This is the emotional moment a nervous mom watches her autistic five-year-old meet his baby brother for the first time.
Tyler McDonald was non-verbal until he was three, has attention-deficit disorder and can have meltdowns if he doesn’t stick to a strict routine.
When his mom Felicia Shelly, 27, fell pregnant she was worried Tyler would struggle to adapt to having his new sibling around.
But tearjerking footage shows the moment the schoolboy fell in love with baby Jordan as he met him for the first time in August.
Tyler, who was diagnosed with autism aged two, walks up to his mom carrying a bouquet of flowers but stops in his tracks when he sees his new brother.
He then carefully strokes Jordan’s head before gently cradling the tiny baby as he sits at the foot of his mom’s hospital bed.
Felicia, a cashier from Ontario, Canada, said: “I had no idea how he was going to respond.
“I was concerned he wouldn’t want his brother around.
“When we brought him to the hospital he didn’t know Jordan had been born because he was four weeks early.
“He was totally surprised, but when he realized what was going on he was happy.
“It was very overwhelming – I almost started crying. I was so proud of how he reacted.
“Even after the video ended he didn’t want to let go.”
Felicia said she was concerned Tyler would struggle to adapt to having a new family member and worried he might feel left out.
“I had constantly told him there was a baby coming when I was pregnant, just constantly talking about it,” she said.
“He would make comments like, ‘Mommy, your belly is getting bigger,’ and he would get upset when we went to ultrasounds because he thought the baby was coming out.
“He seemed excited but Tyler’s main issue is processing and we wanted to make sure he understood what was going on.”
When Felicia’s waters broke at 11.30pm on August 16, Tyler was tucked up in bed so had no idea his mom was in labor.
But when he woke up the next morning his grandmother – who was babysitting – told him there was a surprise for him and he went to the hospital.
Felicia said: “Part of his autism is that he has to be on routine, right down to things like me having to get his clothes out on weekends like I do for school in the week.
“If I don’t he cries and yells, sometimes throws things.
“Tyler has now made Jordan a part of that routine.
“He was never one for cuddling either, even as a baby, but he just wants to hold Jordan and play with him.
“Having a new sibling has brought out another side to him.”
