Mom Elated When Special Needs Daughter Gets First True Friend. Captures Video That’s Melting Hearts

Kids can have a hard time in school for any number of reasons. One of the biggest issues is being seen as different in some way — in how you look, act, or respond to others.

For kids with special needs, school may be especially difficult for just that reason. And, in turn, that can be painful for the parents, who naturally want their children to thrive.

Shannon Sommers has an 11-year-old non-verbal daughter named Carly Jade. The sixth grader was born with water on the brain and has epilepsy and an eye condition called nystagmus.

Carly Jade lives in Houston, Texas, and had never been invited to a birthday party or had a friend come to the house. But recently she made her first true friend at school — a seventh grader named Zoe Damborsky, who Shannon sees as heaven-sent.

Carly Jade’s parents first learned about this new friend when a teacher mentioned her in a note about Carly Jade’s school day activities. “Whenever we would mention Zoe’s name, Carly would get really excited,” Shannon told KPRC-TV, where she also works as an associate producer. “So I’m like, who is this Zoe?”

She contacted Zoe’s mom and set up a playdate for the two at Chuck E. Cheese’s. She made a video of part of it, and in it you see Zoe and Carly Jade eating pizza and communicating with each other using their hands and facial expressions.

Mom said Zoe respects Carly Jade and is comfortable with her. “She listens. She watches, and she imitates her so that she knows she is understanding,” Shannon told KPRC-TV.

It all seems so simple, and yet it is something so many of us struggle to do. Even Carly Jade’s mom has said she is learning lessons from watching Zoe interact with her daughter.

Carly Jade is thrilled to have this new friend. And mom is elated, too, having often worried how her daughter would be treated in social situations.

Shannon hesitated to post the video, but decided to do it in the hopes that it would inspire others. “We share this video to show everyone just how important it is to treat everyone equally,” she said on Facebook.

The message has come across, and thousands have now watched the video, with many being moved to tears. “I love the way Zoe is totally comfortable with Carly,” one woman wrote on Facebook.

“She’s interacting with her just like she would with any other friend. She’s communicating with Carly in a way that is meaningful to her. Which is what we should ALL do and teach our children to do as well!”