Long Branch Grandma Seeks Teens Who Played With Her Autistic Grandson

LONG BRANCH, NJ — This Long Branch grandmother has a mission: Find the group of local teens who went out of their way to be nice to her grandson at Seven Presidents Park earlier this week — and give them a big hug.

This came just moments after another child told her grandson to "go away" — likely not knowing the boy has autism and developmental delays, said Joanne O'Connell.

"They were just such nice kids. I just want to find them and thank their parents," said O'Connell, 66.

This happened Tuesday afternoon: O'Connell picked up her 5-year-old grandson, Jacob, from the Long Branch public Pre-K he attends; she watches him some days after school while her daughter works.

They drove to Tony's Place, the inclusive playground at Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park.

"Jacob has had to overcome a lot in his short little life," explained his grandmother, who goes by 'Nonna.' "He was born 12 weeks premature and he was in the NICU for three months before he could go home. Actually, before he was born, the doctors thought he had some kind of chromosomal disorder and told my daughter it was not likely he would survive. So, every day of her pregnancy with him was challenging."

Now today, Jacob has been diagnosed with autism; he is speech delayed and he has had to have several surgeries.

"He's also very small for his age," she said. "He's five, but he's about 30 pounds and wears size 3T clothes."

But Jacob "loves that inclusive playground!" (An inclusive playground is one that has been built with special, sensory play equipment that children of all abilities can use, even if they have physical or mobility issues.)

"Every day I pick Jacob up, he says to me, 'We going playground? We going playground?'" O'Connell laughed. "Sometimes I try to take him to other playgrounds, but he always wants to leave and go to Tony's Place."

They got there at 3:30 p.m. and she said Jacob started playing with an older boy, who looked about 10 "and outweighed him by about 75 pounds."

"At first they were playing together really nicely, running around, but then I hear the boy saying 'Get away from me!' and I see his feet kicking Jacob," she said. "I really don't think he wanted to hurt him, but Jacob doesn't always understand social cues or what's going on. I think Jacob just got on his nerves."

"I ran over and told the boy to stop it. I got so upset; I said he doesn't know if you want to play with him anymore, he's autistic."

O'Connell said the boy started crying, and then left the park.

The grandmother said Jacob seemed "confused," so she took him to another section of the playground. That's when a group of four teenagers, who looked to be about 15, immediately started playing with Jacob.

"These teens spent at least an hour with him, I swear! They gave Jacob rides on their bike; they let him play with their skateboard and the girl held him on this ride so he wouldn't get hurt," she said. "I told them, 'Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry he's bothering you,' but these kids said no, no, we love him!"

"They played with him and made him so happy!" said the grandmother. "I told them they must be camp counselors because they are so good with kids. One of the girls said she actually was."

Later Tuesday evening, O'Connell and her daughter, Jacob's mother, Jacqueline Crist, posted in the Facebook group Let's Talk Long Branch, asking if anyone can find these four teens.

"It was three boys and one girl. They looked to be about 15 years old, and they were at Seven Presidents Park from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on Tuesday," said O'Connell. "All I know is one boy was named Vince; that's all I caught. I really wish I had thought to get their names so I can thank them and thank their parents."

"I would love to find the kids and properly thank them for the kindness they showed him," chimed in Jacob's mother, Crist.

If you know who these teens are, or if they are your children, please contact Crist at jdenucci730@gmail.com

Similar: Middletown Teens Save Children Who Sledded Into Frozen Pond (Dec. 2020)

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