Caring Milton Keynes community rallies round to make birthday special for shunned autistic schoolboy with no friends

A caring community has rallied round to ensure a lonely teenager with autism enjoyed an extra special birthday.

Dalila Amina wrote a heartbreaking post on her local Facebook page about the plight of her son Zak, who was 17 last week.

She said: “Sometimes life can be cruel, especially for vulnerable people. My son who has autism and has multiple health problems is turning 17... Since he was a child, no-one in his class wanted to come to his birthday party.

“Most parents were turning down his invitation. At the end, I did not bother to send any.”

Dalila said Zak had never been invited to any birthday party, apart from people who were family friends or relatives.

"This has been a case for years, even at his secondary school. No-one in his class mate wished him a happy birthday. He used to come home and say to me he that felt sad as his classmates wish each other a happy birthday, brought gifts and he got nothing from them, even though he always make sure to wish everyone a happy birthday..”

"His classmates see him as a clown and always make fun of him.. It is so heartbreaking. Again Zak is spending his birthday with us and not with his ‘lads’ as he likes to call his classmates.”

The post appeared on the Newton Leys Community Facebook page and it prompted an immediate and massive response.

Within minutes, the birthday wishes flooded in, as did cards, gifts and offers of treats for Zak. More than 350 responded with happy birthday greetings.

Dalila said: “To my surprise, I had a tsunami of good wishes to the point that I could not keep up. Many people came to my house with cards and gifts.”

Local business rallied round too. Banks' Martial Arts Academy offered Zak sessions of kick boxing, Jason Smoker offered free Karate coaching and the local barber shop La Barbers offered Zak a free haircut.

Great Gelato ice cream shop on Newton Leys gave Zak a £10 voucher to spend and Shocal gift shop in Bletchley gave him free treats.

"One Newton Leys resident by the name of Kilo Duggan even proposed to have a birthday party for my Zak!” said delighted Dalila.

"My boy was blown away, I have never seen him so happy. Every time there was a knock on the door, he was jumping with happiness.

"Words cannot describe how elated he felt by the generosity”

She and Zak have this week thanked the community wholeheartedly for their kindness.

"Newton Leys is a new development situated just after Lakes Estates, most people who live there are from different places but they live like one big family, said Dalila.

“I feel very blessed to be part of Newton Leys community. They are genuinely kind, caring and a lovely bunch of people to be around.”

Experts at the National Autistic Society say people with autism can find social situations difficult or overwhelming and struggle to make and maintain friendships. This can leading to social isolation.

"It might feel as though other people know, intuitively, how to communicate and interact with each other,” said a spokesperson.