A boy with autism broke his silence to tell Santa his Christmas wish, now his family is on a mission to make it come true. Greg Cergol reports.
A 10-year-old boy with autism surprised his parents when he voiced his Christmas wish to Santa this year — and his family is determined to make his wish come true.
Michael Clyne, who struggles with verbal skills, told Santa that he wanted an ‘Applepie ginger cat’ — a wooden pull toy that’s no longer made. And the wish brought Michael's mother, Jeanie Shelton-Clyne, to tears because she said he'd never before asked St. Nick for a gift.
“It seemed like in that moment and way he reacted, that he thought Santa might have the solution,” she said. “I started to cry. I was so excited that he connected with Santa.”
The young boy from Bethpage, New York, has maintained unwavering excitement for the rare toy since he first voiced his wish weeks ago.
“Every time an Amazon box is delivered, he’s like ‘Applepie toy!’ He thinks that it’s coming,” Michael’s mother said.
His family has been on a mission to find it for him, posting on social media and reaching out to the toy company directly.
On Monday, the London-based Applepie toy company finally responded to their emails and said they may have found the toy.
Local
Michael’s mom says she hopes she can give her son the toy to prove Santa can make Christmas wishes come true.
“If we could get that, it would mean so much to us,” she said.
