Boy, 8, consoles, befriends classmate with autism on first day of school

The first day of school is hard, but one 8-year-old boy helped his classmate with autism, who was having a particularly hard time.

Courtney Moore caught the special moment on camera when her son held his classmate Connor's hand and consoled him.

“I’m so proud of my son,” Moore said in a Facebook post. “He seen a kid balled up into a corner crying, so he went to console him, grabbed his hand and walked him inside of the school! It is an honor to raise such a loving, compassionate child! He’s a kid with a Big heart, the first day of school started off right 🥰💙🥰”

Moore began getting thousands of shares and reactions to her Facebook post, KWCH-TV reported, but a text she received from Connor's mother and grandmother brought tears to her eyes.

“Tell your son I said thank you so very much!” a text from April Crites, Connor’s mom, said. “That little boy he helped is my son and is autistic, I worry every day that he is going to get bullied for being different and your son just absolutely warmed my heart. If there were more children like him, I wouldn’t worry about such things.”

“Thank you so much ma’am for raising such a wonderful child,” the boy’s grandparent wrote to Moore. “More parents need to teach their children how to be compassionate. Thank your son for me and my husband. That child he helped is (our) grandson and has autism.”

Moore said Christian and Connor are both unique in their own way, adding that Christian struggles with speech as well.

"You never know how influential one act of kindness can be on someone’s life," Moore said in a Facebook post. "I give thanks to God for blessing me with wonderful children! Blessings come in many forms and God enables us to be a vessel of love!! More love and less hate ❤️❤️❤️."