The six-year-old is usually quite shy when he’s around complete strangers, especially Santa. His parents took him to a special Caring Santa event, which allows children with special needs to meet Santa in a calmer, more controlled environment.
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Autism Speaks shared some of the photos of Brayden meeting Santa on its Facebook page earlier this week and they’ve now been shared over 50,000 times.
His mother Erin Deely was afraid there would be some experiences that her son wouldn’t get to enjoy. He gets anxious if you ask him to smile, it’s all too much for him, ‘ she told People.
A photo showing Santa Claus going above and beyond for a boy with autism is going viral. It also lets families have their own unique opportunity to visit with Santa.
Brayden Deely, a 6-year-old who has autism, and his family received an early Christmas present when this generous St. Nick made a special effort by getting down on the floor with him, People.com reported. But instead of waiting for the boy nervously approach, this fabulous Santa laid down right on the ground and started playing with Brayden.
The Deelys are calling Santa their hero, and say the way Santa understood his autism and how to combat his fear was just short of a miracle.
“Oh my gosh, to be able to do something that other families do…normally a lot of things are harder for us as a family”, Brayden’s thrilled and grateful mom explains.
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His father added that it’s a rare experience to see his son like that.
