“It’s OK to be you.”
These five little words may seem like no big deal to me or you, but for one little boy with autism, they changed his world.
When 6-year-old Landon Johnson went to sit on Santa’s lap at the RiverTown Crossings Mall, it started out pretty typical as he relayed all the gifts he would like that year: a Wii, a remote control car, and a toy dinosaur.
But what Landon’s mom did NOT expect is that he would rush back to Santa’s lap to confess something that he thought was really really bad about himself. He wanted to let Santa know he had autism. Even more heartbreaking is the question he posed after the confession.
“Will my autism put me on the naughty list?” Landon asked. To his mom’s amazement, Santa just started rubbing her son’s hands to calm him down, as he told him, “It’s okay to be you.”
“You know I love you and the reindeer love you and it’s OK. You’re a good boy,” Santa told WOOD-TV. “You’re a good boy, you know.”