A mum is overcome with emotion after a campaign to find friends for her son who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome went viral.
Kind-hearted couple Dean and Amy Devonport who have an autistic son of their own started an internet campaign “friends with Morgan” in support of Morgan Smith.
The 11-year-old school boy has been so badly targeted by bullies, he refuses to leave his house.
Dean and Amy, both 24, began the campaign after Morgan’s mum Suzy told them about her heartbreak over her son never being invited to a birthday party.
Well-wishers from across the globe have now shared pictures of themselves holding up “friends with Morgan” posters.
Suzy, from Durham, said: “I contacted Dean and Amy to ask whether they would post a picture of Morgan on their Facebook page. It was the only time he went out last year and he was riding a camel in Norfolk.
“When I saw what they had done and the pictures of people with ‘Friends of Morgan’ signs it made me cry.”
Morgan was diagnosed with high-functioning autism at the age of four. The Star Wars fan is intelligent and funny but his condition means he struggles to express himself.
He too has been overwhelmed by the internet campaign in his name.
Morgan said: “I like how friendly people are being because I only have one friend. I would like to say thank you to everyone supporting me.”
Mum Suzy says he is an easy target for bullies because he can’t read emotions and doesn’t understand when people are threatening him.
She and the rest of the family are fundraising to buy him an autism service dog. The £5,000 dog will be trained specifically to help Morgan sense when bullies are being mean to him and sit between them. It will also sit firm if Morgan tries to run away.
She added: “My campaign has been all online and you get to the stage where you don’t think it’s going anywhere. Then, all of a sudden, there are these amazing people like Dean and Amy who take it up. People are starting to notice now.”
Dean, of Whitby, North Yorkshire, said the social media campaign had gone as far as the US and Japan.
The dad of autistic son Charlie, five, said: “It was heartbreaking reading that he had been so badly bullied, he couldn’t leave his house.
“We just wanted to let him know that he has got some mates.”
So far £1,440 has been raised for Morgan’s service dog.
To donate, visit this fundraising page here
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