Breakfast with Santa is open to all

Kim Jones almost didn't bring her son Spencer to Family Connection's "Breakfast with Santa" event a year ago.

Spencer has a mild form of autism and is ADHD. He had gone through an up and down week with some behavior issues. But at the last minute, Jones changed her mind and was glad she did.

"He sat with Santa for the first time," she said. "He really wanted to. That was kind of surreal."

Family Connection, an advocacy and support agency for families with special needs children, will host Breakfast with Santa at Applebee's Restaurant Saturday from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. The cost is just $2 per person to cover the cost of the food.

Director Emily Green said the general public is invited to join the families with special needs kids at the breakfast.

"It's an opportunity for our families that don't get to go out as much and would like to spend time with other families," she said. "But this is also an awareness and inclusion opportunity. We all should be able to come together to celebrate Christmas."

Jones hopes that the general public and families with typically-developing kids will join her and other parents with special needs children at the breakfast.

"If more people spent more time around children with disabilities, they would have a better understanding," she said.

Spenser is now in a mainstream class with first-grader Mistie Osborne, and she, too, has been so understanding, Jones said. She never imagined that Spencer would be in a class with typically-developing kids. But it makes such a difference for Spencer, said Jones, like getting free therapy through being with the other kids. She appreciates how hard Spencer works to succeed.

At last year's Breakfast with Santa, they had another special mother-son moment.

Spencer's focus is typically on his own world," Jones said. "But he looked over and saw I wasn't eating and asked me why. There was a time when he wouldn't have noticed. This was huge, really cool."

Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com.