High school boy with autism lands Miss Utah hopeful as his homecoming date after cruel prank...

[AGXStarseed]

(Not written by me)

High school boy with autism lands Miss Utah hopeful as his homecoming date after classmates play a cruel prank

• Michael, a junior at Taylorsville High, took Miss Greater Salt Lake to homecoming
• The teenager, who has autism, received a heartbreaking fake invite to the dance
• One of his teachers got in touch with the local beauty queen and asked for help
• Dexonna Talbot, a Miss Utah hopeful, said she cried when she heard of the prank
• Talbot walked into Michael's class and asked him to go with her instead

A beauty queen has helped a bullied high school student get the last laugh on his peers.

Michael Conrad, a junior at Taylorsville High School who has autism and ADHD, received a fake invitation to homecoming that left him upset and his mother 'sick to her stomach'.

The culprits, who are yet to be identified, egged his home and left a note saying: 'I'm sorry for the mess. But how about I make it up to you by taking you to Homecoming?' Fox News reported.

The note was attributed to a friend of Michael's, but when he confronted her about it, she denied all knowledge and told him she already had a date.

Michael's uncle said on Twitter the teenager had: 'tried to hide the hurt when this happened but it was obvious that he was upset inside'.

Hearing about the cruel prank, debating teacher Jenn Palomino said she was heartbroken, and determined to help right the wrong.

She contacted Miss Greater Salt Lake, Dexonna Talbot, and asked if she might be able to help salvage her student's homecoming experience.

Talbot, who will compete for Miss Utah in the next few months, said she felt called to act the second she heard about the fake invitation.

'The second I heard about this, I knew I wanted to do something,' she said.

'I automatically broke down into tears, because just thinking about the fact that someone would go out of their way to make someone else feel bad is so heartbreaking to me.'

Holding a sign covered in Starburst - Michael's favorite candy, Talbot was filmed entering his high school classroom last week to ask him to homecoming - for real this time.

Standing up, he can be heard responding with an enthusiastic: 'Sure!'

As the pair chat, Michael's classmates can be heard applauding the unlikely match.

On Saturday, Talbot shared photographs of the pair ahead of the big dance.

'Had the time of my life with the coolest, funniest, kindest and most amazing guy at homecoming tonight,' she wrote.

'Micheal you are one of a kind. I am so humbled by this experience. Bullying sucks and kindness ALWAYS wins.'

Speaking to friends on Facebook, Michael's mother Jennifer said she still doesn't know who played the cruel prank on her son, but the family have chosen to focus on the positives.

'We don't know who did it, but to us it doesn't matter,' she said. 'Through this experience our sweet boy was able to have the time of his life.'

'I just hope [the bullies] realize that you should [not] tear someone down to try and make yourself look cool.'


Source (with photos): High school boy with autism lands Miss Utah hopeful as his homecoming date after cruel prank | Daily Mail Online

 

[Mattymatt]

And Michael got the last and final laugh! He brought the most beautiful woman to the prom.

 

[aspieoutlaw89]

And Michael got the last and final laugh! He brought the most beautiful woman to the prom.

one for the ages.as an aspie,i can't imagine that being me.that's why when it comes to girls & women my age whether in the neighborhood,on the subway train or back in high school,i'm not "playing their game".even if it were a real one,i still wouldn't play it.

 

[Bolletje]

Am I bitter for thinking she’s just doing this to increase her chances of winning her pageant?

 

[Gritches]

Part of me is trying to have a problem with this. It's because it seems condescending, but if he was happy that's all that matters. Going to prom with a beauty queen is surely a better outcome than he would've had if nobody had cared and nobody had intervened, as is what usually happens.

Gets the thumbs up from me, even if ulterior motives were involved at least the victim in this case had a positive outcome.

As far as broader implications go, at least it's something in a positive direction. It's my firm belief that there's some NTs who want to help us, are ready to help us, and are trying to help us, it's just that they aren't quite sure how. And neither are we, honestly; feel free to lambaste me on that point. We all have our wishlists but I've yet to see a comprehensive plan that is also realistic and at least plausible.

 

[Nervous Rex]

Am I bitter for thinking she’s just doing this to increase her chances of winning her pageant?

I appreciate that they're trying to do something nice, and I don't want to take away from that.

But instead of one great gesture toward one-out-of-a-thousand people on one-out-of-a-thousand days, I would much rather see a little kindness every day.

A smile. A warm greeting. A gesture of understanding. A little help when someone is struggling with overload.

It wouldn't make the news, but it would make their day.

 

[Judge]

Am I bitter for thinking she’s just doing this to increase her chances of winning her pageant?

A fair question. However from my own perspective I wouldn't care if it did. I'm just glad to see that such a strong point could be made about how autistic people are treated.

 

[pamelaperejil]

Add me to the cynical ones.

The sign covered in Starburst was a bit much, I think. He's not silly.

Glad he had a good time. I might have been offended.

 

[Mattymatt]

I honestly believe that she did it for the greater good. The reason I believe this is because Rhonda Roussey attended the Marine Corps Ball with an enlisted serviceman. She did this when she was down and out after a string of disappointments. I honestly believe people have good in them.

 

[Aeolienne]

Am I alone in feeling uncomfortable with a teacher acting as matchmaker?

 

[Crossbreed]

Being Utah, shouldn't he have had five or six "dates" with him...?

 

[Aeolienne]

I wonder how differently the debating teacher might have handled this if the bullied teenager without a date had been female. A quick web search failed to reveal how old Dexonna is, but according to the entry requirements for Miss Utah she could be as much as ten years older than Michael.