Residents in Cedar, a community south of Nanaimo, came together to support a young man after a recent ugly incident left him shaken.
It all started when Aimee Quaife and her 27-year-old autistic son Dallen Quaife were in line at a 49th Parallel Grocery earlier this month.
That’s when Quaife says a man began yelling aggressively at her son for staring.
Dallen, who is non-verbal, became frightened of the man and didn’t understand why he was being yelled at.
“I was afraid,” said Quaife.
When Quaife got him home, she wrote a message to her community on social media about the incident and pleaded for people to be kind to her autistic son.
“I honestly totally broke down in the store and could not believe how cruel and unkind this man was. I was scared and felt an immediate surge of anger and desire to protect my son,” she wrote on Facebook. “I honestly forgot what I even needed and mustered the composure to pay for what I had in my cart. It’s sad that I have post this, however, this is my son. If you see him and think he is staring at you, he is disabled and likes to look at cool people. He has very few people in his life and a trip during COVID out of the house is a super special event.”
Word quickly spread about the incident, resulting in complete strangers organizing a surprise community driveby past the 27-year-old’s house.
On Saturday (Dec. 12), that surprise happened as a long line of vehicles honking horns arrived — flashing their lights and delivering presents — to let the Quaife family know they are cared about.
“I just want to show this family that Cedar’s community stands beside them,” said organizer TerryLynn Sparks. “So let’s bring some spirit back like it should be at this Christmas season.”
The Quaife family was moved by the event.
“The way that our community has shown up to support Dallen and our family is absolutely incredible and amazing and I will feel it for the rest of my life,” Aimee said.
Sparks said she was surprised at just how many people turned out to show support for the 27-year-old.
“It’s above and beyond what I thought it was gonna be,” she said.
Dallen’s sister, Micaela Kelly, said it is hard for her brother to feel included in the community, adding that she was touched by the event.
“It’s hard to get him included in the community as it is because everyone always sees him as different right,” said Kelly. “So, having everyone come together is amazing. It makes him feel included for sure.”
Dozens of people and vehicles, including construction companies and Nanaimo SAR, came out to show their support for Aimee Quaife and her 27-year-old autistic son Dallen Quaife, who was verbally attacked by a man at a grocery store earlier this month. (CHEK News)
Skye Ryan
