Autistic and blind 6-year-old boy gets heartwarming surprise from Santa before Christmas

Matthew Foster is a Fort Worth, Texas resident who lives with autism and is also blind. He’s a typical 6-year-old boy who just loves Santa Claus.

He got to meet a real-life Santa this month and the experience was absolutely magical.

Misty Wolf is Matthew’ Foster’s mother and she’s responsible for helping him daily with his autism and blindness challenges. One day, she took him to meet Santa Claus because the young boy is a big fan.

Hoping to give him a good experience, Wolf whispered in Santa’s ear that her son was blind, autistic, and also very interested in Santa Claus. The man wearing the Santa suit quickly stopped her by saying, “Say no more.”

For more on this story go to our Twitter account @amomama_usa. Santa got down on the floor so the young boy could interact with him up close.

Knowing he was blind, Santa allowed Foster to feel the softness of his Santa suit and hat. He also let the curious boy feel the coarseness of his beard and Foster even got to pull on it to see that it was real.

The young boy had the pleasure of feeling Santa’s wrinkles on his old face. Then he asked to feel “your eyes that twinkle” from “Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

Without question, Santa closed his eyes and let the boy run his hands over them too. All the while, Wolf was taking pictures of the touching moment to create lasting memories.

Santa and Foster spoke for a long time as the boy’s mother waited patiently and then Santa asked the boy if he wanted to touch a reindeer. He carried Foster over to a taxidermy reindeer that was set up as part of the display.

The young boy felt the majestic animal’s fur and antlers. Wolf was so moved by the moment that she took to Facebook with her story and pictures.

She also made sure to thank Santa for what he did for her son.

When Kerry Magro was the same age as Foster he met Santa for the first time and it wasn’t memorable. Having autism meant he could go into sensory overload and that’s what happened at the mall.

Now, Magro, 30, works as Santa and knows how to handle children with autism when they come up to sit on his lap. His past experience and living with the illness have made him a compassionate and understanding Mr. Claus.