Santa's Sweet Act Brings Joy To Boy With Autism

GURNEE, IL — Eight-year-old Baiz has been building up his courage for six years in hopes of finally getting the chance to meet Santa Claus. Baiz has extreme anxiety, irrational fears and autism. So while he adores jolly old Saint Nick and wants nothing more than to sit on his lap, it's also very scary for him.

His mom, Sheila Seelye, of Grayslake, has been taking Baiz and his twin sister, Layna, to events featuring Santa over the past several holiday seasons.

"He is very excited every single year. We go multiple times each year, but we have to keep our distance. He just watches and waves," Seelye told Patch. "The last couple of years, he has really been trying to build up the nerve to go sit by him.

"But when we get there, his anxiety wins every time."

Sheila will sit with her son near Santa, sometimes for over an hour, as Baiz "works through his feelings."

"It always ends up in tears because he just can't bring himself to do it, and we leave," Seelye said. "Then try again the next weekend."

Last Thursday, Santa made his grand entrance at Gurnee Mills mall. There was a parade, and Baiz, Layna and Sheila all went out to welcome him. Baiz tried for two hours to get close to Santa but ended up leaving, again, without getting the chance to meet him.

They decided to try again Saturday. Baiz's twin sister is very outgoing and "usually steals the show," Seelye said. But Layna also struggles with her own issues. Both Baiz and Layna were micro-preemies and weighed only 2 pounds at birth. Baiz came home at 3 months old, and Layna stayed at Lurie Children's Hospital for her first year of life.

Now 8 years old, Layna has cerebral palsy on one side, seizures and brain damage, and doesn't talk; but she does walk and is a "firecracker."

On Saturday, she went right up to see Santa.

"Baiz was watching and hoping to go up by her," Seelye said.

But he couldn't build up the nerve, got frustrated and, after becoming more upset, climbed into a shopping cart and started to cry.

Santa noticed his struggle and came over, very slowly, to Baiz. He softly touched Baiz's hair, held his head gently and reassured him.

"By the end of Santa talking to him, he was crying the happiest cry I've ever seen from him. He had a smile while crying," Seelye said.

"I love and was so impressed that he knew Baiz wanted to see him but couldn't do it himself, versus all the children who are crying because they don't want to see him."

As a mom, Santa's kindness — and that he saw what her son needed — meant the world to Seelye.

"When you have a child that looks 'typical,' you feel judged a lot. For the public to see an 8-year-old in the back of a cart crying afraid of Santa, I got a lot of annoyed looks," she said. "As if he was acting like a 'baby.'"

And now, Baiz is convinced the Santa at Gurnee Mills is the "real Santa."

"He kept saying, 'Santa touched my hair. He touched my arm. This is the real Santa, I know it,'" Seelye said.

The experience — for a family that spends a lot of their time at doctor's offices and in hospitals, with so many unknowns regarding Layna's health — the simple act by the Gurnee Mills Santa was a dream come true.

"There is no way he (Santa) knows how much this meant for our little guy," Seelye said.