Autistic kid only speaks when around an old car so his neighbor lets him play 'mechanic'

People with disabilities have a hard time adapting to a world that is made for able-bodied people. People on the autism spectrum often face communication difficulties but with constant support, they can take a leap of faith. A Reddit user, turbocharged_autism, shared a heartwarming story of a young autistic boy. They wrote, "There is a young autistic gentleman in my neighborhood that likes to come over about twice a week and look at my old car." They added, "Apparently the only time he speaks is when he's around my car." 

The post encloses a beautiful picture of the young boy standing in front of the car. This post went viral on Reddit with over 101k upvotes. Reddit user, Svengali3-6, commented, "Hey man, get a 12-dollar repair book and talk to him about it till he can speak on other things great things will come about it." Another user, CeelaChathArrna, added, "My son when he was young and building confidence would get to go read simple books to the kids with survival needs who had to be separated out into a separate classroom. He couldn't understand why the teachers were crying when he got the nonverbal autistic kid to say his first words."

They added, "They paired him with the kid after, and he learned to say a few more words. You are on the right path to help this child be able to express himself more to the world. I thank you as the parent of an autistic child as well." Reddit user, BIRDD79, wrote, "This is awesome. I hope you have the time to teach him how to change the oil, other fluids, etc and other small jobs. Thanks for being kind." Another yolkedbuddha, said, "Help him take it apart and put it back together. He'll be the best mechanic ever." 

Reddit user, ninasancz, commented, "This is wholesome, he’s lucky he has you as a neighbor. I’m curious though. What does he say when he is around the car?" The original poster replied, "He's either asking to open the hood to see the engine or asking for permission to sit in the car he also says cool a lot." Another user, AshleyBlackhorse, said, "I can not tell you how much this means to that kid. I have one that loves air conditioning systems and car washes, and when people take time to let him do his thing, which is exactly like this kid, watching and feeling the vibrations and listening to the sounds, it just makes them so happy." 

"Thank you for being that bridge for him!! that is so valuable for long-term development and vocab etc, not to mention you’re both just generally increasing the number of warm fuzzies in the world by simply existing as you are. Nice job," yet another user, annies_bdrm_skillet, added. Another user, BagofFriddos, shared, "There's an autistic teen that volunteers at my volunteer firehouse. We brought him out one day to pump a truck. No word of a lie, he memorized the different pressures of every line and could pump the Engine better than some of us who've been doing it for years."