Some Good News In The World

[GloryDayz]

For all the negative bullshit that we deal every day, here's a great story about a great man friending a great kid. Great job Travis..

http://time.com/4474258/florida-stat...-lunch-autism/

Football Player Eats Lunch With Boy With Autism After Seeing Him Sitting Alone

A Florida college football player has changed the life of an 11-year-old boy with autism after he ate lunch with the student who was sitting alone in his middle school’s cafeteria, the boy’s mother said.
Leah Paske, 39, shared a photo on Facebook of the touching moment Tuesday between Florida State University wide receiver Travis Rudolph and her son Bo. The Tallahassee mother, who constantly worries about her son being lonely, said she burst into tears when a school employee sent her the image.
The gesture was “so seemingly small” but meant the world to her, she told TIME on Wednesday. “That’s all you need—small acts of kindness. And it can be life-changing for somebody,” Paske said. “I was just so touched and so blessed and so humble that he would take a moment to sit with my child.”
Bo was diagnosed with autism when he was 3 years old. Most days, he eats lunch alone, secluded from other students. “It’s more heartbreaking to me than it seems to be to him,” Paske said.
“I’ll say, ‘Who did you eat lunch with today?’ And he’ll say, ‘Nobody. But it’s OK, mom.’ I just don’t want him to be lonely,” she added. “I worry every day. I wonder if he doesn’t really have any friends. It’s hard.”
Rudolph said in an interview with Florida State’s athletic website that he didn’t even know Bo had autism. He and a handful of other Florida State football players were paying a visit to the school and making their rounds in the lunchroom when Rudolph spotted Bo.
“I saw him last. He was sitting by himself. I had got some pizza. I asked him can I sit down with him. He said sure why not. We started a great conversation,” Rudolph said. “It’s just heartbreaking that he’s in that situation, but I’m praying for him. He’s a great kid overall. I would love to hang out with him anytime.”

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by lewdog

Love seeing shit like that.

Growing up in a small town, there really wasn't bullying and we were pretty good kids. My mom worked with most of the kids with disabilities, so I understood a lot about their struggles. We would sometimes invite the non-verbal autistic kids or the kid's with Down's syndrome to eat with us at lunch. We always said hi to them and if we ever saw someone being rude to them, we made sure to tell them to shut the **** up.

When we have kids I will purposely invite the kids with special needs or disabilities to birthday parties and social gatherings. Kids need to learn acceptable, tolerance and the ability to interact with people who are different. These kids don't deserve to be singled out. It's so sad that some of these kids never get invited to birthday parties because of their challenges. It breaks my heart.

I come from a different era. In my era, the kids with (cognitive) disabilities were completely segmented off from the rest of the school. I was a senior before I could even figure out where their classroom was. We never ran across those kids in our daily lives.

The only exception is that they were mainstreamed into gym classes in junior high and high school, which was probably the worst classes for them to be mainstreamed.

[Kman34]

Originally Posted by lewdog

Love seeing shit like that.

Growing up in a small town, there really wasn't bullying and we were pretty good kids. My mom worked with most of the kids with disabilities, so I understood a lot about their struggles. We would sometimes invite the non-verbal autistic kids or the kid's with Down's syndrome to eat with us at lunch. We always said hi to them and if we ever saw someone being rude to them, we made sure to tell them to shut the **** up.

When we have kids I will purposely invite the kids with special needs or disabilities to birthday parties and social gatherings. Kids need to learn acceptable, tolerance and the ability to interact with people who are different. These kids don't deserve to be singled out. It's so sad that some of these kids never get invited to birthday parties because of their challenges. It breaks my heart.

You are a good man...And this was a great story...

[GloryDayz]

Originally Posted by lewdog

Love seeing shit like that.

Growing up in a small town, there really wasn't bullying and we were pretty good kids. My mom worked with most of the kids with disabilities, so I understood a lot about their struggles. We would sometimes invite the non-verbal autistic kids or the kid's with Down's syndrome to eat with us at lunch. We always said hi to them and if we ever saw someone being rude to them, we made sure to tell them to shut the **** up.

When we have kids I will purposely invite the kids with special needs or disabilities to birthday parties and social gatherings. Kids need to learn acceptable, tolerance and the ability to interact with people who are different. These kids don't deserve to be singled out. It's so sad that some of these kids never get invited to birthday parties because of their challenges. It breaks my heart.

Rep applied.

[stevieray]

Originally Posted by notorious

I cried.

I ask my kids (they are young) to go out of their way to make the odd kid out feel included and try to make friends with them.

ya, I did the same thing.

My oldest carried a baby to term to be adopted by a wonderful family with a daughter with DS. I love knowing my grandson will grow up with her.

My fav as FDE was doing the charity work for kids.

....this story is awesome and great example to all of us.