A woman in Orland Park, Illinois, asked her autistic son what she wanted for a birthday gift. He shocked her with his response, as he asked for a “regular brain.” Mother and son embraced in tears, and the internet soon reacted accordingly, sobbing for such a pure heart.
The clip was shared on TikTok by the mother, Lauren Ashley. She is a photographer who shares her work online and also raises awareness about certain topics, such as being an autism mom. The clip attached above quickly became viral, garnering 976,300 views, 124,700 likes, and more than 5,000 comments.
While the clip is particularly short, standing at 19 seconds, the Illinois woman shared a bit of context in its description. She explained that while she was curling her hair, she asked her son, Noah, what he wanted for his birthday, which took place a day after the clip was posted on TikTok.
“I expected him to say a toy. Maybe his favorite snack. A place he loves to go,” Lauren said.
Instead, Noah looked at his mother and said, “A regular brain.”
‘A Regular Brain’
According to Lauren, her heart shattered. Some of those emotions are made evident in the clip above, in which the Illinois mother, crying, asked Noah to repeat his answer. He whispered, “I want a regular brain.” His mother answered back, “Your brain is perfect,” and they both embraced while crying.
She went on to explain that Noah has level 3 autism. Given his age, he is slowly becoming more aware that he experienced the world differently from other children his age. And while Lauren bawled for the rest of the day, she is certain that his son doesn’t need any fixing.
“There has never been anything wrong with his brain,” she concluded. “The world just needs to become kinder to people who experience it differently.”
Internet Cries
The video sparked multiple responses.
Some viewers were incredibly moved by the moment and supported Lauren’s message to her son. One viewer said, “Wait till he finds out his is normal and we’re all the strange ones.” Another one commented, “That young man is beautifully and perfectly made. There is not a thing wrong with him.”
Others, meanwhile, believed that such an intimate moment should have stayed private. One user wrote, “This seems like a conversation that should be off the internet. I dunno.” Another added, “Not everything needs to be recorded and exploited. Have a moment with your son.”
Still, Lauren explained that she chose to share that moment because she knows that other special needs parents are “carrying heartbreak” just like hers.
