Everyone knows what a horrible feeling it is to be left out of something. Being left out of a social event, such as birthday party, is a pretty heavy pain to a feel. For 8-year-old Sawyer, he felt that pain when he was the only student in his class who was not invited to a classmate's birthday party. It was not because the classmate did not know Sawyer, but because Sawyer has Down Syndrome. Sawyer's Mother, Jennifer Kiss-Engele, of British-Columbia, was not mad about Sawyer not being invited, but rather she took an opportunity to educate on not only Down Syndrome, but to be different in general.
Kiss-Engele wrote an open letter to the parent "who thought it was OK to invite the entire class to their child's birthday except for my son."
She explains in her letter that she is sorry that the parent may be "uninformed, maybe scared or uncertain" about Down Syndrome. She goes to explain that she also once had those same feelings about Down Syndrome. But seeing Sawyer grow, she sees that she has one of the happiest, kindest children. As well as seeing her other children grow as more compassionate individuals in turn of having a brother with Down Syndrome.
She admits that she has fallen short by not first educating the class on Down Syndrome because she has always just seen her son as himself, not his disability. She recognized that it is her job as a parent to educate and inform about her son. She wants to be able to show that those like him, and people of different races, disabilities and genders are not all that different and deserve the same respect as any other student.
Upon sending the letter, the parent had a talk with their child about Sawyer, and created a special birthday invitation just for him, and Sawyer has been "beaming" ever since. Rather than expressing anger due to the situation, by sharing her letter Sawyer's mom was able to teach the entire internet a lesson on what it means to be different. There are so many children, with special needs and without, that feel left out because of who they are. If one parent can make a difference by having a talk with their child about treating others with kindness and respect no matter who they are, that can make a significantly positive impact in any child's life.
The lesson learned from this story is that we are all different at the end of the day. If we learn to be a little more empathetic and compassionate we can all get along and make the world a kinder place, even if it's just by distributing that extra party invitation.
I hope you enjoy the party, Sawyer!
