Girl with Autism Wanted a Discontinued Shirt, Internet Found and Sent Her 78 of Them

If you needed proof that the Internet can be a very generous place, this is it. This inspiring story begins as many feel-good Internet tales do: with a Facebook call to action post. Deborah Grimshaw Skouson‘s daughter, Cami, has autism and loves to wear a very specific flower-patterned shirt from Target. She's been wearing this particularly designed shirt ever since she was in kindergarten, five years ago. But, shirts do not last forever. Cami has worn out her beloved top, and her parents could no longer find it in stores as Target discontinued the shirt in 2012.

Seeing her daughter's crushed expression, Skouson took to Facebook with this message: “Okay friends and family, I need your help! As most of you know, my daughter Cami has autism. For the past 4-5 years, she has been fixated on THIS shirt. She got her first one in kindergarten 5 years ago, and we have found 4 more since then, mostly on eBay. Her current one is almost unwearable, and eBay has gone dry. This shirt is a CIRCO brand from TARGET. They were sold in 2011-2012. This is where you come in. We need another ‘pink flower shirt,' so will you please share this post or even just the photo? We will pay for the shirt and the shipping if someone would be kind enough to sell it to us. It has to be this exact shirt! We've tried similar shirts, and they don't cut it with Cami! 🙂 Thank you so much!! (any size is great!)”

This is the “pink flower shirt” that Cami adores.

The response to the loving mother's request was magnanimous. Skouson's original post was shared over 5,000 times. It was also shared on the popular Facebook page Love What Matters, where it accumulated 13,000 additional shares. Skouson commented that after a few days, Cami had already received 78 “pink flower shirts” from the people of the Internet.

“I am so grateful for the kindness that my daughter has been shown!” she exclaimed. “I made this post a week ago in the hopes of finding a few shirts for backup. Cami adores this shirt, and it brings her a lot of comfort and security, which is sometimes hard for her to come by in her chaotic little world. She doesn't wear it all the time, but likes to put it on after school, and she wears it to bed as a pajama shirt. At last count, we are at 78 shirts, and I've had many offer to make her teddy bears, pillows, blankets, and other keepsakes out of the extras.These are all total strangers. People are inherently good and kind, and I'm glad I've been able to be a recipient of that kindness. May God bless you all!”

There's no doubt at all that Cami, bedecked in pink flowers once more, is one happy girl. 

via [BBC]

All images via Deborah Grimshaw Skouson.

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