A Stranger Didn't Know That This Boy Had Autism When She Commented on His Meltdown

When Jamie Nystuen took her little boy to get a haircut, her son had a difficult time.

The stranger sitting next to the California mom and her husband didn't know that the child has autism, and her reaction to him having a meltdown left Jamie speechless. In an open letter to the person at the barber shop, Jamie wrote: "You sat next to us and watched as my son screamed, cried, and nearly vomited through the process of what most would consider a simple haircut. You saw my husband and I struggle to hold him still, encourage him, bribe him with a trip to the library."

However, to Jamie's surprise, the stranger didn't scoff at her child's screaming or stare at the family. "You kindly mentioned you'd been in our position just last week when your young twins got their haircuts," she wrote. "What you didn't know is that our son has autism and this haircut, like all the others, is a torturous experience every time."

In addition to the simple yet reassuring words, the stranger then paid for the little boy's haircut after the trying ordeal. "Today's haircut was more upsetting than usual, but autism is like knowing which way the wind will blow and any day could be the next tornado of a sensory overload meltdown," she wrote. "Your gesture is truly the nicest thing anyone has ever done for us and I'll never forget your kindness."