I threw my son, 6, a birthday party but only one of the 19 friends we invited showed up – he was heartbroken

One DAD was devastated when just one child showed up at his six-year-old son’s birthday party.

David Chen invited 19 kids from his son’s Max class for a fun day at an indoor playground.

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Young Max, who is autistic, was looking forward to the big day with his classmates, but only one child showed up.

His father, from Vancouver, Canada, shared a heartbroken image of the empty playground on Twitter, saying: “My kid with autism spectrum disorder is the other kid in class.

“We invited all his classmates to his birthday party today and only one came.

“It is difficult to explain to my child and the mother of this child that only one classmate came.

“No guesswork, but still an empty feeling day.”

Mr. Chen continued, “Unfortunately, we have one person who said yes, two people who said no, and 16 who said nothing.”

And to make matters worse, the father said that two weeks earlier, 16 of the 19 invited children had attended another children’s party.

Despite his disappointment, the father said he doesn’t blame anyone and just wants to raise awareness about being more inclusive.

His post quickly garnered thousands of likes, and Max was offered to attend soccer games and birthday parties.

Someone commented: “Congratulations to your child. For those of us who are different in any way, we appreciate the friends that show up.

“He’s lucky you’re representing him. May he always have someone by his side.”

One added: “Brutal! That is hard. But some people 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 kid he’s cool and always.”

Mr. Chen has told Global News Canada that he has now arranged with Max’s teacher to have a class birthday party.

He said: “We all have a stake in how we shape our community.

“I think if we understand the differences, strengths and needs that we can actually go beyond, we can help people shine.

“And that’s what I want to see, so all of our kids have a chance to shine.”