One teenager’s overjoyed reaction to being invited to a birthday party is going viral.
Macy is a 15-year-old high school freshman and she has Down syndrome. Her mom says she can “count on one hand the amount of birthday parties” Macy has been invited to since she started kindergarten.
“Yesterday Macy got in the car and showed me an invitation to a birthday party for a friend at school who is also in the life skills program,” Macy’s mom, Heather Avis, began an Instagram post.
“Her joy from this invitation is palpable. WOW!” Avis wrote. “To me it spoke of a longing fulfilled. All I could do was laugh with her and then cry as I celebrated with her.”
In the video, Macy’s excitement is contagious as she waves the invitation in the air for her mother to see.
“You got invited to a birthday party?” Avis asks.
“Yeah!” Macy replies, with a huge grin on her face. Moments later, she lets out a happy squeal.
“You can hear me start to get choked up because my sweet girl is so elated to be included,” Avis tells TODAY.com in an interview. “It speaks to the common humanity that we all share. We all as humans want to feel like we belong. We all want to be wanted.”
Macy was in a general education setting with her grade-level peers until high school, when she switched to a life skills program for students with intellectual disabilities.
“As soon as Macy walked into the classroom as a new student, she was instantly embraced,” Avis tells TODAY.com. “No one was questioning if she has value and worth. She’s finding a place where she feels belonging and community.”
On May 30, Avis shared a much-needed birthday party update. In the footage, Macy is laughing and clapping her hands. Though Avis says Macy’s language is limited, her body language tells you everything you need to know.
“What did you tell me when we were there?” Avis asks.
“I love it here!” Macy replies.
Later, she adds, “I love birthday parties!”
“Noteworthy detail: the birthday boy is a disabled student in the life skills class at Macy’s school. The party was inclusive not because a student in the general education program invited Macy, but because a person with an intellectual disability invited both disabled and non-disabled individuals,” Avis wrote. “It was inclusive because people like Macy and the young man we were celebrating, who are often excluded, truly understand how to include others. Let’s reflect on that for a moment!”
Avis hopes that Macy will inspire others to embrace those who are left out.
“We all have opportunity to be the person to say, ‘I’m going to create a space where everyone can belong,’” she says.
