A Bullied Teen With Asperger’s Becomes Talk of the Town
When one teen was bullied at school, a community and even a few celebrities rallied around him to celebrate his birthday in a big way.
Odin Camus, a Canadian teen who has Asperger syndrome, was crushed when he learned that not one person would be showing up for his birthday party. His mother, Melissa, posted a message on the Peterborough Moms Buy&/or Swap for KIDS Facebook page asking for people to text her son’s new cell phone to make his day a little brighter.
“The women who use the page suggested Melissa host a public event for Odin, and post the details to a separate Facebook page,” says a reporter from CTV. Melissa also posted an open invitation asking anyone who was interested in celebrating Odin’s birthday to come down to a local bowling alley:
My son, Odin, is 13 today!! I couldn’t throw him an actual party, and he has decided he would love to go bowling. Due to his Asperger’s, Odin has some difficulty making friends. Not a single kid he invited could make it to his birthday. Due to the AWESOME ladies on the Moms Buy n Swap, I decided to create this event, and hopefully some of you can make it. 🙂 He is feelin’ the love from the texts, and both he and I appreciate the effort and time from all of you.
Hundreds of people showed up to celebrate Odin’s big day, packing the bowling alley to capacity. More than 4,000 people sent him “happy birthday” text messages, and even more reached out on social media.
Actor Elijah Wood, country singer Carrie Underwood, and Sixteen Candles star Molly Ringwald wished him happy birthday. Even the Toronto Raptors and Toronto Maple Leafs got in on the well wishes on Twitter.
After having the greatest birthday he could ever imagine, Odin has a message to other bullied teens living with Asperger’s: “To all the kids with Asperger’s out there, you do matter. You are someone worth being with.”
This article originally appeared on AOL.com.
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