Shanell Mouland wasn’t expecting her 3-year-old autistic daughter to be welcomed by a complete stranger, but a businessman’s act of kindness has changed her view on people forever.
Mouland explained to Yahoo! Shine her daughter Kate’s diagnosis could be a challenging to control. Mouland claims the unpredicitabilty of Kate’s behavior can be difficult for a stranger to understand, which was why she had anxiety about taking the family on a trip to Disneyworld.
"Any time we go out in public, we have to plan for anything because Kate has sensory issues and when she's overwhelmed, her behavior may be unpredictable," Mouland told Shine. "Most people warm up to Kate, but interacting with her can be off-putting for those that don't understand autism."
So when Eric Kunkel, a businessman from New Jersey, sat down next to Kate, Mouland couldn’t help but panic a little. What happened during their plan ride who shock the mother of two in the best way possible, taking to her blog to thank the stranger who sat patiently next to her daughter.
“You could have shifted uncomfortably in your seat. You could have ignored her. You could have given me that ‘smile’ that I despise because it means; ‘manage your child please.’ You did none of that,” Mouland wrote in the blog. “You engaged Kate in conversation and you asked her questions about her turtles. She could never really answer your questions but she was so enamored with you that she kept eye contact and joint attention on the items you were asking her about. I watched and smiled. I made a few polite offers to distract her, but you would have none of it.”
Mouland didn’t catch Kunkel’s name before getting off the flight, but her thank you letter to the businessman went viral since she published it. Kunkel saw her blog and contacted her Mouland through Facebook, describing the encounter he had with Kate. Mouland immediately knew it was the same businessman who was nicknamed "Daddy" by Kate.
"I travel a lot for work, and Kate was, by far, the most well-behaved kid I've sat next to," Kunkel told Shine. "Shanelle is also an incredible parent — she didn't apologize for Kate and she shouldn't have — but she was very attentive to her."
You can read Mouland’s blog here.
