Adorable Moment An Eight-Year-Old Boy Consoles His Crying Autistic Classmate On Their First Day Of School

Every parent feels a sense of anxiety when they drop their child off for their first day at school.

But mom April Crites had a little more anxiety than most. Her eight-year-old son Connor Crites has autism. Connor was a little more unsettled than usual and began to cry.

But in an extraordinary moment of compassion and kindness, his fellow student, eight-year-old Christian Moore, consoled him. 

Moore held his classmate’s hand during their first day of second grade at the Minneha Elementary School in Wichita on August 14. 

“He was kind to me,” little Connor told KAKE. “I started crying and then he helped me. And, I was happy. … He found me and held my hand and I got happy tears.”

Christian’s mother, Courtney Moore, saw the the entire heartwarming exchange unfold.

“I saw him on the ground with Connor as Connor was crying in the corner and he was consoling him,” she explained. 

Courtney says that her son and Connor now have an “inseparable bond.”

“He grabs his hand and walks him to the front door. We waited until the bell rang and he walked him inside of the school. The rest is history. They have an inseparable bond.”

On Facebook, Moore shared that it has been “an honor to raise such a loving, compassionate child!” 

April Crites, the boy’s mother, shared a message of thanks before she added:

“I worry everyday that he is going to get bullied for being different and your son just absolutely warmed my heart. If there were more children like him I wouldn’t worry about such things.”

“Thank you so much ma’am for raising such a wonderful child,” the second grader’s grandmother, Daisy Harjo, declared.

“More parents need to teach their children how to be compassionate.”

The beautiful photo has now gone viral and has been shared more than 21,000 times and reacted to more than 31,000 times. 

The support from across the world has inspired the families to create the Christian & Connor Bridging The Gap Facebook group. 

The group aims to take “a stand against bullying, violence and racism. Our goal is to bring peace & unity through our campaign, to shed positive light through acts of Kindness and love. There is no color in love!”