Neighborhood comes together to give young boy a memorable trick-or-treat birthday

By Steve Hartman Correspondent Steve Hartman is a CBS News correspondent. He brings viewers moving stories from the unique people he meets in his weekly award-winning feature segment "On the Road." Read Full Bio September 4, 2026 / 8:15 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Residents of this otherwise normal neighborhood in Huntsville, Alabama, saw the strangest sight this summer: a boy dressed up like a banana. "And I open the door, and he's standing there with his little bag," one neighbor told CBS News. Leah Farrow told CBS News her son, Soren Griffin, is autistic. And although doorbells have always been his passion, unfortunately, she cannot exactly take Soren out "ding-dong-ditching." "He just likes ringing doorbells," Farrow said. "I don't know why. He likes being nosy."It's why Halloween — that one time of year when you can just go up and push random doorbells — is by far Soren's favorite holiday. It's also why, for his 11th birthday this past July, his mother posted a note on Facebook."I was wondering if anyone would be open to letting [Soren] trick-or-treat at their house," Farrow wrote. "... I would be happy to provide candy."She was hoping for three or four replies. Instead, more than 100 neighbors said yes, people she didn't know. "These aren't my friends," Farrow said. "I mean, now they are."So for his 11th birthday, Soren went door to door again and again in his banana costume. He rang in his new year until that Halloween basket had run over. And what was most interesting is that no one took Farrow up on her offer to supply the candy."He got Doritos and Goldfish and Play-Doh and Lego sets," Farrow said. "I was a little overwhelmed by the kindness because I'm like, how can I ever repay this?" But neighbors said repayment was hardly necessary."You don't often get the opportunity to directly help someone you don't really know," one neighbor said. Added another: "To see that smile on that little boy's face was miraculous." In: Alabama Halloween Autism