A six-year-old autistic boy whose furious father lashed out after he was not invited to birthday parties due to his condition has been inundated with offers to celebrations across the world.
Shane and Christine Stephenson revealed celebrities had even picked up on their message to stop excluding ‘different’ children after his message was shared thousands of times.
The angry Facebook post stated Reilly, who is non-verbal, ‘has autism, not leprosy’, and was later put on Twitter by his blogger wife, with parents from across the world since getting in touch to show their support.
Speaking on ITV’s This Morning, Mr Stephenson said a recent party was ‘the straw that broke the camel’s back’ and his reaction was the result of a ‘build-up’ of frustration.
Shane and Christine Stephenson, pictured, appeared on This Morning to reveal autistic son Reilly had been invited to parties across the world since Mr Stephenson made an angry online Facebook post shaming people for not inviting his son due to his condition
Mr Stephenson blamed friends for not understanding the schoolboy’s condition. Pictured is Reilly left with his father and right
The couple told Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, left, how they had received support from parents over the issue and called for people to be ‘more inclusive’
Mrs Stephenson, pictured, added her son, who is non-verbal, still enjoys parties and it should be for them as parents to decide if he can cope
He said: ‘It’s like what I said, he is six years old and I think in his entire life he has been invited to one christening and that’s about it. I don’t know if it upsets him because I’m not sure if he is aware of it but that is not an excuse.
‘It was the straw that broke the camel’s back at the weekend. I was not calling out any individuals because it is everybody [who does this].’
Mrs Stephenson added: ‘Our lives are chaotic as parents of an autistic child. We fall off the radar and the bins go out more than us and we never have childminders lining up because he [Reilly] can be difficult.
‘We need people to be more accepting of autistic children. Reilly loves a party. He may not look at you but he wants to be involved and wants to go to things.
‘Let us decide if he can cope at things; that’s the message we want to get out. If we think he cannot handle it we may come along for five minutes and then disappear but at least we have been part of the group.’
The couple also revealed support had come from the most unexpected places, including former Cheers actress Kirstie Alley.
The actress tweeted: ‘Dearest Reilly, you are invited to my house any day and I will throw you a party for kings…THE lemurs & my grandson, Waylon, await U (sic)’.
Mrs Stephenson said: ‘The rant is not something Shane would usually do and it shocked his family to be honest, but since then Reilly has been invited to parties all over the world.
Christine’s post – which she tagged ‘my husband’s message to his mates breaks my heart’ – has already received well over 5,000 likes and 2,000 retweets
‘Even Kirstie Alley, from Cheers, invited us to one and if we lived closer we would have been there in a heartbeat.’
She added: ‘I have blogged about Reilly for a long time and our daily struggles. I want people to be a little bit less judgemental and a little bit more inclusive.
The message from parents of other autistic children has been very clear – ‘it’s happened to us too’.
‘Just because autistic children are a little bit different, there’s no need to exclude them. There’s some fantastic kids out there and people benefit from having them in their lives.’
Mr Stephenson also revealed the judgement his family deal with from others on a daily basis.
He said: ‘You feel judgement like on a day out or even doing a chore. If Reilly wants to go left and you want to go right there can be a scene and people judge you as a parent.
‘It can have a really negative effect on all of us and our older son, who is 11, gets devastated and embarrassed by other people’s reactions.
‘I have not had any negative feedback so I think the message has got out there. If it does some good for families in similar situations then that is great.’
Mrs Stephenson’s post – which she tagged ‘my husband’s message to his mates breaks my heart’ – has already received well over 5,000 likes and 2,000 retweets.
It read: ‘Right this has been brewing for some time so here it goes and you can like it or f***ing well lump it.
‘My son Reilly has autism not f***ing leprosy; he is 6 years old and my so-called friends who have kids also have kids parties.
‘Not ONE invite not f***ing one. Think about that whilst you go and f*** yourselves; you have any idea how hurtful that is?
‘Just for the record in future don’t bother he’s not an after thought he’s my every f***ing thought.’
Mrs Stephenson, from Newcastle, told the Huffington Post earlier this week: ‘Our friends aren’t horrible people, I know they feel our struggles.
‘They are mortified that Shane feels this way.’
She said: ‘There’s some building bridges to be done now that Shane has spoken about how he truly feels and I think only positivity can come from his outburst.
‘The simple advice I give is: Just ask.’
Mrs Stephenson, who lives in Newcastle, is pictured with her six-year-old son Reilly
The message about Reilly (shown) has since become an online hit after it was shared by hundreds of other parents of autistic children who revealed similar struggles