McDonald's Went 'Above and Beyond' After a Boy With Autism Lost His Happy Meal Toys

One Irish mother is calling her nonverbal son with autism “the happiest boy in Ireland” after receiving a surprise shipment in the mail.

Nicole Duggan, 27, is mom to Riley, a 2-year-old who has a penchant for Angry Birds-themed Happy Meal toys from McDonald’s.

So when Riley misplaced several of his favorite toys — and an hour-long search for them turned up empty — mother and son were both devastated.

Duggan decided to email McDonald’s to ask if she could buy any extra of the toys for her son, but was pleasantly surprised by what happened next.

The next morning, she and Riley woke up to a package from McDonald’s containing the burger chain’s entire Angry Birds toy collection.

“He couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw them,” Duggan told The Mighty.

 

Duggan was so touched by the gesture that she reached out to local Cork radio station RedFM to share Riley’s story:

Anyone who has a child with autism knows how hard it is for them to take to new toys and it is very rare for them to find something they love,” Duggan told the station. “To most people this would be a stupid delivery to get, for my little boy it was like Christmas morning!!! McDonald’s went above and beyond for my small man and I can’t thank them enough.

For Riley, the gesture was especially meaningful, Duggan said.

“Being nonverbal, he cannot get his feelings across, so he couldn’t tell me why he was upset and it just built up and he was so frustrated,” Duggan said of her son losing his toys. “It just shows how something so small can make such a difference to a child with autism.”