'It makes us feel like we belong': Father of son with autism throws inclusive birthday bash

One year ago, Max Chen had just one classmate show up to his birthday party. David, his father, expressed his disappointment on social media. He never imagined the response it would generate.

"I was shocked that it hit a million viewers," said Chen. "Then suddenly this outpouring of love and attention. But the shocking thing was the hundreds and thousands that said it happened to them."

Chen says he didn't judge other parents or make assumptions on why so few classmates showed up. During that time, some COVID restrictions were still in place. Instead, he decided to use the disappointment and social media response as inspiration for his son's seventh birthday party.

"So I contacted Autism BC and said 'what do you think of the idea of holding a big birthday party for all the neurodiverse kids here?', so that they know what it feels like to actually have a big birthday party," said Chen.

Fast forward to Friday, May 19th, and this time dozens of children and parents attended Max's party. The guest list was a mix of Max's classmates and neurodiverse children from all over the region.

"As a parent with a kid on the spectrum, this is a great experience," said Afshin Afshar, a Coquitlam father of a child with autism. "They all play together without paying attention to the differences."

Erin Neoh is the mother of an autistic child, and says Max's story hits close to home.

"Seeing your child not get invited to birthday parties all school year, we do our best to protect them from that," said Neoh. "But for my son, it was just so nice for him to see that he can be here for another kid that's going through the same thing and it makes us feel like we belong."

The evening of inclusion ended with everyone receiving their own mini birthday cupcake with a candle, with every child experiencing the joy of blowing out their own candle.

"I'm thrilled," said Chen. "People ask me the why and they thank you and I'm thinking if it's this good, we can do this every year."