Ayden Carter’s 10th Birthday Invitation

 “It’s heartbreaking when he comes to us just about every day saying he’s so lonely. He says everyone thinks he is weird and he has no friends.” ~ Rebecca Carter  

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Ayden and his dog Munchie Man

October 17, 2015
1:00PM to 4:00PM
Falling Creek Park 1257 Country Farm Rd Bedford, VA 24523    RSVP here

Press Release

We raised over our goal of 275 to cover basic birthday party costs, and to hire a professional DJ, Joshua Clougherty of Bass, Steak and Fries, so along with Batman, everyone can join in Ayden’s birthday dance party.

Be it the tango, the polka, the chicken, Gingham style or a little double left-foot two-step, we all have our own style. So does Ayden Carter, an almost 10-year-old Michael Jackson fan, music enthusiast who would like to invite you to dance your heart out with him at his upcoming dance, LEGO, superhero birthday party.

Unfortunately Ayden doesn’t really have any friends because he doesn’t fully understand how to socialize.

Ayden dancing to Michael Jackson

“We throw Ayden a birthday party every year inviting multiple kids and only one little girl shows up every year. It breaks our hearts as his parents to see him upset and hear him talk about how he feels so alone.”

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Ayden loves LEGOs

“I feel he thinks he’s different because of his imagination,” says Rebecca Carter, Ayden’s mom. “He has the most unbelievable imagination I’ve ever seen in a child. He gets so into it when he’s playing that maybe other kids might sometimes think Ayden believes it’s real even though he knows it’s not.

Ayden has never really understood what autism was, but recently he has been telling us that he is different. He says he has no friends. He eats lunch with his counselor and plays by himself at recess.  His counselor is his one friend, and has been trying to help him make other friends at school.  He has given him advice on how to approach other children and begin a conversation and encourages him to introduce himself.”

This is Ayden’s world. Diagnosed at age three with autism, severe ADHD, ay2and sensory processing disorder, he’s made incredible strides to assimilate but always feels a lot of other kids think he’s weird.  “It’s heartbreaking when he comes to us just about every day saying he’s so lonely and that he believes other children think he’s weird,” Rebecca says.

As adults, we covet the imagination of a child. As we grow older we harden, learn more about the world around us and seem to lose the ability for imagination. However, we certainly have the capacity to imagine what it must be like for a 10-year-old boy to be alienated simply because he thinks differently, using his imagination to create on such a grand scale, yet still keeping a hold on reality.

Ayden recently attended the birthday party of Daymien Manus, a 10-year-old autistic boy who celebrated the milestone with a crowdFunnit party, inviting the community to join in the celebration.

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Ayden and his sister Haley

“We went because he was so excited to meet someone who was more like him,” said Rebecca, someone who was a little different but still had the simple desire of friendship.  While there he played Frisbee with Mugsy, the Salem, VA Red Sox mascot, got to speak with Batman and took in the whole fun celebration.  This is why Ayden would also love to have a crowdFunnit birthday party.

Complete strangers have offered their services to make this party a huge success. Local bakery, Superior Sweets, has offered to create a one-of-a-kind birthday cake; Rayne Ashton from Rayne Ashton’s Photography has offered to photograph the event; Matt Kidd Cancer Awareness Monster Truck will be there for the kids; and professional DJ Joshua Clougherty of Bass, Steak and Fries will be driving three hours from Herdon, Va, for the event. “I saw the post on Reddit and I had to check it out,” said Clougherty. “My heart just went out to Ayden and I thought it would be a good opportunity to help out. Having a similar experience myself, being on the autism spectrum growing up and understanding how that felt, I decided I had to reach out.” And, Batman is rumored to be making a return visit as well. Shhhh.

Ayden loves LEGOs, super heroes, dancing, science and his dogs.  He collects multiple things including movies (over 500 dvds), rocks, LEGOs, and Buzz Lightyear action figures just to name a few.”

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Coming from a very close-knit family.  Ayden spends a lot of time with his parents, his older sister Haley and with his grandparents, “Nanas” and “Papas” (with the S)   Ayden’s mother Rebecca said, “The only place he has ever gone to just hang out away from us is to their house.”

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Ayden with Nanas (left), Papas (center), and his sidekick Dooby Doo (right)

Ayden also loves the family’s three dogs, Baby Girl, Munchie Man, and Dooby Doo (Ayden’s sidekick). While we’re at it, we can’t leave out Ayden’s pet tarantula, Webber.

