Teen girl with Down syndrome was alone at prom — she had no idea her friends had a big surprise waiting

Sometimes, our friends become our family and this is an excellent example of that happening.

PUBLISHED FEB 6, 2025

Screenshot showing the students with her friend. Cover Image Source: YouTube I @kwwl7)

Prom day is a special day for every teenager. It is a day people talk about with loved ones for the rest of their lives, even if things don’t turn out the way they expected them to. For Annie Schlarmann, prom day turned out to be a lot different than what she had hoped. She could not find someone to go to the special event with. So her friends made sure that she had the time of her life and it was heartwarming to see.

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Schlarmann had been diagnosed with Down syndrome and was a junior at Monticello High School in Iowa. When her friends learned that she did not have anyone to go to prom with, they pulled out all the stops. “We thought it would be so fun to make her night special. So, we all got together, and we got to do so much fun stuff, like we got to go out to eat, we went axe throwing, and we got ice cream,” said Maria McCarthy, a friend of Annie’s.

“I don't think there's anyone more deserving of it than Annie. I don't think I've ever met more of a bright, happy human. She's so caring, she's so fun, she's genuine. She's always making jokes,” another friend of hers named Kennedy Simon said as per a report in Goalcast.

Representative image showing a prom night. (Image credit: Getty Images | kali9)

For Annie, this much love and affection from her friends made her emotional. As she recounted her experience in an interview with KWWL 7. “I had a lot of fun last night because my friends are nice to me, and I love them. They mean a lot to me,” she said as she fought back the tears welling up in her eyes.

It was not just an emotional moment for Annie when a huge group of her friends showed up to pick her up. Her mother, Sue Schlarmann, also felt how special the gesture was. As a mother of someone with Down syndrome, Sue was worried about her child, like any mother would do. She wanted her daughter to get the same opportunities as the other kids around her.

Representative image of a group of friends enjoying ice cream. (Image credit: Getty Images | JGI/Jamie Grill)

"It just was a special thing that they asked her to go because when you have a child with a disability, you're always hoping that they're going to get the same opportunities as your other children,” she said. “So to have them have such a genuine and kind heart and reach out and ask Annie to go to prom is something special.”

Annie’s sister, Ellen Schlarmann, was also moved by this incredible act of kindness. Ellen is a teacher and one of the things she tries to teach her students is to be kind to others. In today’s world, being kind and empathetic is perhaps the most important thing. “I always impress on my students how important learning is at school, but it's not just the academics they're learning, but shaping them into people. This was just a beautiful example of what kindness and empathy look like,” she said.