Vacuum salesman makes a teen with autism's wishes come true

In the Johnson household, it's not unusual to hear the whir of a vacuum at all hours of the day.

Dylan Johnson, 14, is autistic, and his mother, Jodie, says he has always been fascinated by vacuums. When he's not watching videos about vacuums, he's talking about them, and Jodie decided to incorporate the household gadget into his recent birthday. In an email to the Kirby Company, maker of Dylan's favorite vacuum, she wrote: "I really would love to get a demo done for him this birthday. I do not want anything free, but as the mother of a special-needs child, it is so hard to find things to make my son happy."

Kirby not only sent Dylan a soccer ball, hat, and T-shirt emblazoned with the Kirby logo, but it also dispatched salesman Al Archie to Dylan's Virginia home for his party. Archie gave a vacuum demo and then told Dylan some big news: The brand new machine was now his to keep. "There was not a dry eye in the house," Jodie told WTVR. Dylan is still thrilled with his gift, and uses it so much that Jodie says she will likely always "have the cleanest carpets in Chesterfield County."

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