A Florida mum who tweeted about her autistic son has received an outpouring of support from people online.
Taking to Twitter, Kerry Bloch wrote:
My 21 year old autistic son has no communication skills. Today he asked me his first question ever. It was. “Would someone like me?”
Bloch went on to share a photograph of her 21-year-old son, David.
Bloch told BBC OS that David has been non-verbal most of his life, and surprised his parents by asking them: "Would someone like me?"
"I could tell he was thinking or processing something," she said, "He then just looks at me and goes: 'Would someone like me?'"
Bloch was "flabbergasted" as it was the first question he had ever asked her.
I left the room because I had to cry.
The mum went on to tell her son that "thousands" of people would like him, and then set out to prove it on the internet.
David, who has a rare immunodeficiency, had been homeschooled and never had a friend.
"I know he's lonely, and we're doing the best we can to get him to have friends somehow," she said.
Thousands of people responded to her tweet, including Australian NBA star Joe Ingles, who said he and wife Renae have a child with autism and invited David to a Utah basketball game.
@dsmom58 Kerry, there is 2 people in Utah that like your son a lot, my wife @RenaeIngles & I! We would love to invi… https://t.co/UHoLLqzbNF— Joe Ingles (@Joe Ingles) 1572638207
Touched by David's question, people from across the world sent him messages of love and support
@dsmom58 i like u ❤️👍🏽— ROSIE (@ROSIE) 1572663264
@dsmom58 You've got three new friends in Virginia Beach who like you! Me and two kitties: Shadow (black) and Dallan… https://t.co/JBWjLZIR8f— Shay (@Shay) 1572926106
@dsmom58 David you really touched my heart today ❤️❤️❤️ and I have never even met you. I want you to know that you… https://t.co/vwvspx0Vjn— Sam (@Sam) 1572675826
@dsmom58 Hey David, Me and Camelia and our son Max say hello from sunny Turkey where we are on our holiday(vacation… https://t.co/pn7zbWVvAV— Shaq 👊🏻 (@Shaq 👊🏻) 1572796819
@dsmom58 You have friends in Austin, Texas! Look us up if you every come to central Texas!!! https://t.co/iZVELD6oPW— SoCal2Austin (@SoCal2Austin) 1572680152
@dsmom58 Hi David from Scotland this is Liam who is also autistic and we would all like to be your friend love from… https://t.co/RTFxTjSGqw— JR (@JR) 1572991038
Others wrote messages of empathy about feeling lonely
@dsmom58 Hi David, I know what it’s like to feel lonely. I‘m a senior in high school and I eat lunch alone in my ca… https://t.co/kJgBBNISQb— Ava (@Ava) 1572829145
Even doggos got in on the love
Overwhelmed by the positive response, Bloch followed up by saying David was making a Thank You card
I want to thank everyone who has responded to this tweet. I’ve read every reply to David. The outpouring of love to him is overwhelming. God bless each and every one of you. David is working on thank you card. I’ll post when he’s done.
https://t.co/O6HBDzlnXg— kerry bloch (@kerry bloch) 1572558030
We're not crying you're crying.
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