"Wanna have a catch, Dad?"

We received this note from Jamie, a member of our Family Services team at the May Center School in Randolph:

I just wanted to share this very heartwarming video with you all. I was at a meeting for one of our students this morning and his father Paul and stepmother Kate were telling us about this video of their son James throwing a football with his dad for his dad's birthday. I asked them if I could share with you and they said absolutely!! They are very proud of their son and of this video.

Anyways, the quick story behind this video is this... after James was diagnosed, Paul would say, "I would love to be able to throw a football with my son some day." (Dad is a HUGE football fan).

Leading up to Paul's birthday, the family rehearsed with James to say, "wanna have a catch?" They practiced with him so he would say it when dad finished reading his birthday card. James' home-based therapist Dana assisted with helping James do this. The family had also practiced throwing the ball with James, as did our Adapted Physical Education teacher, Alan.

On Paul's birthday, the whole family somehow tricked dad to coming to the football field, presented him with this card and when dad got to the end of reading it, James did his part and asked dad to have a catch with him. Needless to say, Paul was surprised to hear James say it... and then was elated when James threw the football right to him and also caught it when he threw it back!

Watch here. And THANK YOU to James' family for sharing this very special moment with us!