A father is thanking people around the world for reaching out to his son with autism, who said he has no friends.
Last week, Bob Cornelius, of Rockaway Township, New Jersey, posted a photo to Facebook, showing one of his son’s class assignments that highlighted his loneliness.
Under a question that asked students to list some of their friends, his son, Christopher, 11, wrote “No one.”
“Never have five letters cut so deep, and they weren’t even directed at me,” Cornelius wrote in the now-viral Facebook post.
One week later, Cornelius said he is overwhelmed with the showing of support from around the world.
In the past seven days, Christopher has received letters and gifts from people as far away as Australia and Argentina, WCBS reported.
“This is humbling. This is overwhelming,” said Cornelius. “It makes me feel grateful–, grateful that people have the kindness to reach out to a boy.”
Cornelius said he hoped this opens a larger conversation about encouraging kids to have more empathy for kids with special needs.
"I was hurt, I was devastated, and I was trying to find a solution," Cornelius told News 12 New Jersey. "The only solution I could come up with was raising awareness, and having parents talk to their kids about being kind and including those that are different than them."
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