Kev Harrison and his 15-year-old son, Daniel Harrison, who has Asperger’s syndrome, pose for a photograph. Daniel’s father requested people to send him birthday greetings through Twitter on his son’s birthday, and he received hundreds of them. Thousands of strangers, including several well-known celebrities, reacted very instantly.
The father had two ambitions: he wanted to learn to drive and meet new people. However, although the youngster is still too young to get a driver’s license, his second dream seems to have come true. As a result, a tweet sent by Daniel’s father on his 15th birthday went viral online, prompting Daniel to seek revenge.
“Daniel is my son,” the father wrote. The person is profoundly autistic. He doesn’t have a single buddy. Today is his birthday, which he celebrates with his family. “In his ECHP, he said that his two goals were to learn to drive and to meet new people,” wrote Kev Harrison, a resident of Nottingham, England, in a tweet on Sept. 28. “Thank you for wishing him a happy birthday. Please hug him to let him know you think about him. “Thank you for sharing your thoughts.”
Harrison, 52, was utterly taken aback by what occurred next. The birthday greetings for Daniel were sent by thousands of strangers, including a few celebrities, who pledged their friendship to Daniel. More than a million people have seen his tweet. Thousands of others have expressed their approval for the initial message.
Daniel’s my son. Profoundly Autistic. Hasn’t one friend. It’s his birthday today. In his ECHP he wrote that his two wishes were to learn to drive and make friends 😣 Please wish him a happy birthday. Please show him you care. Please share. ##happybirthday #autism #rt pic.twitter.com/Psu97TSj6g
— Kev & Daniel’s #autism journey (& Bruce 😉) (@kevharrison_) September 29, 2021
According to Harrison, it “blew my mind” how enthusiastic the public was.
The guy felt moved to send the tweet after he and his wife, Catherine, reviewed Daniel’s education, health, and care (EHC) plan, which is a component of a government program that assists in determining the appropriate levels of assistance for children and young people with disabilities.
Daniel responded to a section of the form that stated, “Things that are important to me or things I would want to accomplish.” by writing, “drive a vehicle”, and “make friends.”
“It crushed our hearts,” Harisson said. The father went on to say that his kid attends a special-needs school but that he hasn’t made any new friends there yet. In his little universe, he wanders around the playground on his own. “
According to his father, Daniel was diagnosed with severe autism as a toddler. He refused to ingest meals for several years as a result. He is verbal, but he only responds in “standard ways” and has difficulty participating in a dialogue.
“He has gone through a lot in his 15 years,” Harrison says. He is an excellent, friendly, and kind young man; he deserves nothing but the best. In his whole body, there isn’t a single unpleasant bone.”
Harrison chose to post on Twitter in the hopes of raising awareness about autism spectrum disorder and making his kid feel loved on his birthday. In his ignorance, he had no idea that his tweet would become the most popular trending topic in the whole country. It was just a handful of individuals, at most, who the guy expected to answer.
“It was incredible,” Harrison said.
The reaction was “very unexpected,” says the author. “I had no idea what to expect.”
Following Harrison’s tweet’s distribution, high-profile individuals with big followings started retweeting the message, and hundreds of birthday wishes for Daniel filled the father’s Twitter account in a short time.
Lennie, 9 years old, performed a happy birthday song on the piano for Daniel, surprised by a poem from an 11-year-old named Olly. Students in Indiana created a birthday sign just for Daniel, shown in his classroom. Autistic people also contacted out, providing messages of hope and reassuring others that things would get better in due course.
A Twitter user pointed out something that Harrison found particularly uplifting as hundreds of others congratulated Daniel on his new friend status: “You have a terrific buddy — your lovely father!”
Happy birthday Daniel! – From my students in Indiana 🥳 🎂 🎈 https://t.co/y9DpjVBOKF pic.twitter.com/DLtky5sXvY
— Dustin Harrison (@DstnHrrsn) September 29, 2021
Even though he is still sorting through all of the beautiful notes, Harrison tries his best to read them to Daniel and answer each one individually.
In his tweet, he expressed his hope that the overwhelming response would inspire others to be compassionate to persons with special needs in their communities.
“If I’ve influenced even one person to see another youngster in a new light, I’ve accomplished my goal,” Harrison added.
