BEVERLY, MASS. (WHDH) - A Beverly teenager living with autism received a special gift from his school bus driver for his 19th birthday.
Logan Pearson and his bus driver Nancy Hall have formed a special bond over the past five years.
“He’s amazing and he makes me a better person just by knowing him,” Hall said. “He’s very much a part of my family. You know me, you know Logan.”
Every year, Hall gets Pearson a birthday gift but the one she got him for his 19th birthday turned out to be a big hit.
It’s a small sandbox that he can play with, complete with a school bus. Instead of sand, it’s actually crushed of Cheerios.
“I was thinking about all the things that Logan grabs and eats on the way to the bus,” she said.
Pearson’s mom, Cathy, says this gift was extremely thoughtful.
“We have to have a knee-jerk reaction to prevent him from putting something in his mouth,” she said. “When we try to take him to playgrounds and things he’ll try to eat the sand and so Nancy picked the best gift.”
The seemingly simple gesture means the world to Pearson’s parents.
“It’s emotional for me just because I know Logan is loved and he’s never had a friend, not even one and so for me, that’s hard, it’s hard as a mom,” Cathy Pearson said.
Hall says she never expected her gift would have this big of an impact on Pearson and his family.
“I’ve never met a kid like him but I feel like I’ve learned and I grew as a person, as a driver and as a human being. We all could use a little kindness out there,” she said.
Once all the snow melts and it warms up a little bit, Pearson’s dad will be trying to figure out how to build a bigger sandbox and they’re going to need a lot of Cheerios to fill it up.
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