Coldplay: Autistic Boy & Father Respond In Tears [Video]

When a father takes his autistic, six-year-old boy to see their favorite band, Coldplay, in concert, the way he responds in tears will touch even the coldest of hearts.

The father took his little boy to see the band at the Mexico City Foro Sol stadium, according to Music Times. Every now and then a video comes along that goes viral simply because it reaches those emotions that too often get buried in the mundane. Few will argue that this is one of them.

Many parents of children with Autism can remember a time when they’ve longed to make that emotional connection, to reach that part of their child that all too often stays locked behind eyes that can’t make contact. These parents dedicate themselves to reaching their children on a deeper level, children that need, and deserve, to be loved and reached.

The story of this boy and his father can only serve to inspire these determined parents and the children they love. He drew on any chance to form connections with his son, and took special notice when his son seemed to share his response to Coldplay. After sharing moments together, singing along with Coldplay lyrics, he knew he had something. The two of them shared a connection, and he was going to explore it. Luis Vazquez jumped at the opportunity to take his young son, only six years old, to see Coldplay live in concert. He knew his son would enjoy it but never dreamed it would burst forth such a dam of emotion.

The song featured in the video is “Fix You,” a song that could easily be an anthem for anyone with special needs, as if the lyrics were written for the boy himself.

“And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can’t replace”

“Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you”

When Coldplay began singing the song, “Fix You,” Mr. Vazquez sang along in the crowd, holding nothing back. But when he saw tears streaming down little Huillo’s face, just like in the lyrics, he couldn’t hold back his own tears. With such affection, this father literally cried out the words along with the band as he tenderly wiped the tears from his little boy’s face. The power of love is overwhelming in the video, as evidenced by the millions of views the video has had. The way the boy and his father respond to the Coldplay performance, both of them in tears, has touched hearts across the world. The response on social media has been huge, even from Coldplay themselves.

This kind of thing makes it all worthwhile https://t.co/dy8Vm9naxh; Hola Luis y tu hijo hermoso! love cgwj&p

— Coldplay (@coldplay) April 22, 2016

There are many stereotypes surrounding children who are autistic. One of them is that they don’t experience emotions, and some even describe them as being “robotic,” says Bigthink. According to Dr. Susan Bookheimer, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at UCLA, there are no major differences between the autistic and non-autistic brain.

“We have an area of the brain that is pretty well devoted to face processing that becomes stronger and very, very well entrenched in the brain rather early in life; and individuals with autism, many of them, did not seem to show that same kind of specialization.” – Dr. Bookheimer

According to Autism Speaks, each individual with autism is unique. The goal at Autism Speaks is to improve the lives of all who are autistic. Certainly, as we already know, communication and emotional attachment and expression are key components in any relationship with our loved ones. Someone on the autism spectrum deserves the same emotional connections as anyone else. This is why Mr. Vazquez refuses to give up. His son responds to the music of Coldplay. There is something out there that each person responds to, and Mr. Vazquez is a great example of how to find it. On the Today show, he says he’s not done advocating for people with autism.

“It’s not over until it’s over.”

The touching responses of this boy and his father to a Coldplay concert have brought many social media users to tears. Have you ever seen anyone who is autistic respond with strong emotion to a song or anything else? Please share your experiences with us in the comments section below and help increase awareness for those on the spectrum.

[Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images]