DES MOINES, Iowa — If there's one thing 18-year-old Jonathan Watson knows, it's cars.
"He developed this sense. We would just be driving you asked him about a car kind of car it is and he can tell you. I don't even know what kind of cars they are," said Katesha Dilley, Jonathan's mother.
Jonathan graduated from Ruby Van Meter School in 2022. To celebrate, he got a party he'll never forget. Over 70 car owners came out to Glad Tidings Assembly of God church in Des Moines to show the young gearhead their rides. The idea began with just a few family friends, but things grew pretty quickly as posts spread on social media.
"The turnout has been amazing. I have cried at least twice. The longer we stand here, the more cars we see coming in, and the lot's pretty much full," Butler said.
The man of the hour even gave out prizes to his favorite cars. Joe Kline got top honors; he's been competing in car shows for 5 years now. He's won awards before, but the ribbon he received from Jonathan is a hard one to top.
RELATED: Online petition calls for South Hardin High School senior to be allowed to walk at graduation
"I thought at first my brothers put him up to a joke or something because there's a lot of other really nice cars here. But this was his pick, so I'll always cherish this award," Kline said.
There's one other thing that made the show so special for Jonathan and his family. Jonathan has a chromosomal duplication disorder; the effects resemble autism.
That means he'll never be able to get behind the wheel himself. But getting to meet dozens of proud car owners and see what they've got under the hood—that's priceless.
"To be able to provide this for him is just...I don't even have the words for it. It's amazing. So he's enjoying it. He's probably gonna talk about it forever," Butler.
Aside from just giving Jonathan a special day, donations were collected at the car show for the STRIVE program, which provides job training and other resources for local young adults with special needs.