Sometimes, we meet everyday people who do amazing things that help us believe in kindness again.
This touching story was shared on Facebook a few years ago, but it warms my heart every time I read it – so I wanted to share it again!
It’s about a dad who talks about the day when a girl came into his office and asked if she could ask his autistic son to the dance.
Kids with special needs often just want the same experiences that any child their age wants. Finding a date for a school dance is really important for any 17-year-old, so it can really hurt their self-esteem if no one wants to go with them.
Going alone – while not the worst thing in the world – can feel like a disaster for a teenager; not having a date can seriously hurt their confidence.
Some kids can be very sensitive and may not have the tools to understand everything yet. This is especially true for children with special needs, like autism.
The father in this story, Mike Larson, wrote down what happened when his autistic son, Jon, got ready for his high school prom. He then shared the whole story on Facebook, where it has been liked and shared by millions of people. Read it below!
“This is my son Jon with his prom date Maddi,” Mike wrote in the caption of his prom photo post. “He is a junior and he has autism. About a month ago, Maddi, a senior, came to my office (I’m a teacher at their school) and asked if Jon’s mom and I would let her take him to prom.”
Update: I’m sharing this again to celebrate this post from 6 years ago. Last week it reached over 1 million shares. I have received…
Posted by Mike Larson on Saturday, April 27, 2013
Mike continued, “Maddi got to know Jon through a school club that helps special needs kids make friends with other kids. ‘He’s a junior,’ she explained, ‘so it’s his prom too. I just think he should get to go.’ I told her we would be honored to have him go with her.”
Not only did Maddi want to take Jon to her senior prom, but she also wanted him to have the best night ever. She learned about Jon’s favorite color (orange) so she could wear a dress in that color. She also made a reservation for their group (they went with another couple) at the restaurant that served his favorite food – chicken fingers, French fries, and chocolate milk.
Before asking Jon to the dance, Maddi wanted to check with his father first.
“It was a pretty amazing moment for me,” Mike Larson told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
According to Mike, he had three reasons for posting the prom photo on social media.
“to support special kids like Jon.”
“to support groups that help these friendships.”
“to remind us all, during a time when we hear about so many bad things, that there are wonderful kids like Maddi trying to make other people’s lives better.”
The prom photo went viral after Mike posted it in 2013, and he continued to update everyone on what happened with the couple after prom.
Posted by Mike Larson on Sunday, April 28, 2013
In 2019, he celebrated that the post had reached 1 million shares and that his story had spread around the world. He also explained how everyone was doing: “Many have asked how Jon is. He is well and happy, still living at home.”
Mike shared that Maddi is now married and sometimes feels “embarrassed” by all the attention – she didn’t see it as a special thing. He finished the post by saying, “Thanks to everyone who wished them well.”
When Jon was diagnosed with autism more than 16 years ago, his father imagined different scenarios. One was that his son would never go to a prom because of his autism. But thanks to Maddi, Jon not only got to go to prom but had an amazing night!
“It’s something I never thought would happen for our family. Not only did it happen, but it happened in such a beautiful way,” Mike Larson said. “And to have it touch the lives of other people is beyond anything I ever could have hoped for. It will be one of the nicest memories of our lives.”
