Autistic boy makes ribbons in honor of Newtown shooting victims

NORTH WEBSTER, Ind. (WANE) - Camren Mangun, a 12-year-old boy with autism, spent his weekend making hundreds of ribbons to hand out to his classmates in honor of those who died at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday.

Camren's mother, Abby Hagen, contacted NewsChannel 15 via NewsChannel 15's Report!t feature to tell us about her son's idea.

Hagen wrote that when Camren heard the news about the shooting in Newtown, he was concerned for the "little kids who went to Heaven" and asked if "Santa would have to go to Heaven to take their presents to them."

Camren said he made the 500 ribbons for his classmates because he felt good about it and wanted to make his friends feel better too.

Camren said the ribbons he made were orange and blue because the orange represented the sun and the blue bead in the center represented the sky.

"We are so proud of him and his compassion towards others," Hagen told NewsChannel 15.

"You can't help your child succeed in life mentally, emotionally, or physically of you don't accept them for who they are along with any disabilities they may have. We accepted, years ago, that Camren was autistic and would probably never live on his own. It was then that we started planning and setting goals. I feel we need to accept our children's disabilities and stay involved in their lives, not close the door because we're embarrassed of them and want them to fit it," Hegan wrote.

Camren and his family said they were up making the ribbons until 2:00 Monday morning, and they plan on making 100 more.