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Young autistic man gives a scratch off lottery ticket to every passenger on his flight

"Sebbie boarded with one mission: to make it the happiest plane in the sky."

Images via Canva

Who doesn't love a scratch off ticket?

These days, flying on airplanes can be a real drag. Between travel delays and unruly passengers, it can be an anxiety-inducing experience. But a young autistic man from England named Sebbie Hall (@sebbiehall2003) recently made a flight on European airline Ryanair one of the most joyous they will ever have.

Hall, 22, surprised passengers with scratch off lottery tickets with help from the airline's crew (because who doesn't love a scratch off?!).

"POV: you gave every passenger a scratch card on a Ryanair flight," he captioned the post. "Sebbie boarded a @ryanair flight with one mission: to make it the happiest plane in the sky."

In the video shared on Instagram, Sebbie is introduced to passengers by one of the flight attendants on the plane's PA system. "This is Sebbie Hall. Sebbie has done a random act of kindness every single day for 5 years. He started in lockdown to make people smile. Sebbie has a wish to make this Ryanair flight the happiest plane in the skies," he says.

The video shows Sebbie handing out the scratch offs to seated passengers, shaking hands with many. Some have tears in their eyes, and others wipe them away. The flight attendant continues, "Sebbie is buying every group a scratch card today. He wishes to make someone a billionaire. Sebbie has raised over 100,000 pounds to support disabled and disadvantaged children all across the UK. Sebbie was crowned the UK's Kind Hero last year. On behalf or Ryanair and all of us on board, can we give Sebbie a round of applause please?"

In another clip, Sebbie's mom gets on the PA system to add onto the flight attendant's message, "Sebbie wants to say good luck, strangers! No strings attached. If you win, could you please somehow let him know. He doesn't want your money! But he'd like to know. Good luck!" she says.

Sebbie's team shared more about how his act of kindness was received in the caption. "True to form, he surprised every family onboard with a scratch card—hoping to make one stranger a billionaire. It was a flight filled with joy, laughter, and big-hearted strangers. Thank you to the wonderful @ryanair crew and all the passengers who made this journey so special," they wrote.

Sebbie's thoughtful (and fun!) gift to others received overwhelming praise in the comment section.

"THIS IS MAGIC!!! Such a wonderful and fun surprise. 💫."

"We need more Sebbies in this world 🤍 keep shining your light and making this world a kinder and happier place."

"That’s so kind Sebbie!! I bet you made lots of people smile!"

"I would've kept that scratch card forever and hung up somewhere just to be reminded of how easy and wonderful random acts of kindness can be! 🥹"

Sebbie has made it his mission to do random acts of kindness for others. In 2022, he started the Sebbie Hall Kindness Foundation to spread joy to others, and has previously won the UK's Kind Hero award.

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This 'Sesame Street' theme park is making history for kids and families with autism.

A Pennsylvania theme park has just been awarded an important distinction.

Sesame Place, a children's theme and water park based on the television program "Sesame Street," was declared a Certified Autism Center by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES).

As part of its detailed certification process, Sesame Place requires at least 80% of its staff to complete rigorous training on autism sensitivity and awareness. The park also installed "quiet rooms" as safe spaces for visitors who may be experiencing sensory overload and offers noise-canceling headphones to attendees throughout the park.

"Sesame Street" character Julia, who has autism, is also on-hand at the park to provide a familiar face and help educate guests who might not be as familiar with autism.

[rebelmouse-image 19346069 dam="1" original_size="1200x630" caption="Image via Sesame Street/YouTube." expand=1]Image via Sesame Street/YouTube.

"It is our goal to provide every family with an enjoyable and memorable visit to Sesame Place, and we are proud to offer specialized services to guests with autism and other special needs," the company announced in a statement on its website.

The changes go beyond the actual park as well. It revamped its online resources and the planning process for families too.

In addition, Sesame Place provides information and strategies for guests to better prepare for their visit to the park, with detailed planning tips on their website, including a sensory ranking system for rides, low-sensory parade routes, and other details for related services like travel and dining.

The end result is to give guests and their families "peace of mind" even before they enter the park.

[rebelmouse-image 19346070 dam="1" original_size="750x495" caption="Photo by Shawn Collins/Flickr." expand=1]Photo by Shawn Collins/Flickr.

Sesame Place isn't the only park making strides in accessibility either.

While Sesame Place is the first park to earn the Certified Autism Center distinction, other parks are making inclusive strides as well.

