'Woman's kindness to my autistic son restored faith'

Abbie with her son Toby, four, who is autistic

A mum said her "faith in humanity was restored" when a stranger offered support after her autistic son had a "meltdown".

Abbie, 29, from Elmswell, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, is mum to Toby, four, who was diagnosed as autistic when he was two-and-a-half.

Toby became extremely upset during a visit to a supermarket, which Abbie said would usually lead to stares and eyerolls from other shoppers, but instead a woman approached them with a comforting message.

"She said 'you've got this', and her words of wisdom made us feel so much better about the situation," said Abbie.

It happened during a recent visit to a supermarket in Stowmarket.

Toby became upset because his mum would not buy something they already had at home.

Abbie said she took Toby outside, but he had a "meltdown" in the car park.

"This is when the lady approached, and I've never had anything like that happen before. It kind of took me aback," she explained.

Abbie said the stranger's "you've got this" comment helped calm the situation.

"We actually ended up taking him [Toby] back into the shop, because he'd ended up calming down. I had ended up calming down, and my partner," she said.

Abbie said the interaction had stayed in her thoughts all day.

"We just usually get people staring or rolling their eyes at us because they don't understand," she said.

"They just think he's being naughty, whereas actually, he is just overwhelmed with his surroundings."

Abbie says Toby loves routine in his daily life

Abbie decided to try to trace the woman via social media, so she posted a message in a local Facebook group.

She said the stranger's reassuring words had made her feel "like all faith is restored in humanity".

The post attracted lots of comments - including one from the mystery woman from the supermarket.

They connected and Abbie found out the woman had two children with additional support needs. The pair are still in touch.

Toby's mum says he has limited awareness of danger and without supervision could run out into a road

Abbie explained how Toby was six months old when she noticed he would "flap his arms" and make "a vocal humming stim" - a repetitive action.

"He'd be very transfixed on lights, which I knew was a bit unusual for a six-month old," she said.

He was diagnosed two years later, which his mum said was a relief.

"Toby doesn't stop and he loves routine, so things have to be done in a certain way," she said.

"Going out is hard. That's where I do struggle, because when I see other children walking hand-in-hand with their parent, my child can't do that.

"He needs a harness on, or he'll be in his specialist pushchair - because he has no danger awareness."

Abbie documents Toby's journey on Instagram.