Massachusetts teens who befriended boy with autism get Patriots tickets, celebrity shoutout
A group of Massachusetts teens were surprised with an unexpected gift and a celebrity shoutout, all because of the kindness that they showed to a boy with autism.
If you ask Tristan Caron who his favorite New England Patriots player is, you'll only get one answer. "Drake Maye," he shouted.
The eight-year-old from Foxboro has autism. WBZ-TV first introduced you to Tristan last month when a group of teenagers went out of their way to play with him at Urban Air Adventure Park in Bellingham. They had never met Tristan, but they included him in all of their games.
Tristan, teens going to Patriots game
Word of their acts of kindness caught the attention of Michael Intoccia, who saw the story on WBZ-TV. Intoccia also has a son with autism, which inspired him to launch his nonprofit called A Voice For Mikey. It supports families who have children with autism.
"Having an autistic child, it means a lot as a father. I get emotional talking about my son. It was so good to see these kids make this child feel like they're one of them, and we usually don't see that to them," Intoccia said.
On Friday, Intoccia invited all the teens, Tristan and their moms, to have pizza together and then surprised them all with the 20 tickets to the Patriots-Packers game on Sunday. "You guys are going to be special guests before the game, and you're going to go out on the field," Intoccia said.
Mark Wahlberg invites group to movie premiere
And perhaps one of the biggest surprises of the day was when Intoccia called his dear friend, Boston native and Hollywood superstar Mark Wahlberg on FaceTime. "I heard about your act of kindness, and you know what's really cool is being kind to people," Wahlberg said.
Wahlberg thanked the kids and invited them to his upcoming movie premiere, which is a film about a dad raising a child with autism.
"It's mind-blowing to be honest. I just can't believe that a simple act of kindness can go this far," said Rhea Mendoca, one of the teens who received the surprises. "Tristan is so sweet and energetic and so happy."
Tristan's mom couldn't have been more grateful.
"I just want to say thank you. As a parent of a child with special needs, you don't understand how insulating it can feel and how challenging," Christina Caron said. "This gave a lot of people hope, it gave our family a lot of hope, and I had so many strangers reach out and say how much it meant to them, thank you so much. Tristan is so excited to be back with his teenagers."
As for Tristan, he's thankful he found these friends for life, pumped about the Patriots game, and doing his best in everything he participates in. "I am very proud of myself and working hard at school and all around the world. And I love this world so much," Tristan said.
And perhaps these teens' acts of kindness will spread around the world, just like Tristan's love.
