Big Time Rush Star James Maslow Treats Teen With Down Syndrome to “Prom” Experience

National   |   Katie McCann   |   Apr 16, 2014   |   3:00PM   |   Washington, DC

When Hannah Wackernagle was a baby, her mother Hollie would rock her and stare at her face and pray for acceptance. More than a decade later, I think that Hannah is finding more acceptance than her mother could have ever hoped for.

Stories like the following are the ones that keep us going at Ohio Right to Life.

hannah6Recently, Hannah, a Grove City teen with Down syndrome, posted a video online of herself asking her long-time crush to prom. Who is this long-time crush? James Maslow, a member of the popular boy band, Big Time Rush.

To Hannah’s genuine and endearing surprise, Maslow responded.  The following comes from WSYX ABC 6:

(Maslow) sent Hannah a video back on Friday. She watched it in the lunchroom at Central Crossing HighSchool. In it, James says he’s filming ABC’s “Dancing Withthe Stars” now, so he couldn’t make it to prom. But, he’s got a question for Hannah and her family. Would they like to fly out to Los Angeles to meet him and go to Disneyland? Hannah said, “Yes.”

So, what will Hannah say to her crush?

“I love you,” she said.  “Are you going to tell him you like his hair?” Hannah’s mom asks.  “Yeah, I like his hair,” she said. Now there are a lot of surprises in store for Hannah:  – She’s going to Disneyland Saturday  – She’ll meet James in Sleeping Beauty’s Castle  – She’ll get made up and dressed up,  – And, then Hannah will get a DWTS dance lesson and dance with James- a teen dream come true!

And indeed, it appears to have been just that for Hannah. (Read the story here.)

In 2012, the Dispatch shared a story about Hannah’s acceptance on her high school’s cheerleading team. Hannah’s acceptance on the team came after several cheerleaders visited the athletic director to “lobby on her behalf.” The athletic director said, “I thought it was a beautiful thing that our students wanted to include her.”  According to her mother, “Hannah just glows happy. The world loves Hannah; she’s a people magnet.”

Hanna’s life–her glow, her happiness–and the community support she receives are yet another testimony to what we are striving to preserve and protect in Ohio: a culture of life that does not discriminate but champions the human dignity of every human person.

LifeNews Note: Katie McCann writes for Ohio Right to Life. This originally appeared at the Ohio Right to Life blog.