It started a year ago, when a father put out a desperate plea on Twitter, looking for a particular kind of blue cup, the only type his autistic son would drink from. Ben had been using this type of blue cup since the age of two and it was no longer available on the market. After his Twitter plea went viral, with replies from all over the globe, the LittleBlueCup website was created, bringing lost items and joy to other children like his son.

Autistic and special needs kids get their treasures back

It was back in November 2016 that Marc Carter put out his plea on Twitter.

After the tweet went viral, he received 591 identical blue cups for his 14-year-old son Ben. But that wasn’t the end of it – the experience went on to change not only Carter and Ben’s lives but also the lives of so many other special needs children.

As reported by the BBC, Carter realized that many people with autistic children like his son had similar needs. After his initial tweet went viral, other parents desperately contacted Carter, asking for help in finding their own children’s lost treasures.

It was then that he decided to start the website LittleBlueCup, a site dedicated to searching and finding similar lost items that meant the world to those children. Most of the children also have autism and other learning problems and had lost their treasures while on vacation, or they were broken or simply in need of replacement.

Speaking to the BBC, Carter said everyone has a favorite item, but in the case of an autistic child, that favorite thing can mean the whole world to them. Since the website started, along with posts on social media, LittleBlueCup has found almost 2,069 lost items for 231 families. The items include anything from blankets to hats, cuddly toys, and cups similar to Ben’s.

In most cases, the lost treasures were no longer available in stores or were a limited edition. Other items had been purchased on vacation and were difficult to replace. However, with their almost 15,000 Facebook followers and the kindness of individuals who visit their website, LittleBlueCup, children from all over the world are able to keep up their daily routine and overcome any anxiety felt through the loss of their treasures.

Success stories on LittleBlueCup

Here are a couple of success stories from the website of LittleBlueCup, including that of six-year-old Tayen. Tayen is blind, has hydrocephalus, epilepsy, bilateral shunts, and is currently experiencing her second round of chemo. Because her mother has to keep everything hygienically clean, she has to regularly wash Tayen’s favorite toy, known as Milly the Monkey, meaning the young girl often has to be without her comforting friend while it is in the laundry.

Because the toy previously belonged to her now 12-year-old brother, it is no longer available in stores. LittleBlueCup put out a plea, receiving three monkeys within just five days and solving the problem.

The video below shows a boy named Isaac, who had lost his treasured hat.

In September of this year, a 10-year-old named Kye lost his treasured green dog toy, which he called “Doggy Woof Woof.” Kye is autistic and also has ADHD and a sensory processing disorder. He normally sleeps with his favorite doggy pal and was miserable without it. His sister got in touch with LittleBlueCup to ask them to help.

A woman named Donna saw the plea and wrote on Facebook to say they had the same green dog toy lying unloved in the bottom of their toy basket and she was thrilled to give it to Kye, who was naturally also thrilled to have his best friend back, as readers can see in the Facebook video above.

Learn more about LittleBlueCup in the video included below.
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