Michigan grandma hosts big birthday parties for kids with special needs who don't get invites

Birthday celebrations are one of the most significant events in a child's life, but there are times when certain kids do not get invited to the birthday party of their peers. There are other cases when those peers turn down the birthday invitation of their friends with special needs and that might negatively affect the psyche of the kid. However, motivated by her grandson, a woman in Michigan has been going above and beyond to ensure children who don't receive birthday invitations or face rejection from their friends can have a memorable birthday.

According to the reports of UpNorthLive, Ronie Williams, a grandma who has a grandson with an autism spectrum, is making sure all the "unique" children who do not receive invitations to social events can have a proper birthday celebration for themselves. Williams has previously witnessed her grandson Jacob experiencing the moments of getting treated like an outcast and not having his friends show up to his birthday parties because he is different than other kids his age.

"Special needs or unique kids do not get kids to come to their parties, or they don't get invited to parties," Williams said, per the outlet, stressing the fact that she calls kids with special needs "unique" because she doesn't like the term "special needs."  After observing her grandson getting sad over people not turning up for his birthday party, the grandma decided to take a major step and spread some kindness in their Michigan neighborhood of Grand Traverse County. 

About a couple of years ago, Williams began a new tradition by throwing a birthday party for everyone who is considered "unique." There were 25 children at the first celebration. The number of those kids has increased to twice that amount since then. Williams was considerate and understanding enough to plan a large-scale communal birthday celebration so all the special kids could celebrate their belated or due birthday parties at the same time.

In recent years, Williams organized the event at a public park and not only the "unique" ones but any kid could attend it. Williams stated that there is no upper age limit and that any "unique" adult who wishes to participate in the celebrations is more than welcome to do so. For this year, Williams decided to throw the party with a Spiderman theme and had cupcakes available for everyone to make them feel welcome. Since the party was organized at a public park, kids could use the playground space to have fun playing with their friends.

"We decided to get together and throw big parties, and celebrate everybody's birthday, not just Jacob's but everybody's birthday," Williams said. She organizes the party year after year in order to offer joy to her grandson and other children like him. It obviously creates core memories for all the children present there. Williams mentioned a small girl who was nonverbal at last year's party. But after attending an event organized by Williams, her mother noted that she wouldn't stop talking about the hearty celebration. Williams makes sure to maintain the value of being inclusive to all children with her large birthday event.

“We get so much goodness out of it. It makes us feel good. It makes the parents feel good,” she explained to the outlet. We often hear stories of children spending their birthdays alone, because no one bothered to show up but people like Williams have undoubtedly shown up for her grandson and all other children who are worthy of love, attention, and happiness. Autistic kids are known to experience difficulties in bonding with their peers, experiencing high rejection and low acceptance. Therefore, kind gestures of acceptance go a long way toward making them feel welcome and loved.