Midlothian, Texas. Brittany Denison is the mom of a 5-year-old son named Michael, who is special needs.
Michael has something called Treacher Collins syndrome, and it’s a very rare genetic disorder that results in malformations of the face and head.
Although Michael does look different than other children his age, Brittany says he’s just as smart, or even smarter, than his peers, and his disability does not impact his intelligence at all.
Brittany recently took to Facebook to share a heartbreaking post asking kids to be kind to Michael as back to school begins, and she started by quoting a line from Wonder, a best-selling book about a boy named Auggie with Treacher Collins syndrome that was adapted into a movie.
“Dear God, please make them be nice to him,” was the quote that she shared, and it’s something that Julia Roberts said in the movie as she played Auggie’s mom.
Facebook; pictured above is Brittany with her son Michael
“Hi friends! The first day of school is right around the corner and I wanted to make this post to help parents educate their children,” Brittany wrote in her post that she shared on Facebook.
“This year Michael will start Kindergarten; I’m so excited, yet so scared. As he gets older he is starting to realize that he is different.”
“He is also becoming more affected by the whispers and stares.”
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Brittany then asked if all parents could take some time to talk to their children before school starts back up about children that look different like Michael does.
“Talk to them about using words like “different and unique” instead of “weird and scary”,” Brittany said.
“Talk to them not only about being friendly and kind, but also about being a friend,” she continued.
Brittany pointed out that instead of just staring, parents should teach their children to be friendly and introduce themselves instead.
“Teach them to stand up for the kid in the room who is being picked on, and to sit with the kid who is being excluded,” Brittany explained.
It truly is a parent’s job to give examples of acceptance and kindness for their children to follow, and Brittany is hoping that her post inspires more parents to do just that.
You can view Brittany’s original post on Facebook here.