“I must have cried 1000 tears,” wrote Amanda Coley of her two year-old son Jack’s loving interaction with Snow White at Walt Disney World, this past November. Jack, you see, has autism and doesn’t speak words. But his love for a beautiful Disney character comes through loud and clear, happily captured on video by dad Chris Coley.
Jack finds it difficult to warm up to new people and was not at all getting into the swing of things during that family trip. As it would turn out, Jack would receive his diagnosis just two weeks after the family trip to Disney World. The diagnosis likely came as no surprise to Jack’s parents. Amanda and Chris Coley have three sons and Jack is the second of the three to be diagnosed with autism.
If you’ve been to Disneyland or Disney World, you know that these amusement parks-cum-resorts hire actors to play famous Disney characters and to chat up the visitors. Jack’s brother had been trying to get the boy to interact with the other characters the entire trip but each time, Jack would pull away.
Jack wanted no part of that. Until he saw Snow White.
Then it was love at first sight.
I Must Have Cried 1000 Tears
Amanda wrote,
He was having nothing to do with any of the characters on our Disney vacation in November. You see, he has autism and is non-verbal. He is on the shy side with people he does not know. THEN… he met Snow White. I must have cried 1000 tears watching his interaction with her. He was in love.
It’s pretty amazing to see this clip. There is so much eye contact going on between Jack and “Snow White,” though one of the hallmarks of autism is the difficulty in making prolonged eye contact with others. You have to wonder what sort of magic was going on here: what made this Snow White figure so approachable? Why was it so easy for Jack to make eye contact with her, even as he shied away from the other characters.
It’s not difficult to see why this clip went viral with over 500,000 views as of this writing. Something beautiful unfolds here for the viewer, something magical in the magic kingdom of Disney. What it is, we’re not really sure. But it’s clear the clip has not lost its appeal for Jack Coley, who can watch it all day.
It calms him, and he’ll sign to his mom the word for “more” so she’ll play it for him again.
Does this one minute and fourteen seconds of blissful love and peace signify hope for all those on the autism spectrum and their families? It’s impossible to say. But it’s a good bet that Amanda Coley has raised awareness of autism and of the painful journey Jack’s parents have ahead of them in sharing this clip. Amanda’s pronouncement, “I must have cried 1000 tears,” sums it up in a nutshell.
Here’s wishing the Coley family many more moments of joy in the years to come.
About Varda Epstein
Varda Meyers Epstein serves as editor in chief of Kars4Kids Parenting. A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Varda is the mother of 12 children and is also a grandmother of 12. Her work has been published in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, The Learning Site, The eLearning Site, and Internet4Classrooms.
For the last 3.5 years, since my son was diagnosed, I’ve spent loads of time studying and gaining knowledge to support him as he grows. I find posts like your post an inspiration, so I just wanted to say thanks.
My pleasure. Good for you for working so hard to be a supportive dad to your son!