Preston Lillis was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism, in second grade.
Due to his condition the Grandville, MI 10-year-old sometimes struggles with physical activities. Thus, an annual school event that most kids take for granted made Preston extremely nervous: school field day.
The day of sports activities overwhelmed Preston so much that the previous year he made himself sick with anxiety and couldn't even attend.
"Last year he didn’t even go to school on field day. He had a migraine and stressed himself out so badly,” his mother, Jill told FOX.
While bullies are a real concern, some kids these days are more interested with lending a helping hand. A group of 13-year-old boys made an extra effort to include their friend with a disability and proved that kids don't have to be cruel.
We're happy to report that Preston's classmates are a part of this new trend.
"Sometimes when kids come in outside of the district their first responses may have been making fun or negative but his other classmates who know and defend Preston quickly educate them and shut it down," his father, Tim told LittleThings.
Preston's classmates had an incredible idea: why not give Preston a chance to shine and let him win the race?
"The 5th grade boys came up with this on their own and told their teacher Mr. Barton their plan," Tim told us.
"He's always so down on himself and to see his classmates rally around him was pretty incredible," Jill told TODAY.com. "Everyone had tears in their eyes."
Preston conserved his energy and ran the race, but he had no idea what the class had planned.
“We’re so worried about bullying and we don’t know how it will be in the future, but so far we have been very lucky with these kids,” Tim said.
Watch the touching moment a group of kids gave us something to be really proud of.
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