“Feel-Good Prom Story Goes Viral Again, and It’s Easy to See Why”

Following her husband’s dementia diagnosis, Bruce Willis’ wife Emma Heming posts a touching video of him. Before the summer, a mother issues a warning regarding the color of the children’s bathing suits.

Children with special needs frequently have the same aspirations as other children their age. Any 17-year-old would prioritize finding a date for the school dance, so hearing that no one will be attending can be a tough blow to one’s self-confidence.

Even though it might not seem like a big deal in the grand scheme of things, for a teenager going alone can be the equivalent of social ruin; failing to find a partner can therefore seriously undermine self-confidence.

We can all appreciate why this endearing prom story is going viral once more.
Special needs children, such as those with autism, may be particularly sensitive and lack the skills needed to fully understand everything. The father in this story, Mike Larson, decided to document what happened as his autistic son Jon got ready for his high school prom. He later uploaded the whole thing to Facebook, where it has since gotten a ton of shares and likes. Mike captioned the prom image on Instagram, “This is my son Jon with his prom date Maddi.”. He is a junior and has autism. About a month ago, senior Maddi came to my office (I teach at their school) and inquired about whether she could take Jon to prom. ”.

This article has been reposted in honor of its sixth anniversary. The prior week, it had in excess of 1 million shares.

I got this.”.

On April 27, 2013, a Saturday, Mike Larson posted.

“Maddi had met Jon through a school club that promotes friendships between kids with disabilities and typical kids,” Mike continued. He’s a junior, so it’s also his prom, she said. I just think that he should be given the option to leave. We would be honored to have him join her, I reassured her. Not only did Maddi decide to take Jon to her senior prom, but she also wanted him to have the best night of his life. After doing some research, she learned that orange was Jon’s favorite color, enabling her to buy a dress in that shade. She also made a table reservation for their group (which they doubled with another couple) at the eatery that served his favorite meals, chicken fingers, French fries, and chocolate milk. Before inviting Jon to the dance, Maddi wanted to check with his father to make sure it was okay. Milwaukee, Wisconsin resident Mike Larson said, “It was a pretty breathtaking moment for me. ”.

Mike stated that he had three reasons for posting the prom photo on social media.

1.
“to show my support for Jon and other special kids. ”.

2.
“to show support for businesses that foster these relationships. ” .

3.
“In a time when we hear about all the terrible things happening, it’s important to demonstrate that there are wonderful kids like Maddi working to improve the lives of others. “.

Mike Larson later shared updates on the couple’s post-prom lives after the infamous prom photo went viral in 2013.

Mike Larson posted a blog entry on Sunday, April 28, 2013.

When the article received a million shares in 2019 and readers from all over the world began to read it, he celebrated. A brief update on everyone’s health was also given by him: “Many have asked how Jon is doing. He is still a resident at home and is in good health. Mike continued by saying that Maddi, who is currently married, sometimes feels “embarrassed” by all the attention because she didn’t see this as anything special. In the final sentence of the post, Mike said, “Thanks to everyone who has wished them well.”. ”.

His father had many different outcomes in mind when Jon was diagnosed with autism more than 16 years ago. One of them was that his son would never go to a prom due to his autism. “I never imagined it would happen for our family, and not only did it happen, it happened in such a beautiful way,” said Mike Larson. Maddi, however, made it possible for Jon to attend prom and enjoy himself as well. It is beyond anything I could have ever imagined for it to continue and help other people. It will be remembered as one of our favorite moments.