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Iowa teen with autism gets first-ever birthday present thanks to Northeast Ohio first responders

Tanner Waniorek received the best birthday present he's ever had.

DECORAH, Iowa — Tanner Waniorek is about to get the best birthday of his life, but at 12 years old, it's taken a long time to get here.

Tanner has autism — in fact, he didn't say a word until the end of second grade. School has been very difficult for him in his hometown of Decorah, Iowa.

His mom, Megan Rude, says Tanner spent recess by himself, and was bullied and assaulted. Eventually, she pulled him out of public school and started homeschooling him.

"Last January, he was assaulted in school, and that was kind of the final straw," Megan said. "Kids would steal the basketball that he would be playing with. They're just not nice to him, which is unfortunate."

Yet, Tanner has maintained a positive attitude and kept a smile on his face, no matter what challenges he's encountered. When he's not in school, he loves different activities.

"I love playing video games in my free time," Tanner told us, "and in the summer, I love having fun, like swimming and going on vacation."

He's also a massive fan of law enforcement and safety forces. They're his passion. 

"Traffic stops, pursuits, warrants — all that stuff," Tanner said.

Since he was young, Tanner's been collecting patches from different departments.

"So there was a town here in Iowa, West Liberty, and they were doing a fundraiser for autism patches and it was on the local news," Megan said. "And Tanner wrote a letter to them explaining that he had autism and how much he loved police officers, and he actually got a really good bond with the chief of police down there, and that one patch is where it all started.

"Then, he said he wanted to start collecting, so I kind of started reaching out to, at the time it was Live PD, and I was reaching out to those departments and some of them would post about Tanner on their Facebook page, and then it just kind of snowballed."

Soon, Tanner's story made it all the way to Northeast Ohio. The Canton Fire Department recently posted on its page, asking the public to show Tanner some love ahead of his birthday on April 8 by sending him a birthday card.

This is our new friend Tanner. Tanner lives in Iowa and is a big fan of Safety Forces and likes to collect department...

Posted by Canton City Fire Department on Tuesday, March 21, 2023

These kinds of gestures are meaningful because, according to Tanner's mom, he's never even had a birthday party.

"I wouldn't even know who to invite, to be quite honest, because he would play outside at recess by himself," she said.

The fact that kids are skipping out on a friendship with Tanner is unfortunate, Megan says. Tanner is a fighter, a kid whose overcome incredible odds, with a huge heart.

There's no one more proud than Megan.

"He had a 3.7 grade point average last semester, and I'm so proud of him and how far he's come, just being homeschooled and getting out of the public school," Megan said, through tears. "I think people with autism or disabilities in general are so misunderstood. I think if people would just get to know them and get to understand them, they are some of the most incredible, incredible people that you'll ever meet."

Tanner, from all of us at 3News, we are proud of you, too. We love your spirit, love of safety forces, and love of your family. Keep inspiring! 

We had one more surprise, however: On Wednesday, members of the Cleveland Division of Police, Cleveland Division of Fire, and Canton Fire Department stopped by WKYC Studios to wish Tanner a happy birthday live on "What's New"! There was even a special sounding of sirens from the fire trucks outside.

Happy birthday, Tanner! We hope it's the best one yet.

Want to send Tanner a birthday card? See address, below:

Tanner Waniorek 

Po Box 441 

Decorah, IA 52101

Editor's Note: The following video is from a previous, unrelated report.

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