Wayward Troubadour Soothes Boy With Autism In Delco

BRYN MAWR, PA — Music has been called the "universal language of mankind" and that rang true over the weekend in Delaware County when a musician used his skills to help a young boy with autism.

According to Richard Grudzinski, his son Mason was having a "melt down" outside the Wawa in Bryn Mawr recently.

Grudzinski said while he and his fiancé were trying to calm the boy down, a man appeared with a guitar and began playing to help ease the situation.

And, according to Grudzinski, it worked.

Grudzinski posted about the interaction on a local Facebook group, saying "I wish I knew who you were so I could thank you in person with tears in my eyes because I'm over joyed at the love and attention you showed him helping calm him down."

But with the help of the internet, Grudzinski and his fiancé were able to find the man and thank him.

Fox 29 reports the wayward troubadour is Matt Atwood.

Grudzinski said on Facebook he and his fiancé offered Atwood a meal and tea as a thank-you.

"I cannot thank you all enough for this and a special thank you to Matt our guitar playing hero as I write this in tears," he wrote. "You're a hero in my book, bro."

Atwood told Fox 29 he saw Mason struggling, grabbed his guitar, and played "Lost Highway" by Hank Williams.

"It's a nice soothing song," he told the outlet. "I guess it helped him calm down. "It just made me feel really good to be able to do something to help."

Grudzinski's story has reached more than 1,300 people on the Facebook group.