For anyone who has a son or daughter with autism, you know it poses a set of daily challenges that can become overwhelming. It is certainly a joy to be around those with autism as they tend to have a zeal for life that we often take for granted, but that also means they can be difficult to calm down again.
Christy Richardson was recently experiencing that precise problem when her son Bubba got overly agitated. Unable to ease his anxiety on her own, she decided to call the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office because she knew Bubba just loved officers.
Deputy Loftis arrived at the scene, and to Christy’s surprise, he dropped in the middle of the driveway and started to do push-ups. As he taught Bubba how to do the same, the boy’s nerves were quickly calmed.
Bubba was all smiles as he hit the pavement with Loftis and released his pent-up energy with some good ol’ fashioned exercise. His proud mama posted the touching interaction on Facebook, and it quickly gained viral attention.
She wrote, “An Officer and Bubba (a boy with Autism)..They both had me laughing. So tell me again how you think all cops are bad?”
The Bradley County Sheriff’s Office also shared a post that read:
Dep. Corey Loftis was dispatched to a residence in reference to a boy with autism who was severely agitated. The mother knew “Bubba” loved officers so she called for a deputy to respond to her house.
When Dep. Loftis showed up, he was able to calm “Bubba” down and showed him how to channel his frustration by doing “PUSH-UPS”!!! The mother advised, “Bubba was laughing before Dep. Loftis left, which at the time I thought was impossible!”
Christy Richardson, who is Bubba’s mother, stated, “I can’t thank Officer Loftis enough for being so caring through it all.”
I think it’s pretty safe to say that most cops are good at heart, but the media tends to concentrate attention on the few corrupt ones. We’re so inspired to see Officer Loftis show us what it really means to go above and beyond the call of duty.
There couldn’t be a more deserving soul than Bubba to receive his good-hearted act of kindness that day.
“As many problems as Bubba has, as much as he manages to get one everyone’s nerves, no matter how many meltdowns he goes through…he has a heart of gold,” shared Christy in another Facebook post that detailed Bubba’s interactions with a homeless man who he befriended. Bubba regularly brings him food and ice on his bike to help him cope with the summer heat.
Bubba is also on a mission to collect one million can tabs for the Ronald McDonald House. According to a post by his mom, he’s now reached a whopping 546,000.
Anyone who’d like to help Bubba in this endeavor can mail them to Parkway Baptist Church, 185 Meadow Ln SE, Cleveland, TN 3732.