Disneyland has received praise for its efforts to expand disability services to guests, including those with autism. And in late 2017, a video went viral showing a young guest interacting with a park employee in sign language.

Also in 2017, a $17 million dollar water park in San Antonio called Morgan's Inspiration Island opened with the goal of being accessible to all people with disabilities.

However, what's actually "magical" about moments like these are how there's nothing magical at all required — just awareness, hard work, and recognizing the value of accessibility and representation for all children and families.

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Every April, Egypt's great monuments turn blue. This woman's hard work is why.

She started the conversation almost 20 years ago, but now people are really listening.

On April 2, the pyramids of Giza were lit up a beautiful shade of blue. Why?

Photo by David Degner/Getty Images.

The pyramids are often lit up for a number of various holidays and causes. In this case, the bright blue lights shone in honor of Autism Awareness Month — marking a relatively recent recognition of the condition in Egypt.

Thanks to Dr. Dahlia Soliman, founder of the Egyptian Autistic Society, autism is finally being talked about openly there.

For the longest time, autism was considered taboo in Egypt. In some areas, it was even called a curse.

"In the rural areas, due to lack of education, when [people saw] a child/adult spinning or doing any of the stereotypical behavior displayed by an autistic person they [thought] this child is possessed," Solimon told Upworthy.

Soliman set out to change that notion 18 years ago, and as of today, the Egyptian Autistic Society (EAS) has diagnosed thousands of children as being "on the spectrum."

Egyptian children in the Egypt Autistic Society program. Image via Egypt Autistic Society/Facebook, used with permission.

The "spectrum" refers to the wide range of behaviors/symptoms a person can exhibit when they are autistic. Unfortunately, this can also make autism difficult to diagnose, which is why, early on, more than 80% of Soliman's patients had been misdiagnosed prior to coming to her.

"Very few doctors and specialists [had] heard of it. It is not taught in our university curriculums (not even in faculty of medicine)," Soliman explained.

One of the greatest challenges Soliman faced when opening the Egypt Autistic Society was getting approval for the group's name because it included the word "autistic" and officials had no idea what it meant.

EAS' main goal is to provide "early intervention" services that are uniquely tailored to each autistic child and their parents, but keeping a program like it running isn't easy — or cheap.

The younger a child is diagnosed, the more receptive they will be to programs that can help curb behavioral and social issues caused by autism. The hope is that such training will make it easier to "mainstream" autistic children in the Egyptian eduction system.

Image via Egyptian Autistic Society/Facebook, used with permission.

This has been exceedingly difficult, especially during the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 when the administration kept changing.

Programs for people with autism are expensive for the average Egyptian family. EAS subsidizes tuition for one-third of its students, but such nonprofit work requires significant help from donors, beyond what grateful parents can give.

However, Soliman's meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has been instrumental in raising funds and awareness. Fattah el-Sisi has connected EAS with a number of dignitaries, some of whom have personal connections to autism.

In March 2016, Admiral Mohab Mamish, head of the Suez Canal Authority, publicly declared that his grandson has autism. For a country that not long ago thought autism was possession, that's a huge step forward in reducing the stigma.

Getting Egypt's great monuments lit up in bright blue is, strangely enough, one of the most challenging aspects of Soliman's work to destigmatize autism.

"It is actually a huge hassle!" Soliman wrote in an email. "We have to write official formal letters to each minister or authority in charge of that particular monument. Then hand deliver it to the head of that authority and then nag by phone or in person that it gets put on his desk and he signs it!"

Photo by David Degner/Getty Images.

Despite the hassle, however, she's managed to light up at least one Egyptian landmark every year since 2012.

For Autism Awareness Month in 2016, 21 landmarks, including the pyramids, blazed blue.


While the bureaucracy might be a pain, Soliman says her work with the children makes it all worth it.

Photo via Dahlia Soliman/Facebook, used with permission.

According to her blog, from age 11 on, Soliman knew she wanted to work with children with special needs.

When asked why she loves working with autistic kids, she replied, "I love children in general, but special needs children to me are slightly more special. Each tiny bit of progress is like climbing mount everest and that fulfills me."

Keeping the conversation around autism moving forward in Egypt is of utmost importance.

Photo via Egyptian Autistic Society/Facebook, used with permission.

No matter where you're from, if you've had experience with autism, Soliman and the EAS are encouraging you to share your story using the hashtag #iamthefirststep.

They hope that if more Egyptians see how prevalent autism is around the world, and how manageable it can be, pretty soon the original stigma that once influenced the country to keep people living with autism hidden away will fall away entirely.

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