This woman was amazed and so grateful that this kind stranger stepped in and helped her autistic son calm down while they were on a walk.
The woman, Natalie Fernando, was walking along the seafront in Southend on Sea with her 5-year-old Rudy.
At one moment, Rudy became agitated at having to turn back, something he often struggles with, explained his mom. This was the moment when he lied down and passers-by started staring at him.
The boy was making loud sounds and she was apologizing to people. Among those dirty stares, one wasn’t different. This was a kind look, a stranger with a desire to help.
Stranger Kindly Helps Autistic Boy Calm Down
This stranger kindly approached the mom and asked if she needed help. He also decided to lay down on the floor together with Rudy and talked to him.
He was very helpful and even walked them back to their car. Natalie later shared the story on her Facebook page, Better to be Different, saying how her son often gets overwhelmed and why the action of the man named Ian helped them a lot.
She explained Rudy loves walks; however, he doesn’t like it when they have to turn back around. So, they often walk in a circuit to avoid this.
But, this time, on the favorite walk with the boats, they had no other choice but to turn back.
It Costs Us Nothing to Be Kind
She shared a photo of the boy holding the man’s hand and captioned it ‘this man, my hero, this morning saw my son on the floor and like any other person would assume that he was having a tantrum.
He asked my little Roo what his name was and when I explained he didn’t really understand (and that he is autistic and has a host of other challenges making this part of the walk difficult), he said that it’s cool and he’ll lay down with him.’
Natalie, who also has a 14-year-old Eden and two stepdaughters Eva and Layla, is regularly urging people to never judge a parent who’s struggling, particularly when they don’t know the circumstances.
An act of kindness changed their day and she encourages others to show kindness when possible.
At the end of her emotional post, Natalie wrote ‘Thanks Ian from Southend Sea Front, you are truly a kind man’.
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