Many families with a child on the autism spectrum find it hard to see Santa in the mall as an annual tradition because of so much noise and dense crowd. Nonetheless, Santa with autism has made it possible for a couple of kids with autism to enjoy his presence at the Lawson Heights Mall.
Sensitive Santa was at the mall on Sunday evening to exclusively make many children with autism happy. This Santa also has autism himself, as CBS reported.
The event happens when the mall is closed so as to serve the kids in a quiet, sensory-free environment. In such situation, the children can spend as much time as they need with Santa.
"It's just been a wonderful thing for us to do as a family. Not have to worry about the crowds, the noise and everything going on in the mall at that time," Lori Neault, a parent of a kid with autism said in an interview with Global News.
The Sensitive Santa has done this for the second year, through the help of the Lawson Height Mall and Autism Services Saskatoon.
"A lot of them have certain triggers, whether it's lights, noises or it's super over-crowded," Alex Scott, the family program director at Autism Services of Saskatoon told Global News. Kids got so excited and are overwhelmed though in some occasion there were meltdown scenarios. But this is the reason why the organizers have set up a quiet after mall hours to maintain a calm environment where they can totally enjoy Santa Claus.
One of the 35 kids who got to visit St. Nick with autism was Adam Schulte. He was totally amazed and was very excited to tell him what he wanted for Christmas. Adam likes Santa very much but he did not like crowds so the event was really perfect for him.
A little girl named Sara Callighy also had a one-of-a-kind meeting with Santa. The 8-year-old little lady has autism and is nonverbal. Her father brought her to the event because the Santa's helper she met understands all the challenges the father and daughter are getting through.
The event has inspired many parents who have kids with autism. For them, it was a very moving gesture from the organizers.
