She dressed up as a Storm Trooper to ask a boy with special needs to prom. But it didn't end there.
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- Опубліковано 24 тра 2018
- IDAHO FALLS - Teenagers in eastern Idaho often get creative when asking a date to prom.
But 15-year-old Shiane Ritchie went above and beyond to help a boy she had never met have a night he’ll likely never forget.
Shiane recently learned about a “Special Needs Prom” being held in Idaho Falls and she heard about Ian Taow Benjamin, a 15-year-old Bonneville High School student.
Ian loves Star Wars. So does Shiane. Ian is autistic. Shiane has worked around children with autism for nearly seven years.
So she decided to ask Ian to the prom - in a way they both would love.
“She came to decorate his room with posters and a T-shirt and a Darth Vader cake that said, ‘The Force has a big surprise for you,'” Ian’s mother, Rachel Taow Benjamin, tells EastIdahoNews.com. “(A few days later) she showed up to our house dressed as a Storm Trooper - like in a legit costume.”
Ian was shocked, and when Shiane asked him to be her date, he instantly said, “Yes!”
But the surprises didn’t end there.
“The night of prom she came in a limo,” Taow Benjamin recalls. “It was so awesome.”
The big event was held May 5 at the Pinecrest Event Center. Ian and Shiane danced, ate refreshments, took photos together and created special memories.
“It’s kind of great,” Ian says. “We danced to ‘Moana’ and ‘Beat It.'”
Stacy Richie, Shiane’s mother, says her daughter has always had a special place in her heart for people with autism.“She’s been babysitting them since she was 8 years old,” Richie says. “She’s been bullied before so she attracts those kind of kids and takes care of them.”
For Feel Good Friday this week, EastIdahoNews.com and Ashley Home Furniture surprised Shiane during her Spanish class at Taylorview Middle School. Shiane’s mother, along with Ian and his parents, came along to thank her for making a difference.
After giving her some flowers and gift cards, Shiane said the prom “was so much fun” and she plans to go again.
“Autistic people are just so caring and they don’t get treated very well. I thought it would be nice to take him and I’m so glad I did,” she said.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE TO SEE THE SURPRISE!
If you have a Feel Good Friday idea, please email nate.eaton@eastidahonews.com.
We need more people like her
You know a girl is special when she dresses up as a stormtrooper and asks you out. Life truely is mysterious
”See you at the restaurant”
See you at the restaurant, kid has more game than most people who thinks they do.
Her parents raised her right! Wonderful!
"Thank you hun" omg so cute
You could tell how much his Mom appreciated her with that hug at the end.
In the last year, I took a job in an association that provides services to people with autism. Never give much thought before. These folks aren't just special needs, they are special!!
And people clown on disabled people from getting anywhere. This guy with special needs had a beautiful girl dress up a stormtrooper, rent a LIMO just to take this man to Prom.
Beautiful lady with beautiful heart. Shout out to her parents!
What a nice girl we need a lot more like her
As a parent of a son who has autism I absolutely love this.
What a Kind, Caring and Considerate Young Woman.
THIS, is how you make America great. RESPECT to young woman. And her parents for raising such a beautiful soul
The world needs about a million more kids like her
she has a beautiful soul world needs more people like her
Beautiful story. Ian looks pretty high functioning to me. I can tell he's got a heart of gold. His parents must be so proud. ❤️
I can see her becoming an amazing Special Needs teacher and helping these amazing kids. My son is on the spectrum and this just shines of awesomeness
That girl is a class act! So is Ian. Hope they had a blast <3
You can tell by the way she looked at him that she really likes him and that she wasn’t just doing it to make him feel loved.