Imagine the emptiness that a kid may feel if no one showed up to their party? This was the feeling one beautiful girl named Amy felt when her mother invited other kids to her birthday party but sadly no one showed up.
Kim promised that she wouldn’t let her daughter feel that again so she never planned a party for her daughter again.
Amy, was diagnosed with autism, has trouble making friends and learning how to act in social settings, but has a golden heart.
Amy’s story really struck a chord with Elizabeth Scott of Savage’s Bakery, who chatted with Kim when she ordered Amy’s birthday cake. She was stunned that she had never enjoyed a birthday party.
Kim insisted that the cake be decorated with tons of flowers, since Amy is “obsessed” with them. Elizabeth took her order, but still couldn’t believe that there wouldn’t be a birthday party to celebrate Amy turning 13.
Elizabeth couldn’t imagine a child never having a real birthday party, never experiencing being surrounded by friends and family singing “Happy Birthday” and opening gifts. She just knew she was meant to take Amy’s cake order and do something beyond baking and decorating her cake, she told AL.com.
“This spoke to my heart. I told her we would invite a bunch of folks and make it extra special.”
A mom herself, Elizabeth envisioned a handful of people popping by for Amy’s birthday party after she posted an invitation on the bakery’s Facebook page. She also reached out to KultureCity, an organization that helps public places become more sensory-friendly for people with autism, in the hopes they’d help her do something special for Amy.
Dr. Julian Maha, founder of KultureCity, has an 11-year-old son with non-verbal autism. He understands firsthand how discouraged Kim was about birthday parties.
“No one ever invites you to their birthday party and no one ever attends a birthday party for you.”
Julian brought a brand new sensory activation vehicle to the bakery’s parking lot, which was decked out with comfy bean bag chairs, water and lighting features, textile paneling with different textures, and other features to help children with autism calm down. It was pretty exciting for everyone, he said.
“The other kids joined her in it, which relieved her anxiety, and then she went in after that and had a really good time at the party.”
