Throwing a kid’s birthday party can be a chaotic experience. Planning activities and crafts to keep the kids busy is overwhelming. Buying enough food, drinks, and cake for the entire group isn’t cheap. And making sure your child ends up happy at the end of the day is every parent’s first priority. But for one mother in Alabama, planning her daughter’s 13th birthday was even more chaotic than normal.
But when a local bakery found out about Kim Kirkpatrick’s quest to give her daughter Amy a great birthday, they decided to do much more than just supply the cake.
Kirkpatrick contacted Savage’s Bakery in Homewood, Alabama, in August of 2018 to order Amy’s cake — something with a ton of colorful flowers, and if possible, chickens. Amy had grown up on a farm and had a thing for chickens.
While Savage’s co-owner Elizabeth Scott took down notes for the cake, Kirkpatrick began to tell Scott about her previous attempt to throw Amy a birthday party.
“I was helping her on the phone, and she mentioned her daughter, Amy, was 13 and loved flowers and had never had a birthday party.”
Sadly, after all the planning, no one from’s Amy’s class showed up to the celebration.
From that point on, Kirkpatrick has been afraid to attempt to throw another party, fearing the same thing would happen.
Individuals who are diagnosed with autism are more prone to sensory overload, meaning that loud noises, bright lights, and unfamiliar areas could make them feel uncomfortable and incite a negative reaction.
“They didn’t have a lot of family or friends that might be able to come,” Scott told OTMJ. “But I told her not to worry. We would make it extra special.”
Or so they thought. When they finally arrived at the bakery, they saw a bounce house set up outside, alongside lawn games like corn hole. And there were guests galore.
Scott had shared an open invitation on Savage’s Facebook page inviting anyone an everyone to join in the celebration the day before Kirkpatrick and Amy were slated to arrive to pick up the cake.
“YOU’RE INVITED!!…We’re celebrating the FIRST birthday party for an amazing 13 year old — Amy — who is uniquely and wonderfully made created with autism, has a beautiful and bright spirit, and a love of all things every teenager loves!”
The post continued: “Her very First birthday party ever. And we’re making it extra special with cookies, a cake covered in flowers, and so much more! Stop in to see Amy and enjoy some treats with us as we celebrate her special day!”
Kulturecity is an Alabama-based nonprofit dedicated to making events and public areas more accommodating to those with autism. They were actually the ones to supply the party with the bounce house and lawn games, and their Sensory Activation Vehicle.
(That’s Amy on the left.)
“Just through reaching out to the community, it’s been really great to see… We’ve had people walk in and just drop off gifts out of nowhere and see what was happening and go next door to our neighbors, Jack and Jill and Sikes, and buy gifts and bring them for her.”
Kirkpatrick told OTMJ:
“It’s hard to get autism kids in with regular kids during playtime… So this is Amy’s first birthday party that she’s actually been invited to…She doesn’t have any friends, except she has some that she talks to at school, but that’s it.”
According to OTMJ, parents from all over the state brought their children with autism to Amy’s autism-friendly party, because hey, it’s not every day that parties are thrown specifically to be accommodating to those with autism.
That plush chicken toy — that clucked when squeezed — Amy received from Scott may have just been the best part of the entire day.
Scott told OTMJ, “It’s kind of embarking on a really special time in her life… And from here on out, if she wants to have a party here every year for forever, then that’s what we’ll do.”
“[Savage’s has] been a family business, and that’s really what we’re all about, community and family,” she continued. “If we can do little things like this every once in a while, then it really makes what we do all the more special and rewarding.”
Can we be invited to Amy’s next birthday party?
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