It’s that time of year again, Prom. We see the pictures of beautiful girls dressed up, escorted by their handsome dates. No doubt we also see the videos and pictures of beautiful girls asking a boy who has special needs to the prom. Posted on social media. We read the comments under the photos such as “So inspiring,” “In tears.” While I appreciate the thought and understand the motivation behind these acts of kindness, my heart is torn. I don’t understand how this is considered inspirational, and I too am brought to tears, but not for the same reason as those who are commenting.
I see these events from a different perspective. From the eyes of a mom whose son has been brought to tears by these acts of “kindness.” A mom who had to comfort and console her son. A mom who had to wipe her crying son’s eyes because he didn’t have the physical strength to lift his arms to do it himself. A mom whose son was deeply hurt by “friends.” I know they didn’t start off to hurt him. I cannot tell you what their true motivation was. Whether it was compassion, kindness, or they felt it was their Christian duty. The motivation does not matter. What does matter is in the end my son ended up feeling like he was nothing more than a project.
