14-Year-Old Boy With Autism Receives Special Birthday Surprise from a Vacuum Salesman

by Vishnuprasad on January 22, 2015 at 7:14 PM

A vacuum-loving teen with autism received the birthday surprise of a lifetime this past weekend, thanks to a big-hearted vacuum salesman.

"Dylan Johnson was never into normal toys," his mother, Jodie Greene, told CBS 6 in Virginia. His 'toy' of choice since he was 2 has always been the family's vacuum cleaner. Kirby has emerged as his brand of choice.

So, when it came time to devise a 14th birthday celebration for the middle-school student, his mother knew exactly the kind of 'clean' fun would make his day extra-special.

According to CBS 6, Greene sent the following email to the Cleveland-based Kirby Company, which obligingly made Johnson's dream come true - and then some.

"I am reaching out to you in hopes for an answer to an unusual request for my son who is autistic. He has always been obsessed with vacuum cleaners. His favorite is the Kirby. He spends hours every day watching videos on his tablet about different Kirby's. When he isn't watching videos about them, he is talking about them. I really would LOVE to get a demo done for him for his birthday."

Autism

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder typically characterized by impaired social and communication skills combined with repetitive movements.

Answering the call, Kirby sent Al Archie, a 25-year company salesman, to Dylan's party this past weekend, reports the news station. Getting down on the floor with the birthday boy, Archie carefully delivered a vacuum demonstration as Dylan looked on in wonder.

"He knew more about the Kirby than I did," Archie told CBS 6 with obvious awe. "I have never experienced anything like that."

What happened next moved the entire room to tears.

"At the end of the demonstration, [he] gave my son a brand new Kirby vacuum," Jodie Greene told the news station. "There was not a dry eye in the house."

Source: Medindia