It’s no secret that being an 11-year-old is tough. Middle school is no walk in the park, but imagine going through puberty with a developmental disability — and no friends.

Bob Cornelius took to Facebook when he discovered that his autistic son, Christopher, did not have any friends.

Christopher is on the autistic spectrum, and Cornelius believes that his son’s peers are not accepting of him. He shared a plea for parents to remember the importance of teaching their children compassion and acceptance.

I am not so naive that I think this post is going to change the world. But, if, by sharing this, I can make you think about having a conversation with your children about empathy, about going out of their way to include those that are different from everybody else, especially if it goes against the group mentality, especially if it’s not socially popular (I’m not so old that I don’t remember that this takes bravery…bravery to break from the confines of whet your friends think is cool in the middle and high school worlds), then I will feel like Christopher’s voice has been heard.

xx, The FabFitFun Team