A DAD was devastated when only one child turned up at his six-year-old son's birthday party.
David Chen invited 19 children from his son's Max class for a fun day at an indoor playground.
Young Max, who is autistic, was looking forward to the big day with his classmates but only one child turned up.
His heartbroken dad, from Vancouver, Canada, shared a picture of the empty playground on Twitter and said: "My autism spectrum disorder kid is the different kid in the class.
"We invited all his classmates to his birthday party today and only one showed up.
"Difficult to explain to my kid and that kid's mum that only one classmate came.
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"Not making assumptions but still an empty feeling day."
Mr Chen continued: "Unfortunately, we got one person that said yes, two people that said no and 16 that didn't say anything."
And to make things worse, the dad said that two weeks before, 16 of the 19 children invited attended another child's party.
Despite his disappointment, the dad said he doesn't blame anyone and just wants to raise awareness about being more inclusive.
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His post quickly gathered thousands of likes, with Max being offered to join football games and birthday parties.
Someone commented: "Happy birthday to your child. For those of us who are different in any way, we cherish the friends who show up.
"He’s lucky to have you advocating for him. May he always have someone who gets him at his side."
One added: "Brutal! That’s tough. Some people tho, it’s like they never learn. As an autistic adult, I get it.
"I had kids in my class who never showed up when I was younger. Tell your kiddo he is cool and always."
Mr Chen has told Global News Canada, that he has now agreed with Max's teacher to have an in-class birthday party.
He said: "We all take part in how we shape our community.
"I think that if we can understand the differences, the strengths, and the needs we can actually get beyond that, we can help people shine.
"And that’s what I want to see, for all of our kids to have a chance to shine."
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