Here I am, posing with Aladdin and Jasmine, prince and princess of Agrabah. I’ve always liked their story, and not just because the Genie is such a hoot. There’s something touching and inspiring about this couple, and I was eager to tell them what an inspiration they were.

Always called a “street rat,” Aladdin didn’t think he would amount to much. He resigned himself to accepting what other people said about him and  acted like a street rat. But then he met Genie, who transformed him into Prince Ali and helped him win Jasmine’s heart. Aladdin’s adventures showed him that it was possible for him to break out of the restrictions people had put on him. And so, emboldened by his newfound courage, he defeated the sorcerer Jafar and set Agrabah free.

For her part, Jasmine was a thorn in her father’s side. She insisted on marrying for love and not for political expedience. In fact, her determination not to be confined by other people’s expectations had a major role in inspiring Aladdin to break out of his shell.

So meeting Aladdin and Jasmine was fun. But it was even more rewarding telling them about some of the challenges that kids on the autism spectrum face. I told them how much potential these kids have—that they’re “diamonds in the rough,” just as Aladdin was. I also told them how easy it could be for these kids to accept a lesser vision for their lives simply because of the way other people treated them.

As sad as they were to hear all this, there were also touched to learn how many of these children are deeply loved by their parents and that their parents weren’t going to give up until they gave their kids the best possible future. This moved Aladdin especially, since he grew up alone and had no one to take care of him. Talking with them, you could tell how happy they were to see these kids being surrounded by such love and encouragement.

And so they were more than happy to send a little message to all the ASD kids out there. Click on this link to see their special message.