Apple Employee Goes Above and Beyond to Comfort Frightened Autistic Boy and Mother

Last week, LynnMarie Rink brought her son James with her to buy a new iPad, but the shopping experience wasn’t nearly as typical as you might imagine.

James uses iPads as learning and communication tools, because the 9-year-old boy was born with Down syndrome and autism. A charitable foundation was providing a new iPad for James as a gift. While shopping for the new iPad, James had seen something outside the Apple store that got his attention, breaking his mother’s grip.

He ran so fast he hit the glass wall of the Apple store. James flew backward and landed on the floor. One can only imagine what Rink was thinking. Thankfully, James was unharmed, despite fears of the worst. The commotion was enough to get the attention of everyone in the store.

Andrew Wall, an Apple employee, sat quietly on the floor next to Rink and her son. Wall asked them if everything was okay and what he could do to help. Rink requested they shop for an iPad and make the transaction on the floor. She didn’t want to upset her son. Rink had brought a protective case with her that she wanted to use and Wall made sure to place the new iPad in the case before giving it to James.

Wall sat back on the floor and showed the boy how to use the new iPad. Wall was calm the whole time, showing the best professionalism that one might hope to encounter in any store. In fact, one might say he went above and beyond what would be expected. This kind of calm and compassionate response to a scary situation is quite impressive. Many may not have known what to do or felt uncomfortable.

LynnMarie Rink “…has written and performed a one-woman show about raising a child with special needs,” according to The Tennessean online newspaper. The online article states that, “…she is very grateful to Wall for how he handled the situation.” Rink said, “As a special needs parent, you don’t know what you’re going to encounter. Just meet me right where I am.” Rink says. “Don’t make me stand up or stand out. We know we’re not normal but we try to be.”

Rink posted a thank you letter on her Facebook page, which has over 1 million page views and has been shared over 20,000 times. Not only that, there is a move to have Wall featured on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” for her “Be Kind to One Another” segment. The show has noticed stating, “We have passed this along to our Human Interest Producer and they will look into it!”

It’s not often that every-day people are recognized for their good deeds. In fact, many probably go unnoticed; perhaps they like it that way. Whatever the case, it’s important to bring to light these good deeds. It balances out the bad news and reminds us that there are good people in the world. It also reminds us to be kind.