dpberr Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 Don't post often but this story made me feel good. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3766922/FSU-football-player-eats-lunch-student-sitting-alone.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cugalabanza Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 Awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Hammersticks Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 This kinda thing breaks my heart. I can't imagine my sweet little boy eating his lunch all alone. Good for Travis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LB3 Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 Thanks for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 This brought a smile to my face. Acts of kindness like these can have an impact on someone's life -- as Travis' did here. Well done Travis Rudolph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 Nice move by the guy. It's just a shame that we've gotten to a place where this story even has to be written. This type of action should be the norm and not a newsworthy outlier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 It was probably a nice change for him, eating lunch with someone with less social dysfunction than your average Seminole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChevyVanMiller Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 I have a 14 year-old autistic son. What a great story and a wonderful young man. Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 A wonderful act of kindness by a kind soul. The cafeteria can be a place of community and also a place of isolation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpberr Posted August 31, 2016 Author Share Posted August 31, 2016 (edited) A wonderful act of kindness by a kind soul. The cafeteria can be a place of community and also a place of isolation. No doubt. One look at that picture and it made me sad that many days he's alone at the end of the table, surrounded by tables full of kids. The Daily Mail runs articles on kids who have nobody show up to their parties (equally tragic) fairly often. These kids are your average American kids. They aren't some kids in rural Slovakia surrounded by farm animals and tractors that you can't relate to. I know there are folks that will say "oh he's autistic that's why!" and "oh, it'll teach him the hard realities of life" but I tend to think that sitting alone eating your lunch as a 6th grade child day after day has lasting effects on the future adult this young man becomes and that hurts. These stories and the stories about the 12 year old kids committing suicide because of bullying really punch me in the nuts. Edited August 31, 2016 by dpberr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 This is where schools fall short on the social aspect. How do they let an autistic kid sit by himself every day? Nice job by Rudolph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 This is where schools fall short on the social aspect. How do they let an autistic kid sit by himself every day? Nice job by Rudolph. You bring up a good point as to why the school monitors didn't put in an effort/encourage other kids to sit with him. Even if it was somewhat manufactured it would have been a good teaching moment for the other students to have more empathy towards kids who are different. When I saw the picture it was like this kid who had challenges was simply dumped in a situation that he was not equipped for. A little more effort by the school to have the populations mix a little more would have benefited all parties. The picture of the football player sitting with the kid warmed my heart but it also made me sad thinking what the kid usually goes through during the lunch hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChevyVanMiller Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 ESPN reported today that after the story went viral the kid had a full table of classmates at lunch today - all swooning girls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DriveFor1Outta5 Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 This is where schools fall short on the social aspect. How do they let an autistic kid sit by himself every day? Nice job by Rudolph. You make a great point. We are getting to the point where we want to teach elementary students calculus, yet we fail in the most important lessons of life. Isn't learning how to communicate and relate to people one of the most important skills in life? Yet schools do nothing to teach kids how to leave their comfort zone to relate with others that are different than themselves. This is especially scary considering we already have a generation of people that don't how to communicate without a phone in front of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 Frank Sinatra came to our school when I was young. Noticed I was sitting alone and came over and asked to join me. I said "!@#$ off Frank. Can't you see I want to be alone!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BADOLBILZ Posted September 4, 2016 Share Posted September 4, 2016 This is where schools fall short on the social aspect. How do they let an autistic kid sit by himself every day? Nice job by Rudolph. Which is sad because with the availability of information today........the main advantage to learning in a school environment is to learn how to socially interact with people. Well, people your exact age at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike in Horseheads Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 I have a 14 year-old autistic son. What a great story and a wonderful young man. Thanks for sharing. Chevy... I work for a ID/DD agency and see everyday what a difference even a small act of kindness can make a big difference in people lives. This is a great example and I shared it with the rest of our leadership team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 That's a good kid. I'd welcome him on the Bills anytime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Hammersticks Posted September 5, 2016 Share Posted September 5, 2016 Remember chef...a Kiko Alonso jersey is not worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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