A father opened up about his heartache after only one of the children he had invited to his son’s birthday party actually showed up.

As David Chen from Vancouver, Canada, explained, he was looking forward to his autistic son’s sixth birthday party. For the occasion, the man rented a big indoor playground and invited 19 of little Max’s classmates to the event.

When the day of the party arrived, however, only one of Max’s friends showed up, leaving the father heartbroken.

“My autism spectrum disorder kid is the different kid in the class. We invited all his classmates to his birthday party today and only one showed up,” Chen wrote on Twitter where he shared a photo of his son and an empty playground.

“Difficult to explain to my kid and that kid’s mum that only one classmate came. Not making assumptions but still an empty feeling day.”

The father also explained that the majority of the kids who didn’t show up at the birthday party provided no explanation and didn’t say they wouldn’t be showing up in advance.

“I couldn’t back out and disappoint my kid and the one classmate who came,” Chen added.

“Unfortunately, we got one person that said yes, two people that said no and 16 that didn’t say anything.”

The father also revealed that 16 of the 19 children he had invited to Max’s birthday party showed up at another kid’s party when he had celebrated just two weeks before Max.

After Chen’s heartbreaking post went viral, thousands of people chipped in with their opinions on the matter.

While some people suggested the father was in the wrong for throwing a large birthday party with huge expectations, the majority of viewers sided with the dad and shared their support for Max.

“Happy birthday to your child. For those of us who are different in any way, we cherish the friends who show up. He’s lucky to have you advocating for him,” one person said.

“Brutal! That’s tough. Some people though, it’s like they never learn. As an autistic adult, I get it. I had kids in my class who never showed up when I was younger. Tell your kiddo he is cool and always,” another suggested.

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