A schoolboy in Kansas, USA, has earned admiration for his touching gesture to an autistic classmate nervous about the first day of school.
Courtney Coko Moore shared a picture on Facebook last Aug. 14 of her son Christian holding hands with a crying classmate. She said Christian noticed a boy named Connor crying in a corner and comforted him. The two entered school together with Connor holding tightly onto Christian’s hand.
In the comments section of the post, Connor’s mom, April Crites, revealed that her son was autistic and that she feared he would be bullied. “If there were more children like him I wouldn’t worry about such things,” she told Moore. Moore shared that her own son has challenges in speech.
Christian had no clue that Connor was autistic, as per a report from KAKE on Aug. 23. Crites told the TV station that she was always afraid her son would be laughed at because he cannot speak correctly or he jumps and flaps his hands.
As it turned out, the first day of second grade went better than expected for Connor, who appreciated Christian’s gesture. “He was kind to me. I was in the first day of school and I started crying then he helped me and I was happy,” Connor said.
The two boys now have a Facebook page called “Christian & Connor Bridging the Gap,” which advocates against bullying, violence and racism. Its posts so far raise awareness on autism and acts of kindness. Niña V. Guno /ra
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