A New Jersey man with Autism had a special visit with Santa at Dambly's Garden Center in Berlin.
We could not thank you enough to Santa & the staff here for yesterday. My son Casey is 22, Autistic & a simply Big Fellow lol. Casey was #3 in line to see him. We did not tell the staff nor Santa about Caseys Autism. We just watched in awe the reaction between Casey and him. Thank you for allowing us to witness the true Christmas spirit still. If anyone has any doubts about the $10.00 they are charging. Trust me I would have paid more for this. He is truly an amazing man.. this was priceless. Merry Christmas
Posted by Meria Hackett on Saturday, December 19, 2015
BERLIN -- Video of Santa visiting with a New Jersey man with autism has gone viral this week after his mother posted it to Facebook.
Casey Hackett, 22, met Santa at Dambly's Garden Center in Berlin on Friday. In the video captured by his mother, Meria Hackett, Casey sat on Santa's lap and talked with him for a few minutes about reindeer, and of course, what he wanted for Christmas.
Meria Hackett shared the video with Dambly's on Facebok with a note saying the visit was "priceless" for her son.
"We did not tell the staff nor Santa about Casey's Autism. We just watched in awe the reaction between Casey and him. Thank you for allowing us to witness the true Christmas Spirit still," she wrote.
The video has since gained a lot of attention with more than 218,000 views on Facebook and people from across the world sharing it on social media.
Rebecca Forand may be reached at rforand@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @RebeccaForand. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.
