Groom’s autistic brother goes viral for touching best man’s speech

A groom’s autistic younger brother gave a touching best man’s speech that went viral and has now been viewed by more than six million people online.

Newlyweds Jonah and Maddy Waldron shared the speech given by 23-year-old Sam Waldron to their TikTok page, where it has also been liked more than 766,000 times.

Sam told the 170-person wedding reception that his older brother was his “hero” and “never looked down on me” in the sweet and funny speech, which was given earlier in the summer.

The best-man told his audience at the Iowa wedding that speaking publicly was an ordeal.

“You see, I have autism. My autism can make me terribly scared to interact with people, let alone give a speech in front of 170 of them, for Pete’s sake,” he joked.

The speech quickly had the emotional bride and groom reaching for tissues to dab away the tears.

“But there is one person in the world I would do this for, Jonah Waldron. Check that. There are two people in the world I would do this for: Maddy and Jonah Waldron.”

He then officially welcomed the bride into the Waldron family, telling her that they were “like a good fudge - mostly sweet with a bunch of nuts.”

Sam then told the bride that she had married “the second most handsome Waldron” but that she had “all the makings of a great sister.”

He then told his new sister-in-law that he felt comfortable around her, despite his autism.

“For me personally, Maddy, you know that sometimes I can get very uncomfortable and nervous around many people ... I have never been that way around you. You give me peace. You bring peace to all of those around you.”

Sam then turned his attention to his 27-year-old “best brother”, who wiped tears away as he spoke.

“Jonah, growing up as your little brother, you never looked down on me,” he said.

“You lifted me up and looked out for me. You always reminded me that being different is a real strength, not a weakness.

“You were, and are, patient and kind. You love me just as I am.”

He then reminded his brother that he may have been a talented student, but unlike Sam he had never rapped at a pep rally, nor been voted homecoming king by the other pupils.

“To this day, you support me. You listen to me, you are in the present, I am so proud of you and Maddy ... God bless you, I love you both,” he said to conclude his speech, for which he received a standing ovation.

Sam told DailyMail.com that he was “really nervous before the speech.

“Before I stood up, I wasn’t sure if everyone would like my speech, but I got more comfortable as I started reading,” he said.

“I felt like I was speaking out to whoever has autism and that I was speaking for the autism community.”

His brother admitted that he could not help but cry during the speech.

“Once he began to speak, I couldn’t hold in the tears of happiness,” he told the outlet.

Sam said that he is happy that the video of his speech has been enjoyed by so many people.

“I felt like I inspired a lot of people so it was good,” he added.

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