Boy with Down syndrome brings pure joy when he absolutely nails the 'Whitney Houston challenge'

When a 12-year-old boy named Ethan went to school one day in New Jersey, he likely never imagined his peers would chant his name in the gym auditorium. But that's exactly what happened, bringing pure joy to his classmates, the internet, and himself.

Ethan, who has Down syndrome, was ready to take on a new trendy challenge, wherein one must hit a drum beat at the exact right moment during Whitney Houston's hit song, "I Will Always Love You." It's not as easy as it might look. But he was ready.

There they were at the Township of Ocean Intermediate School. A rowdy crowd of junior high kids gathered, dressed mostly in red and blue, their sneakers squeaking on the freshly waxed floor. As Ethan stood next to the giant drum, the excitement was palpable.

"Ethan, Ethan, Ethan," they chant. The moment builds, while we hear Houston sing, "But above all this…I wish you loooooove." There's a slight pause in the song, the anticipation building even higher.

And then, exactly at the right time, Ethan hits the drum with such purpose that it's like he was born to do it.

The crowd understandably goes wild. Kids, teachers, parents alike stand and cheer. Move over Rocky AND Rudy, a new hero named Ethan is in town.

On the NJ.com Instagram page, the school's principal, Christopher Amato, is quoted as saying it "quickly transformed into a powerful and organic moment of inclusion, acceptance, trust, kindness, and joy."

Sarah Blunkosky, a learning coach and yoga therapist, while not an expert on Down syndrome, certainly knows a lot about it. She has a daughter who has Down syndrome and is on the autism spectrum.

Blunkosky offers this insight to Upworthy, which specifically applies to what we saw in Ethan's wonderful moment: "Building a culture of connection and cooperation over competition is essential in most spaces because equity and inclusion depend on safety without judgment and fear of losing."

Ethan's viral moment is gaining hundreds of thousands of likes and comments by the day. Many are simply overjoyed by how much this split second moved them. One person notes, "Leave it to the kids to remind us there is still so much kindness and joy in this world." A few musicians piped in, including a drummer who shared, "As a drummer, I’ve never been able to nail it!! What a boy you got there!!"

But one comment stood out right away, which was from Ethan's mom, who wrote, "Thank you for sharing my boy ❤️ we are so thrilled at all the positivity and joy he’s been able to spread ❤"

Upworthy had a chance to speak to Ethan's mom, Danielle, about his extraordinary life and how the love of their large family keeps life exciting. Of the "drum moment," she shared, "We are just so elated that his positivity and light has been able to reach people around the world."

We asked for a little background on who this amazing kid is.

"So Ethan is one of five siblings," Danielle said. "He has an older brother, two younger brothers, and a sister. We live in Ocean, NJ, so we spend a lot of family time in the warmer months at the beach."

She added, "He has always had an innate ability to read people and know just when someone needs a hug or a fist bump. He is as sweet as he is stubborn; we always say 'It's Ethan's world and we're just living in it.' He's a lover of movies and music. He loves to memorize songs and sing them at full volume. When he's not going viral, you can catch him at the golf course or, more likely, home, in his onesie pajamas watching a movie with a big bowl of popcorn."

"Ethan loves music," she said. "His favorite song is 'You're Welcome' from Moana and 'Live Your Life' by Rihanna. My husband, his stepdad, is musically inclined, so Ethan likes to sing into his microphones, pretend to play the keyboard, or play a guitar."

When it comes to his classmates, she gushes, "Ethan is the mayor of his school. Everyone in every grade (pre-Whitney Challenge) knows his name and wants to be his friend. He loves his teachers, therapists, and paras. His favorite part of school is getting to work on his life skills. His classroom job is taking coffee orders for the teachers and delivering them. If he stays on task during the day, he gets to do the lunchtime announcements with Mr. O'Neill (the man in the video with him) as a reward — another favorite school activity. His favorite part of school is the social component."

And as for the "Whitney Houston challenge" itself?

"Ethan didn’t prepare at all," she said. "The challenge was part of a larger assembly for the kids called 'Almost Anything Goes.' Basically, a fun event of different challenges the grades compete in against each other. Ethan watched the other kids attempt the challenge and asked Mr. O'Neill if he could, too. They waited in line, he took his turn, and the rest is history."

Danielle also opened up about learning and sharing information about Down syndrome:

"The night Ethan was born was the night I found out he even had Down syndrome. It was the shock of our lives; but my entire pregnancy I knew something was different and I couldn't put my finger on it. So when we found out, it all made sense. The doctors and nurses were all apologetic and somber, as if having Down syndrome was the worst possible thing to happen to your child. I would say, they had nothing to be sorry about. Ethan is the greatest gift I never knew I needed until he was here. He has brought so much love and laughter to our family. He teaches us what strength and resilience look like. His heart knows no hate, feels no bias. He lives and loves so fully and unconditionally. Having a brother with special needs has taught my other children acceptance, compassion, and empathy. We are so lucky to love him and be loved by him. Maybe we are the ones missing a chromosome."

She beautifully added, "At face value, his moment in the sun is a video of him nailing a difficult viral challenge. At its core, it is kindness, inclusion, and what acceptance looks like at this school. That my boy is loved for who he is, which makes his light just shine brighter. He is a true beacon of light, and we are so fortunate to have a community that not only basks in his light, but encourages him to shine."