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Ayden and his sister Haley

“Haley, almost 15, is so great with him. She plays with him, teaches him things, watches movies with him, and even does “sleep-overs” where she will build him a fort in her room and let him spend the night in there,” says Rebecca.

With the help of his family, his keenly intuitive school counselor as well as dedicated teachers, Ayden has progressed with his academics and is ready to make the same progress socially.

“He has come so far in his autism journey but he still needs some help and people to understand,” adds Rebecca.   More than anything right now Ayden would love to have friends.

You can help Ayden know he has friends by bringing your children to his upcoming crowdFunnit birthday party.  And who doesn’t love a dance party!

11 Comments on “Ayden Carter’s 10th Birthday Invitation”

  1. Happy Birthday Ayden may it be such a Blessing you smile your whole life long because of it.
    May God Bless you with your Hearts desires and Your dreams come true

    Your Awesome
    If you ever need a friend 🙂 im here 🙂
    God Loves You.
    Happy Birthday

    Yay Hurray Ayden is gonna be 10!!
    Hey.. do you realize your name and new age kinda rhyme.
    Ayden and ten

    Birthday Blessings

    • Ayden says thank you very much! And he loves to rhyme words so he thought it was pretty cool that you pointed out his name rhyming with his new age. He said “Oh yeah, it does!” Thank you for wishing him a happy birthday!

      • Awe Your so welcome 🙂 im glad it could bring Him a smile.

        🙂 Birthday Blessings from your Big sis in California

  2. Dear Ayden,

    I know you are having a hard time with making friends in school and I know how much it hurts. I watched my daughter go through the same thing and it was heartbreaking.

    But don’t worry Ayden because now my daugher is ninteen and she finally found a few friends who not only embrace her ‘differences’ but have their own too!

    The older you get, the more creative people get. You are just way ahead of the other kids!

    Though the kids at school don’t understand how awesome you are now, one day they will. It just takes time to find where you belong. So don’t give up, you have a family that loves you and that is what really matters. 🙂

    Have an amazing birthday Ayden! If I lived closer (I live in Washington State) I would absolutely come to your party and embarrass you with my dancing!

    -tashera

  3. Hey Ayden and the Carter Family!

    I struggled with these issues as well, but overcame them with time and even excelled. I’m confident Ayden will too.

    I now own a sucessful A/V business. If you need a DJ, I’d be happy to give you guys a good price based on what you need me to bring.

    • Thank you so much! That would be great! I’m not sure exactly what all would be needed. I’ve never had a dj for a party before. We mainly want to play music so whatever would be needed for that. Thank you for your kind words, Ayden will be so excited! We haven’t mentioned a dj tp him yet. We are going to surprise him. He loves to dance!

  4. Happy early birthday, Ayden!

    It sounds like you are an amazing person with a ton of talents! Just because others may not instantly see how incredible you are dosnt mean they won’t. Some things just take time. You are ahead of a lot of other people your age because you are unique and intelligent, so never think there is anything “wrong” with you. You are perfect.
    Often times the people that are called “different” or “weird” are the ones who contribute the most to our world. Henry Cavendish and Paul Dirac are two of those people. If it wasn’t for their “differences” we wouldn’t know as much about electricity or microelectronics!

    Happy birthday, Ayden. If I wasn’t in Dallas, TX I would be right along side you dancing to ‘beat it’ and ‘Billie Jean’ but since I can’t make it, I’ll be dancing here in Dallas for you!

  5. Dear Ayden- my son Louie, sounds so much like you! he loves legos and superheroes and especially making up stories and games. Louie has an amazing imagination and it sounds like you do too! If you ever come to Michigan, we would love to hang out with you. Don’t give up, you WILL make friends. You are different, but who cares? Different is GOOD. You sound like an amazing kid. I wish we could come to your party. We hope you have the best birthday ever!

  6. Happy Birthday Ayden! We hope you have an awesome day and the party is just as you imagine it to be! We live too far away to come but we will be dancing with you in spirit! Your friends from NJ Grace and Lillian

  7. Happy birthday sounds like its going to be so much fun!! I would love to come and bring my lil girl!! But its vary far so you have a good time for us!!! Eat lots of cake for me I love cake..happy birthday ?