A mother whose Down’s syndrome son was the only child not invited to a classmate’s birthday party has written an open letter to better educate people on the condition.

Jennifer Kiss-Engele, from Canada, took to Facebook after her son Sawyer was shunned – all of the other 22 children made the list.

She said she wasn’t angry with the parents of the child for making the decision they did – something she said was “intentional” – but said people might be “wary” or “scared” because of their lack of understanding of the condition.

She added that people with Down’s syndrome “want to have close relationships, want to feel love, want to contribute, want to have meaningful lives, and want to go to birthday parties.”

She wrote: “I know we don’t know each other well but my son Sawyer and your child are in the same class.

“I understand that your child recently delivered birthday invitations to the entire class except to Sawyer, who was not invited.

“I also understand that this was not an oversight on your part, that it was an intentional decision to not to include my son. I want you to know that we don’t have an expectation of being invited to every birthday party.

“In fact, when Sawyer celebrated his birthday last year we only invited a few close friends as we wanted to keep it small, since it was over the Christmas break.

“But in your case, this is not the same reason. In fact, you have invited all 22 other children from the class except for my son.

“The only reason why you decided it was OK to not invite my son to your child’s birthday party is because he has Down Syndrome.

“I am sorry that you are not informed, maybe scared, or uncertain about what it means to have Down Syndrome.

“I know if you knew more about Down Syndrome you wouldn’t have made this decision. I am not mad at you. Rather, I think this is an opportunity for you to get to know my son better.

“It may be more difficult at times to understand my child. But the laughter and love that you share doesn’t need interpretation.”

The inspirational mum added that the parent should explain to their child that it is wrong to discriminate against someone because of their “disability, race, or gender”, adding: “I am certain, that with a little encouragement, your child can develop a true friendship with my son that will leave a permanent, positive impression on them for the rest of their life.”

Her post has been shared thousands of times on Facebook and received more than 1,000 comments.