What 1 Flight Attendant Did When She Learned It Was a Boy With Autism's Birthday

With stories of moms being forced to dump their breast milk at security checkpoints swirling around to reports of parents having a difficult time flying with their kids, one family wanted to speak out about their recent experience on a recent Delta flight with their 7-year-old son.

Henry's family tries to always preboard flights when they travel because he is on the autism spectrum and the boarding process can be very overwhelming for him with the crowded lines and noises. But this experience was different because as soon as the child boarded Delta Flight 1596 in Minneapolis, a flight attendant named Natalie approached. The woman simply wanted to introduce herself to Henry and see if he needed anything.

"The kiddo immediately took a shine to her and started asking all sorts of questions about the plane. Natalie went out of her way to bring over demo oxygen masks and life jackets for Henry to look at," Henry's mom, Christine Bush, shared on Facebook. "She surprised him with a chocolate bar and extra cookies. She listened as he talked about being on the spectrum and about how loud noises bothered him."

Later in the flight, Natalie learned that Henry's birthday had just passed so she worked with other flight attendants to make a special crown from cookie packages and arranged for the pilot to come over the intercom and give him a special welcome. "She was a friend to a little boy who doesn't always feel like he has too many of those," she wrote.

When the flight landed in New York, the pilot presented Henry with "special golden wings," let him try on his hat, and the crew posed for pictures. "Natalie and the rest of team on Delta Flight 1596 went above and beyond the call of duty to help him feel special," she wrote. "Henry later said that he 'felt like a FIRST CLASS passenger' and said that he would 'never forget my best friend Natalie.' You can't get much better than that."