Mother of Two Boys with Autism Grateful After Retailer Worker’s Variety Gesture for Her Sons
A single mother of two boys with autism is incredibly grateful after a BIG W employee gave her sons some of their favorite toys.
Jacqueline says she went to the store with her two nonverbal sons, ages three and five, so they could check out the toy department and choose their favorite toys to give them for birthdays and Christmas.
“I took my boys to look at the toys, hopefully to give me an idea of what they might like for birthdays and Christmas,” recalls Jacqueline. “My oldest son found the Little Live Pets Pooping Flamingo and fell in love with him. We kept making loops to this flamingo, even after he became interested in other things.
Photo: Adobe Stock / Pavel Losevsky
“At the risk of upsetting him and causing a meltdown, I told him we wouldn’t get it today (something I said before we walked into the store). He was clearly disappointed but walked away as requested.
While the trio was there, Jacqueline and a store clerk started talking. She explained to the employee that her children’s developmental delays made it difficult for them to choose the toys they liked from a catalog and preferred to take them to the store in person to see what they liked.
“We moved to the last aisles, which are specifically set up for toy sales in the middle of the store, and looked around. There was a nice lady who worked there, who wrote down where everything was and put the car out of the way, ”says Jacqueline. “We started talking and I mentioned why we were there and why we didn’t use the catalog.”
Photo: Adobe Stock / igorbukhlin
“I mentioned how much my oldest loved the flamingo and also the fact that my youngest didn’t give me any real ideas, but if all else fails we would find more cars that he doesn’t have (ASD parents will knows). We continued on our way and finished what we were doing. “
Later, when Jacqueline and the boys approached the cash register, they met the woman they had spoken to earlier. She and a colleague gave the family a bag that they could take home for free.
In the bag were the two toys the children had chosen as their favorites: the flamingo and a lighted car. BIG W, said the woman, was going to give Jacqueline’s sons the toys.
Photo: Adobe Stock / Nomad_Soul
Jacqueline later shared the story on Facebook. She called the gesture “extremely friendly” and said she had to “hold back her tears” when she thanked the employee.
“I certainly didn’t expect that! I actually didn’t even know that BIG W was doing something like that, ”says Jacqueline. “It’s just me and my boys and some days can be really tough and that meant the absolute world to me.”
Thank you, BIG W, for sweetening this little boy’s day and helping a single mom! The world needs more people who go out of their way to do good things like this woman!