a few years tend to dump on the younger generation, talking about how they can be lazy, self-absorbed and too much into social media and themselves. This story shows that there are definite exception to the stereotype.
As I read the article for the first time, I thought back to my younger days and how I never had more than one or two people at my birthday parties and how, as an adult on the spectrum, I don’t socialize much.
It can be tough being young and having a disability. At times it can seem worse of that disability is hidden, as with autism, because people can’t see why you’re different, they just know that you are different.
Its at moments like this in your life that you learn who your real friends are. Christian may not have had a lot of friends before his ninth birthday party, but I guarantee you that he made a team full of new ones at his party.
It’s awesome to read about how a team was able to come together and give Christian a day that they will all remember for a very long time. Christian will undoubtedly remember it, but I guarantee that the players who showed up for Christian will all walk away with this memory as well.
You see, the players didn’t just make an appearance and then leave. They stayed for the whole party and they helped organize games and played with Christian and his friends. This has to be a moment in their young lives worth remembering.
Kudos to coach Holtry. I firmly believe the reason his players were so willing to come is that he taught his players about sacrificing their needs for the needs of the team (other people) and because he taught them to not only respect themselves but also others.
Looking back on many years of coaching ice hockey in Southern California, I had several kids on the spectrum or with other developmental disabilities on teams that I had. I made sure to always stress that we were a team and that I expected everyone to not necessarily like all their teammates, but to be courteous, respectful and kind to each other.
I honestly think that if I ever had to make a request of my teams, that no matter their age, they would happily agree to come out and help a lonely kid have fun.
I’m happy to see that in a society that is becoming more and more self-absorbed, that there are young people willing to help others and who are willing to offer their friendship to people they don’t know because they know that person needs it.
Happy birthday, Christian, and big thanks to coach Holtry and his Nampa H.S. football team for being people who care for their community.
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