Landon, a 7-year-old boy with autism, was going to his first flight alone. He was about to meet with his father. His mother, Alexa, hoped everything would be just fine but she had her concerns because she was aware her son could easily get scared. In order to ease her fears, she decided to write a letter to the person who would be sitting next to Landon. She then gave the letter to her son and asked him to hand it to the passenger next seat.
The letter read:
“Hello! This is Landon! He is 7 yrs. old and this is his first flight alone today.
“He has high functioning autism, which means he is very smart and loving, but he tends to get emotional when he is scared and can get hyper. He might ask you “are we there yet” a few times or get a little loud with his headphones on. If you could please find it in your heart to make him feel comfortable and safe I would be forever grateful!
“He might get scared on take off, But he has snacks packed and games to play. My Name is Alexa (Mom) and if you see anything on the flight I should know, please txt or call me. this is for you! ($10) Thank you so much and try to enjoy your flight! Alexa.”
The person who ended up sitting next to Landon was a man named Ben Pedraza. He was deeply touched by this mom’s honest words and her concerns so he made sure he kept Landon company. The two played rock-scissors-paper together, talked about school, and played video games.
Once the boy’s visit was over, he returned home and gave his mom a letter from Ben who wrote that she was a lucky mom for having such a great son as Landon. He also added that he didn’t want to take the $10 she enclosed at first, but he then decided to donate it to the Autism Society in honor of Landon.
This mom was very grateful to the perfect stranger who made her son’s fight comfortable.