Dad's search for autistic son's favourite cup helps children all over the world
Just over a year ago, Marc Carter, from Devon, took to Twitter with an emotional appeal.
His son Ben, 15, has severe autism and refused to drink anything unless it was out of a blue Tomee Tippee cup. A baby cup with handles, Ben would not drink out of anything else and even had two trips to A&E for dehydration when the cup was taken away from him. Unfortunately, the cup was old and unhygienic, and the model had been discontinued years ago.
Reward for cup like this! Son has severe #autism & would rather go to A&E dehydrated than use ANY other cup – colour shape etc PLEASE SHARE pic.twitter.com/iglWs9IKA9
— Grumpy Carer (@GrumpyCarer) 14 November 2016
The plea went viral and the family now have 591 cups, more than enough to last a lifetime.
Carter, a full time carer to his three children on the autistic spectrum, decided show his gratitude for the phenomenal support he received in his "little tiny way" . And thus Little Blue Cup was born.
The charity, run by Carter and his family, aims to connect families of children with autism or other special needs with items that they desperately want- be it a cup, toy, blanket, or a hat. In a recent BBC Radio interview, he explained why these items are so important:
“Everyone has a favourite something, and when you’re autistic that favourite something can mean the world.”
On the Little Blue Cup Facebook page, Carter says that the charity helps families search for "something small that keeps them happy, healthy and from having the most challenging times".
The page now boasts 15,000 followers and some of the success stories are truly heartwarming.
One of the children helped was 10-year-old Kye from Staffordshire. He had lost his favourite toy dog, Doggy Woof-Woof, and was devastated. Little Blue Cup contacted the makers of the toy, Tomee Tippee, who had even forgotten that they made soft toys. But thanks to some kind souls on the Internet, Doggy Woof-Woof returned home, and the video of their reunion will have you in bits.
The Little Blue Cup also autistic 9-year-old Isaac, who had lost his favourite hat while holidaying. Carter admitted that this was one of the videos that most deeply touched him:
“Just the expression and his face, and his sister, I think this is the most moving part, is just as excited for him.”
Before his post went viral Carter said that he was weary of social media; "Before all of this I was completely anti-social media. I thought that it detached me from the real world.”
But the Little Blue Cup has somewhat restored his faith in humanity; “Generally people are very very good.”
If you would like to more about Little Blue Cup or see items in need then their website here.