This Boy's Heartbreaking Reason for Not Wanting a Birthday Party -- the Internet's Awesome Response

A Michigan mother was heartbroken for her son after she asked if he wanted to have a party for his upcoming birthday March. He didn't want one.

“We were talking about his birthday coming up and I had mentioned it a few times and he said he didn’t want a party. And I said, ‘Why don’t you want a party?' [He said,] 'Mom, who am I going to invite? I don’t have any friends,’” the mother of 10-year-old Colin, identified only by her first name Jennifer, told WOOD-TV.

Colin turns 11 on March 9 but didn't want a birthday party because he said he didn't have any friends. But his mom soon found him a whole bunch. (Image source: Happy Birthday Colin/Facebook)

Colin has a hard time socializing with kids his age. The news station reported that last year he had been diagnosed with a sensory processing disorder and a social disorder. The sensory disorder causes him to react negatively to certain light and sound.

“If you can see someone with challenges, like someone with crutches or wheelchair, you know you need to open the door for them. But if someone is acting differently, you may not know they have challenges that you may not understand,” Jennifer told WOOD.

Feeling for her son, Jennifer turned to social media to show him he's not alone.

On Feb. 2 she created a "Happy Birthday Colin" Facebook page and included a P.O. box address for anyone who wished to send her son a birthday card.

Jennifer is collecting cards for her son. Shhh, they're still a surprise. (Image source: Happy Birthday Colin/Facebook)

On Facebook, she wrote that her son eats alone at lunch because his classmates wouldn't sit with him.

"Rather than force someone to be unhappy with his presence, he sits alone in the office," Jennifer wrote. "So I thought, if I could create a page where people could send him positive thoughts and encouraging words, that would be better than any birthday party. Please join me in making my very original son feel special on his day."

Since being posted 10 days ago, the Facebook page has gone viral, garnering more than 966,000 "likes" and receiving messages from around the world.

Students at a school in Arizona are making cards for Colin. (Image source: Adria Avila Castro/Facebook)

Watch WOOD-TV's report about the touching story:

The page is still being kept secret from Colin as Jennifer is trying to collect the cards and messages to give him as a surprise for his birthday.

(H/T: WJBK-TV)